‘In the Clearing’ to become Disney+ drama series
Wednesday, 18 May 2022
A series adaptation of In the Clearing by J P Pomare (Hachette) has been acquired by Disney for its streaming service Disney+. Pomare's 2019 novel is a fictionalised account of...
ABA 2022 Bookseller of the Year shortlists announced
Wednesday, 18 May 2022
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced the shortlists for the 2022 ABA Bookseller of the Year awards. The awards recognise an individual bookseller for their outstanding achievement in the...
New PRH longform mentoring program
Wednesday, 11 May 2022
The Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas (JNI) has partnered with Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) and the Copyright Agency on a new initiative to provide practical experience and...
EWF 2022 program announced
Wednesday, 11 May 2022
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) has revealed its 2022 festival program, which will take place from 15–25 June 2022. Following EWF’s successful pivot to an online format in response to...
Pantera acquires Madigan book on stalking
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
Pantera Press has acquired world rights for Obsession: The psychology of stalking by journalist Nicole Madigan, from Jeanne Ryckmans at Cameron's Management. In Obsession, Madigan tells the story of how...
Centre for Stories Writing Fellowships 2022 winners announced
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
The Centre for Stories has announced the winners of the 2022 Centre for Stories Writing Fellowships. The six winning writers are: Ana Brawls, for a manuscript of literary fiction Melanie...
‘The Dictionary of Lost Words’ picked for Reese’s Book Club
Wednesday, 4 May 2022
Pip Williams’ novel The Dictionary of Lost Words (Affirm) is the first Australian book to be selected for Reese’s Book Club. US actor and producer Reese Witherspoon founded the book...
‘Sorrow and Bliss’ shortlisted for 2022 Women’s Prize
Thursday, 28 April 2022
Sydney-based Aotearoa New Zealand writer Meg Mason has been shortlisted for the £30,000 (A$52,800) Women’s Prize for Fiction for her second novel Sorrow and Bliss (Fourth Estate). First published in...
Byng joins HGCP as publisher
Thursday, 28 April 2022
Chren Byng has been appointed publisher at Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP). Currently head of head of Australian children’s publishing at HarperCollins, Byng will work from Hardie Grant's Sydney office...
Macquarie University launches author survey
Thursday, 28 April 2022
Macquarie University has launched a national survey investigating the practices of Australian authors in the contemporary national and international book industry. The survey, which follows on from a similar study...
Dorothy Hewett Award 2022 shortlist announced
Thursday, 28 April 2022
UWA Publishing (UWAP) has announced the shortlist for the 2022 Dorothy Hewett Award for an unpublished manuscript. The winner receives $10,000 prize money, as well as manuscript development and a...
UQP acquires van Neerven nonfiction book on sport
Thursday, 21 April 2022
UQP has acquired world rights to Personal Score, the first work of nonfiction by writer and poet Ellen van Neerven. Described by the publisher as a ‘groundbreaking look at sport...
MKWC, Varuna announce new residency for NZ writers
Wednesday, 13 April 2022
Varuna, the National Writers House and the Michael King Writers Centre (MKWC), Aotearoa New Zealand's national writers' facility, have announced a new residency for New Zealand writers. Open to mid-career...
Walker aquires Foster, Gordon middle-grade novel
Wednesday, 13 April 2022
Walker Books Australia has acquired world rights to Small Acts, a middle-grade novel by neurodiverse authors Kate Foster and Kate Gordon. Described by the publisher as 'a gentle tale that...
Nonfiction picture books popular at ‘phenomenal’ Bologna
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
The 2022 Bologna Children's Book Fair wrapped up on 24 March, the first time the event was held in three years. ‘The event was much smaller than before Covid, and...
Centre for Stories announces new international writing fellowship
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
The Centre for Stories has announced a new international writing fellowship for writers living outside Australia. Valued at $30,000, the Patricia Kailis International Writing Fellowship offers a three-month paid residency...
Dymocks Parramatta under new ownership
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
Dymocks Parramatta, located in Westfield Parramatta, has been sold by Perry Lennon after 21 years of ownership. Parramatta local Shaveta Sharma took over management on Friday, 1 April and will...
LBF sees some Australian publishers returning in person
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
After more than two years attending rights fairs virtually, several Australian publishers will be attending London Book Fair (LBF) in person when it runs in the UK next week from...
Staff changes at Hardie Grant
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Hardie Grant has announced several staffing changes. From next month, current managing director of Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) Troy Lewis will become the company's first people and culture director,...
A&U acquires Yong debut YA novel
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Allen & Unwin has acquired ANZ rights to Sydney author Leanne Yong’s debut young adult novel Two Can Play that Game, in a deal brokered by Andrea Cascardi of Transatlantic...
CBCA 2022 Book of the Year shortlists announced
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced its 2022 Book of the Year shortlists. The shortlisted books in each category are: Older readers The Boy from the Mish (Gary...
ABIA 2022 longlists announced
Wednesday, 23 March 2022
The longlists for the 2022 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) have been announced. The titles longlisted in each category are: General fiction book of the year After Story (Larissa Behrendt,...
PANZ launches New Zealand Books website
Wednesday, 23 March 2022
The Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) has launched a new website, NewZealandBooks.com, to ‘overcome the tyranny of distance and the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19...
Beatnik named Bologna publisher of the year, Oceania
Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Aotearoa New Zealand publisher Beatnik Publishing is the winner of the Oceania category of the 2022 Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year. The Bologna Children’s Book...
Scribble, Think+DO Tank Foundation announce Mirror Mentorship program details
Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Scribe children's imprint Scribble and Sydney-based Think+DO Tank Foundation, which runs multilingual bookshop Lost in Books, have released details of their Mirror Mentorship program, supported by Australia Council funding. The...
Perth Festival Literature & Ideas program: ‘a joy’ despite Covid restrictions, border closures
Thursday, 17 March 2022
Perth Festival's 2022 Writers Weekend, running across 26–27 February in the gardens of Fremantle Arts Centre (FAC), attracted over 6500 attendees to sessions featuring guests both in person or by...
Pandiella joins Welbeck ANZ
Thursday, 17 March 2022
Welbeck ANZ has announced the appointment of Anabel Pandiella as head of publicity and marketing. Pandiella joins the publisher from Simon & Schuster (S&S), where she was appointed marketing and...
Nielsen: Manga, romance, sci-fi drive Aus market growth in 2021
Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Overall growth in value in the Australian book market—which was up 2.5% in value to $1.3 billion in 2021 compared to 2020—has been driven by adult fiction, and most notably...
ASA, writers festivals receive RISE funding
Wednesday, 9 March 2022
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA), the Australian Short Story Festival and the Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival have each received funding in the seventh and final round of...
Chidgey, Mason longlisted for 2022 Women’s Prize
Wednesday, 9 March 2022
Aotearoa New Zealand writers Catherine Chidgey and Meg Mason have been longlisted for the £30,000 (A$54,000) Women’s Prize for Fiction. Chidgey, the author of six novels, is longlisted for Remote Sympathy,...
