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Aotearoa New Zealand publishers represented at Frankfurt

Thursday, 3 October 2024
Five publishers are exhibiting at the Frankfurt Book Fair as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand collective stand. The stand will be managed by Publishers Association of New Zealand Te...

A&U acquires Gorry memoir

Thursday, 3 October 2024
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Katrina Gorry: A Matildas Hero’s Story of Football, Motherhood and Breaking Down Barriers, written by Katrina Gorry with Robert Wainwright, in...

Booktopia to build podcast studio, loyalty program

Wednesday, 2 October 2024
Booktopia is building a podcast studio to create ‘exclusive audio content’ for its customers, alongside a loyalty program, reports the Australian. New owner Shant Kradjian told the masthead that the...

Hardie Grant launches Figment imprint

Wednesday, 2 October 2024
Hardie Grant is launching Figment—a new, dedicated graphic novel imprint, which will begin publishing in 2025. One of the first graphic novel imprints in Australian trade publishing, Figment will be led...

ARA Historical Novel Prize shortlists announced

Wednesday, 2 October 2024
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the shortlists for the 2024 ARA Historical Novel Prize. Shortlisted titles, selected from longlists announced last month, are: Adult The Unearthed (Lenny...

Paice wins ACU Poetry Prize

Wednesday, 2 October 2024
Kiama-based poet and author Christine Paice has won the $10,000 Australian Catholic University (ACU) Prize for Poetry for a poem about the death of her mother. The winning poem, ‘Gabriel...

Rural and regional writers festival round-up

Tuesday, 1 October 2024
Headland Writers Festival will run from 18–20 October in Tathra, New South Wales. Described as 'a celebration of reading, writing, sharing stories and indulging the mind', this year's festival will...

Several Pantera staff moving to Hardie Grant

Tuesday, 1 October 2024
Hardie Grant, which last week announced it agreed to acquire Pantera Press, has confirmed it has ‘retained the employment of key publishing and marketing staff to drive forward the business’....

Matuku wins inaugural NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award

Monday, 30 September 2024
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) (NZSA) has announced Steph Matuku as the inaugural winner of the $5000 NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award....

Graphic novel publishing guide released by Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellow

Monday, 30 September 2024
Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellow Sophie Splatt has produced a guide to graphic novel publishing. The report, titled ‘Graphic Novels: Can We Grow Them at Home? The Editing and Publishing of Graphic...

PRH acquires Chidgey dystopian fiction ‘The Book of Guilt’

Thursday, 26 September 2024
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has acquired Australian rights to dystopian novel The Book of Guilt by Aotearoa New Zealand writer Catherine Chidgey. The novel will be published in New...

Magabala to move sales and distribution to Hachette and ADS

Thursday, 26 September 2024
Magabala Books has announced a partnership with Hachette Australia for sales representation, and Alliance Distribution Services (ADS) for distribution services, beginning February 2025. Said Magabala CEO Lilly Brown: ‘Hachette’s commitment...

Ned Kelly Awards 2024 winners announced

Thursday, 26 September 2024
The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2024 Ned Kelly Awards winners. The winning works in each category, chosen from shortlists announced in August, are: Best crime fiction Darling...

Hage Award for First Nations Writers 2024 winners announced

Thursday, 26 September 2024
Sweatshop Literacy Movement has announced the winners of the inaugural Hage Award for First Nations Writers. The winners of the award are Murrawarri hip hop artist DOBBY and Wiradjuri writer...

Hardie Grant acquires Pantera Press

Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Hardie Grant has signed an agreement to acquire Pantera Press. Completion of the sale is set for 30 September, subject to customary closing conditions. Founded in 2008 by the Green...

HQ acquires James debut, ‘Second Skin’

Wednesday, 25 September 2024
HQ, a division of HarperCollins Australia, has acquired ANZ rights to Arianne James’ debut gothic novel, Second Skin, via Abigail Nathan at Alex Adsett Literary. A finalist in the 2024 ASA/HQ Fiction...

Newcastle Poetry Prize 2024 winners announced

Tuesday, 24 September 2024
The Hunter Writers’ Centre has announced the winners of the 2024 Newcastle Poetry Prize. Winning pieces include: First prize ($15,000) ‘Dombóvár’ by Christopher (Kit) Kelen Second prize ($5000) ‘Welcome Swallow’...

Kostakis appointed to PLR Committee

Tuesday, 24 September 2024
Author Will Kostakis has been appointed to the Public Lending Right (PLR) Committee for a four-year term as an author representative. Minister for the Arts Tony Burke said: ‘Will is...

PRH acquires Westerfeld, Larbalestier novel ‘The Mortons’

Tuesday, 24 September 2024
Penguin Random House (PRH) Australia has acquired ANZ rights to The Mortons by Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier in a two-book deal at auction, via Jill Grinberg Literary Management. The Mortons was...

Affirm acquires Lefevre’s memoir

Tuesday, 24 September 2024
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Carol Lefevre’s memoir Bloomer, via literary agent Fran Moore. Lefevre is a visiting research fellow at the University of Adelaide, where she gained...

Chief Minister’s NT Book Awards shortlist announced

Monday, 23 September 2024
The shortlists for the 2024 Chief Minister’s NT Book Awards have been announced. Shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction futurespective (Sophie Benkemoun, Travel Maker Press) Hush (Ciella Williams, Playlab...

‘Rewi’ wins best book at PANZ Book Design Awards

Monday, 23 September 2024
The winners in the 2024 New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu Publishers Association (PANZ) Book Design Awards have been announced, with Māori and Pasifika designers winning the top honours. Winners...

Leckie awarded 2024 NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship

Monday, 23 September 2024
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) has announced Jacqueline Leckie as the recipient of the 2024 NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship,...

De Tores wins 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize

Monday, 23 September 2024
In the UK, Australian author Francesca de Tores has won the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for Best Published Novel for her novel Saltblood (Bloomsbury). De Tores’ novel charts...

City of Fremantle Hungerford Award 2024 shortlist announced

Monday, 23 September 2024
The shortlist for the 2024 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award has been announced. Shortlisted manuscripts include: ‘Far From Wonderful’, a fiction work by Howard McKenzie-Murray ‘Screech’, a fiction work by...

Canberra Writers Festival 2024 program announced

Thursday, 19 September 2024
Canberra Writers Festival (CWF) has announced its program for the 2024 festival, to be held on 23–27 October, featuring over 100 guests. Among guests speaking at the event are Tim...

The Brand Licensing Group to distribute Phidal children’s books

Thursday, 19 September 2024
Victorian wholesaler The Brand Licensing Group has partnered with Canadian children’s publisher Phidal Publishing to distribute its books into the Australian market, beginning October. Phidal's list includes books for younger...