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Staff changes at Thames & Hudson 

T&H logo Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Thames & Hudson Australia commercial director Justin Ractliffe and senior campaign manager Lucy Inglis have left the business, with sales manager Bianca Jafari promoted to the newly created role of...

Allen & Unwin acquires Wills’s “Dopamining”

Black and white photograph of Samantha Wills Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Allen and Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Dopamining by Samantha Wills, via Samuel Bernard at Zeitgeist Agency. Part memoir and part cultural commentary, Dopamining examines “how we became...

ALS Gold Medal 2026 shortlist announced

Image of the ALS Gold Medal Wednesday, 27 May 2026
The shortlist for the 2026 ALS Gold Medal, awarded by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, has been announced. The shortlisted works are: Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, University of...

Riveted Press acquires Sandhu middle-grade fiction

Photo of Jo Sandhu Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Riveted Press has acquired world rights to Khet and the Medallion of Ra by Jo Sandhu, via a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Queensland pitch event. The...

Miles Franklin 2026 longlist announced

A graphic image including the covers of the titles longlisted for the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award Wednesday, 20 May 2026
The longlist for the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been announced. Longlisted titles for the $60,000 prize are: Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, University of Queensland Press) I Want Everything (Dominic...

Macdonald wins 2026 Pixie O’Harris Award

Picture of Paul Macdonald with ABIA logo Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Paul Macdonald has been named as the recipient of the 2026 Pixie O’Harris Award in the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA). The outgoing president of the Children’s Book Council of...

Fox wins 2026 Lloyd O’Neil Award

Photograph of Mem Fox with ABIA 2026 logo Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Mem Fox has been named as the recipient of the 2026 Lloyd O’Neil Award in the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA). Fox has written more than 40 books for children,...

Blake Poetry Prize 2026 winner announced

Chen Wang Wednesday, 13 May 2026
Chen Wang has won the 69th Blake Poetry Prize, worth $5000, for his poem “The Woman Who Refused the Kingdom of Forgetting”. Chen Wang is a Melbourne-based medical student whose...

Palka joins Better Reading 

Photograph of Natika Palka standing in front of a white brick wall Wednesday, 13 May 2026
Better Reading has appointed Natika Palka as head of marketing and growth. Palka was previously head of marketing and publicity at Thames & Hudson Australia. In the newly created role...

Allen & Unwin acquires Ryan’s “Eleven”

Photograph of Christian Ryan Wednesday, 13 May 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Eleven: We Burn Them in the Sun by Christian Ryan. The narrative nonfiction title about cricket is “a hugely creative work...

Silvey pleads guilty, some charges dropped 

Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Author Craig Silvey has pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material, the ABC reported yesterday. Silvey appeared in Fremantle Magistrates Court on Tuesday, pleading guilty to two charges. Two...

Wakefield acquires Lenoir-Jourdan’s “Saltblood”

Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Wakefield Press has acquired ANZ rights to the debut YA novel Saltblood by Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan, via Martin Shaw of Shaw Literary. Described by the publisher as “Puberty Blues meets Looking...

Affirm Press acquires Byrt’s “Dying Days”

Anthony Byrt Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Simon & Schuster imprint Affirm Press has acquired world rights to spy novel Dying Days by Aotearoa New Zealand author Anthony Byrt, via Nadine Rubin Nathan at High Spot Literary. Dying...

Rabah wins 2026 Calibre Essay Prize

Photograph of Sahar Rabah Wednesday, 29 April 2026
The Australian Book Review (ABR) has announced Sahar Rabah as the 2026 winner of the $10,000 Calibre Essay Prize for her essay “Between Reality and Dreams”. “Between Reality and Dreams”...

Bakers Lane acquires Strauss’s “Holding Space”

Picture of Gina Strauss Wednesday, 22 April 2026
Bakers Lane Books has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title Holding Space by Gina Strauss. The publisher described Holding Space as a “hybrid memoir and professional guide offering reflections...

Messy Press wins Bologna Prize for Oceania

Wednesday, 15 April 2026
Aotearoa New Zealand children’s publisher Messy Press has won the 2026 Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year in the Oceania region, announced as part of the...

The Age Book of the Year 2026 shortlists announced

the age logo Wednesday, 15 April 2026
The shortlists for the 2026 Age Book of the Year awards have been announced. Shortlisted works in each category are: Fiction Fierceland (Omar Musa, Penguin) The Immigrants (Moreno Giovannoni, Black Inc.) Out of the...

Ball appointed UQP publishing director 

Ben Ball in front of greenery Wednesday, 15 April 2026
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has announced the appointment of Ben Ball as publishing director “after an extensive recruitment process”. Ball takes over from Madonna Duffy who was appointed UQP...

ALIA National Conference 2026 program announced

Rosehill NSW Wednesday, 8 April 2026
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) will hold its national conference on 11 to 14 May 2026 at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. ALIA has decided not to have an...

Cultivate mentorship 2026 winners announced

Photograph of Huyen Hac Helen Tran standing in front of greenery Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Writing NSW has announced the winners of the 2026 Cultivate Mentorship Program for First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Emerging Writers. Developed by Writing NSW to “help build equity...

A&U acquires Keane’s “Seize the Moment”

Photograph of Bernard Keane Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Seize the Moment, a nonfiction title by Bernard Keane. According to the publisher, the book examines “how Australia can prosper in...

 

 

 

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