Australian Publishers Association “encouraged” by government signals as Albanese to announce Office of AI
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is today expected to deliver a major speech about AI and announce the establishment of the Office of AI in the Department of the Prime Minister...
Cultural Fund latest funding round announced
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund has awarded more than $680,000 in funding to Australian authors, visual artists, teachers and creative organisations through its 2026 grants program, supporting the creation of new...
Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards 2026 shortlists
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
The shortlists for the 2026 Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards have been announced. In 2026, a poetry award is being presented for the first time. The works are: The...
Kill Your Darlings launches poetry prize
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Literary journal Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has launched a new poetry prize. The KYD Poetry Prize is “dedicated to creating new space for the beauty, experimentation and radical linguistic potential...
Allen & Unwin acquires Sue Williams historical novel “Macarthur’s Daughters”
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired English language rights to the historical novel Macarthur’s Daughters by Sue Williams from Fiona Inglis at Curtis Brown. The novel takes as its subjects...
Local author wins “BookBrunch” Selfie award for hybrid novel
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Australian author Luke Icarus Simon has won the memoir category of the 2026 Selfies Book Awards in the UK for his hybrid novel The Art in My Palm (Stirling Publishers)....
Stella Prize increases longlist to 16
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
The Stella Prize will increase its longlist from 12 to 16 books in 2027. Each longlisted author will receive $2,000, with shortlisted authors receiving $5,000 and the overall winner awarded...
WA Premier’s Book Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
The shortlists for the 2026 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards have been announced by the State Library of Western Australia. The shortlisted books in each category are: Fiction Book of...
Celeste Wong and Melanie Bakewell awarded 2026 Writers SA Fellowships
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Writers Celeste Wong and Melanie Bakewell have been named recipients of the 2026 Writers SA Fellowships. The fellowships, offered through a partnership between Writers SA and Varuna, the National Writers’...
Hardie Grant to integrate Pantera Press titles across imprints, staff to depart
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Hardie Grant has announced that future Pantera Press titles will be published across its existing Australian publishing imprints, including Ultimo Press, Hardie Grant Books and Hardie Grant Explore. Hardie Grant...
Bridie Noonan wins EWF Speculate Prize
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Bridie Noonan has won the 2026 Speculate Prize for Emerging Writers for “The Inbetween”. Speculate Prize judges said, “Judging this award is both an honour and an exciting glimpse into...
Surf Coast Writers Festival starts strong
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
The inaugural Surf Coast Writers Festival wrapped up a successful program on Saturday 27 June in the Victorian town of Torquay. Organisers said the event attracted “hundreds of readers, aspiring...
Darby Jones wins inaugural Magabala Pride Fellowship
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Kamilaroi writer and editor Darby Jones has won the inaugural Magabala Pride Fellowship for his essay collection Country Boy. Presented by Magabala Books and Pride Foundation Australia (PFA), the fellowship...
Amsterdam University Press acquires ATF Press Publishing Group
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Amsterdam University Press has acquired independent academic publisher ATF Press Publishing Group, headquartered in Adelaide, effective 1 July 2026. The acquisition includes ATF Press’s backlist of more than 400 titles published...
Woodslane acquires Lioncrest Education
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Australian distributor Woodslane has acquired primary schools distribution business Lioncrest Education, effective 30 June 2026. Lioncrest Education represents HarperCollins UK with Collins Big Cat; Hachette UK with Reading Planet; Macmillan...
Albury wins store of the year at QBD 150-year anniversary conference
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
QBD celebrated its 150-year anniversary at its recent conference, which ran 2 to 4 June in Brisbane. Starting as the Book Depot in 1876 – established to meet the soaring...
John Reed Books moves distribution to Alliance Distribution Services
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Publisher and distributor John Reed Books will move its distribution operations to the Alliance Distribution Services (ADS) warehouse from 1 August. In a statement, ADS said the move marked an...
Small Press Network name change, website redevelopment
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
The Small Press Network (SPN) has changed its name to Independent Publishers Network Australia (IPNA), and expects to launch a redeveloped website soon. “We changed our name because we wanted...
Transit Lounge acquires Jenny Ackland’s “NORA”
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Transit Lounge has acquired world rights to NORA, the fourth novel by author and podcaster Jenny Ackland, via the Jane Novak Literary Agency. Ackland, who lived and worked in Osaka...
Text Publishing to move into PRH offices
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Text Publishing will move into the Penguin Random House (PRH) offices from next week. As previously reported, the then independent Melbourne publisher became part of PRH in 2025, but the...
Pink Shorts Press acquires Lara Day’s “Abakada”
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Pink Shorts Press has acquired ANZ rights to Abakada, a memoir by Adelaide author Lara Day. The publisher describes Abakada as “an alphabetical memoir of country hopping and linguistic longing”....
IPEd releases second edition of “Books Without Barriers”
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
The Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd) has released the second edition of accessible publishing guide Books Without Barriers, co-published with the Australian Publishers Association. The free guide provides advice about...
Sophie Higgins joins ILF board
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) has announced the appointment of Sophie Higgins to its board of directors. Recently promoted to head of sales and operations at Booktopia, Higgins has worked...
Miles Franklin Literary Award 2026 shortlist announced
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
The shortlist for the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been announced. Chosen from a longlist of 10, the shortlisted titles are: Discipline (Randa Abdel-Fattah, University of Queensland Press) First...
NielsenIQ: Local sales up $14 million for the year to date
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Book sales in the local market are up so far in 2026, representing $14 million more in sales for the first quarter of 2026 compared with 2025, with adult fiction...
OverDrive partners with ILF on digital First Languages children’s books
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
OverDrive has partnered with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) to bring First Languages children’s books to more readers through the library book app Libby and student reading app Sora. Languages...
Nam Le, Hazel Phillips receive Varuna International Exchange fellowships
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Varuna has announced the recipients for its International Exchange – New Zealand fellowship, offered in partnership with the Michael King Writers Centre and WORD Christchurch Festival with funding from Creative Australia....
Allen & Unwin acquires Ariarne Titmus memoir
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Relentless: Family, Self-belief and the Will to Win, a memoir by Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, from David Malina at IMG Talent....
Allen & Unwin acquires Human Nature memoir
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Human Nature’s memoir Only Human: Harmony Through the Hits & Hard Times, via manager Jennifer Fontaine. Pop vocal group Human Nature...
Byron Writers Festival 2026 program announced
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Byron Writers Festival has released the line-up for this year’s program, running from 14 to 16 August in Bundjalung Country, Byron Bay, NSW. Festival organisers said that with the theme...
