Varuna announces 2026 Irish Lamplight Online Fellowship recipients
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Varuna, the National Writers’ House, has announced the selected writers for the 2026 International Lamplight Online Fellowship – Ireland, a 2-week online fellowship for published fiction writers under the combined...
Isabel Staas and Ashleigh Barton launch Hey Author
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Former head of audio and production at Hachette ANZ Isabel Staas and children’s author and former marketing and publicity manager Ashleigh Barton have created Hey Author, an author-support business. Staas...
Melbourne Rare Book Week announces 2026 program
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) returns on 23 July, running until 1 August 2026 with a line-up of events, exhibitions, talks and lectures. Book experts will explore topics including the...
Bryan Brown, Siang Lu among authors on Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival 2026 program
Thursday, 11 June 2026
The Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival (SHWF) will celebrate its 15th anniversary with its 2026 festival, which runs from 23 to 26 July in Berrima and Bowral. Guest speakers at the...
Brooke Maddison wins 2026 Penguin Literary Prize for “Driftwood”
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has announced that Driftwood by Brooke Maddison is the winner of the 2026 Penguin Literary Prize. Chosen from a shortlist of 6, Driftwood “explores how traumatic...
Giramondo acquires Amy Crutchfield’s “Asterion”
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Giramondo has acquired world rights to the poetry collection Asterion by Amy Crutchfield. Asterion is the follow-up to Crutchfield’s debut collection The Cyprian, which won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award...
Magabala Books acquires Bruce Pascoe’s “The European Mind”
Thursday, 11 June 2026
Magabala Books has acquired The European Mind: Colonialism, Capitalism, Christianity & How to Recover by Bruce Pascoe. Described by the publisher as the follow-up title to Pascoe’s Dark Emu, the...
Black Inc. acquires Don Watson book on Dezi Freeman
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Black Inc. has acquired world rights to a nonfiction book by Don Watson on the case of Dezi Freeman that will build on the theme of Watson’s December 2025 article...
ISBN growth shows Australian book market boom
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
The number of books being published in Australia is booming, according to figures extracted from the ISBN titles recorded in Bowker’s Books in Print, with both the number of publishers...
Local translator on Voices of Today Literary Translation Prize
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Brisbane-based translator Jenny Lu has been shortlisted for the inaugural Voices of Today Literary Translation Prize. Participants were invited to translate a substantial excerpt from the novel Salty Jokes by...
Berkelouw Books Leichhardt confirms move, will remain open
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Berkelouw Books Leichhardt has confirmed it will move to a new location in Leichhardt, rather than closing as previously announced. In a post on social media, the bookstore said it...
Writers among First Nations Arts d/Deaf and/or Disabilities Project Fund recipients
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Writers are among the successful applicants to Creative Australia’s First Nations Arts d/Deaf and/or Disabilities Project Fund. Those to receive funding include: Sharleigh Crittenden, for the project “Developing Children of...
Te Pae Tawhiti Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
The shortlists for the Te Pae Tawhiti Awards for Aotearoa and Pasifika speculative fiction writers have been announced. The shortlisted works in each category are: Outstanding Achievement for Adult Novel...
New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2026 shortlists announced
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
The shortlists for the 2026 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults have been announced. The shortlists in each category, chosen from 159 entries, are: BookHub Picture Book...
Text Publishing acquires “What Gentlemen Do” by Todd Babiak
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Text has acquired ANZ rights to adult fiction What Gentlemen Do by Todd Babiak from Carolyn Buszynski at CookeMcDermid Agency in Canada. The “uplifting and outrageously funny story of a...
Rhiza Press acquires Riveted Press
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Rhiza Press has acquired Riveted Press in a deal that will come into effect on 1 October. In a statement, Rhiza Press said Riveted Press would continue to publish under...
Writers, industry professionals named in King’s Birthday Honours
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
The recipients of the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours have been announced. Various writers and book industry professionals are among those presented with awards. Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) ...
Anna Fienberg, Datsun Tran on 2026 IBBY Honour List
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
IBBY Australia has announced its 2026 selection for the biennial IBBY Honour List: for writing, Anna Fienberg’s Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth (Allen & Unwin, 2023), and for illustration,...
UQP acquires Tim Loveday’s “your father was a bastard”
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired world rights to your father was a bastard, the debut poetry collection by Naarm-based poet and academic Tim Loveday. According to the publisher,...
A&U acquires artist biography by Andrew Bailey
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this article contains the name of a deceased person. Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title...
Vannessa Hearman’s “The Good Sea” tops NT Writers Festival bestsellers
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Ticket sales at this year’s NT Writers Festival were lower than expected, but some sessions did sell out, with performance nights proving to be the most popular events. Held annually,...
Kaye Wright joins Woodslane
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Former Leading Edge member services manager Kaye Wright has joined distributor Woodslane as head of trade. Woodslane said the newly created head of trade role “will involve working with local...
Wilson resigns from UQP in protest at “Bila” cancellation
Thursday, 4 June 2026
University of Queensland Press (UQP) sales and distribution manager Kirsty Wilson has resigned from the role in protest at the decision of the University of Queensland (UQ) to cancel the...
A&U acquires Split Enz history
Thursday, 4 June 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Split Enz: An Adventure in Music and Design, the official history of the band Split Enz by Noel Crombie and Michael...
ACT Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Thursday, 4 June 2026
MARION has announced the shortlists for the 2026 ACT Literary Awards. The shortlisted titles are: Children’s literature Creature Corridors (Billie Rooney, illustrated by Anke Noack, CSIRO Publishing) The Drought Kangaroo...
Mossop steps down at SWF
Thursday, 4 June 2026
Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has announced that artistic director Ann Mossop will step down from her role. In a statement, SWF CEO Brooke Webb said Mossop would remain in the...
Arts participation survey 2025: More people reading at least once a week across all formats
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Creative Australia has released the results of the most recent National Arts Participation Survey, which shows that more people are engaging with reading at least once a week across all formats,...
Big Day of Books Perth 2026 program announced
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
At Big Day of Books Perth on 20 June, Western Australian radio presenters will chat to Australian authors about their new books during a live broadcast literary show. Hosted by...
Willy Lit Fest 2026 program announced
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Willy Lit Fest will run in the Williamstown Town Hall, Melbourne, from 12 to 14 June under the theme of “reflections”. The event will feature 40 sessions and almost 80...
Robinson wins 2026 UQP Quentin Bryce Award
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has announced Lenny Robinson as the winner of the 2026 UQP Quentin Bryce Award, worth $5000, for her debut novel And in the Morning. The...
