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Larrikin House acquires two graphic novels

Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Larrikin House has acquired world rights to two graphic novels set for release in 2024. One title is Ultra Violet by Cristy Burne, illustrated by Rebel Challenger, which ‘follows Violet, a science...

Hachette acquires Blakiston and Hawkins nonfiction debut

Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Hachette has acquired ANZ rights to Make It Make Sense, a debut nonfiction book from Shit You Should Care About (SYSCA) writers Lucy Blakiston and Bel Hawkins, via Abigail Bergstrom...

Tighe wins 2023 Varuna-NEWC Fellowship

Tuesday, 10 October 2023
The New England Writers’ Centre (NEWC)—in partnership with Varuna, the National Writers’ House—has announced Matthew Tighe as the winner of the 2023 Varuna-NEWC Fellowship. Tighe will work on his steampunk...

Rainbow Road board books recalled

Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Eight books in the Rainbow Road board book series, published by Make Believe Ideas, are being recalled because of concerns they could cause a choking hazard. In a statement published...

Writing WA to present 2024 Perth Writers Weekend

Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Perth Festival has formed a partnership with Writing WA to present the Perth Writers Weekend at Perth Festival 2024. To be held on 23–25 February 2024, the revamped Writers Weekend...

Kayser appointed Murdoch Books publisher

Monday, 9 October 2023
Murdoch Books has appointed Melissa Kayser as publisher, in a newly created position. Kayser, who will be based in Melbourne, joins Murdoch from Hardie Grant, where she was most recently...

Fearnley awarded NZ$10,000 NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship

Monday, 9 October 2023
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) has announced Laurence Fearnley as the recipient of the 2023 NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson Fellowship,...

Doig wins NZ$25,000 CLNZ/NZSA Writers’ Award

Monday, 9 October 2023
Tom Doig has been awarded the 2023 Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) Writers’ Award,...

Holland-Batt wins 2023 Margaret and Colin Roderick Award

Monday, 9 October 2023
Sarah Holland-Batt has won the $30,000 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award for her poetry collection, The Jaguar (UQP). ‘It’s rare for a volume of poetry to be so coherent:...

Leane wins 2023 David Harold Tribe Poetry Award

Monday, 9 October 2023
Jeanine Leane has won the University of Sydney's 2023 David Harold Tribe Poetry Award, worth $20,000. Leane's poem 'Water under the bridge' was chosen from a record of 522 poems,...

Bendigo moves back to August

Friday, 6 October 2023
Bendigo Writers Festival has announced it will return to an August time slot for its 2024 event, with festival director Rosemary Sorensen leaving the role. The three-day festival will next...

Love Your Bookshop Day to celebrate ‘Giving the Gift of Imagination’

Friday, 6 October 2023
This year’s Love Your Bookshop Day (LYBD) is taking place this Saturday, 7 October, under the theme ‘Giving the Gift of Imagination’. BookPeople is encouraging Australian communities to support and...

HarperCollins acquires Wilson memoir

Thursday, 5 October 2023
HarperCollins has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to actor Rebel Wilson’s memoir Rebel Rising, via Matilda Forbes Watson at WME, reports the Bookseller. HarperCollins UK managing director and publisher Sarah...

Antigny steps down at Pantera, Draper promoted

Thursday, 5 October 2023
Pantera Press has announced the promotion of senior publicist Lauren Draper to the role of head of publicity and communications, as publicity director Léa Antigny steps down to 'move in...

Affirm acquires Brissenden novel

Thursday, 5 October 2023
Affirm has acquired ANZ rights to Smoke, a new crime thriller from journalist Michael Brissenden, via Shane Salerno and Daniel Pilkington of The Story Factory. The publisher described Smoke as...

HarperCollins signs Rogers follow-up in two-book deal

Thursday, 5 October 2023
HarperCollins Publishers Australia has acquired ANZ rights to a new novel, The Anatomy of Tears, from Megan Rogers—author of The Heart Is a Star—in a two-book deal brokered by Benython...

Spotify offers Australian subscribers 15 hours of audiobooks per month

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Music streaming platform Spotify has announced it is making over 150,000 audiobooks available to its premium subscribers in Australia and the UK, who will receive 15 hours of listening per...

Beveridge wins $10k ACU Poetry Prize

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Sydney-based poet Judith Beveridge has won the $10,000 Australian Catholic University (ACU) Prize for Poetry for her poem ‘Two Houses’. Responding to this year’s theme of ‘Love’, Beveridge’s poem is...

Magabala to offer two $10k AIC Creative Grants

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Magabala Books will offer two $10,000 creative grants for First Nations storytellers, writers, illustrators and artists, in partnership with Australian Indigenous Coffee (AIC). The publisher said the grants ‘are intended...

Inaugural ABDA ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship opens for applications

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
The Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) has opened applications for its ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship, after its initial announcement at the Australian Book Design Awards. The 'Baseline' program is a paid...

Europa Editions acquires new Azar novel

Tuesday, 3 October 2023
Europa Editions has acquired world rights to a new novel by Iranian-Australian author and journalist Shokoofeh Azar, via Europa editor in chief Michael Reynolds, in a deal brokered by Victoria...

Drama series inspired by ‘Fake’ to screen next year

Tuesday, 3 October 2023
An eight-part drama series inspired by journalist Stephanie Wood’s 2019 nonfiction book Fake (Penguin) will screen on Paramount+ in 2024. Fake has been created for TV by screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf and...

2023 Ditmar Award winners announced

Monday, 2 October 2023
The winners of the 2023 Ditmar Awards were announced on 30 September, as part of the 2023 Australian National Science Fiction Convention in Canberra. These awards recognise achievement in Australian...

ASA responds to use of Australian books to train AI

Thursday, 28 September 2023
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has responded to the large-scale unauthorised use of books by Australian authors in a dataset used to train generative artificial intelligence. The training dataset,...

APA releases AI statement

Thursday, 28 September 2023
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has released a statement ‘responding to the rapid advances in artificial intelligence’, seeking a focus on ethics, transparency, incentives and protections, and responsibility. Coming amidst...