ACT Literary Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Thursday, 4 June 2026
MARION has announced the shortlists for the 2026 ACT Literary Awards. The shortlisted titles are: Children’s literature Creature Corridors (Billie Rooney, illustrated by Anke Noack, CSIRO Publishing) The Drought Kangaroo...
Mossop steps down at SWF
Thursday, 4 June 2026
Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has announced that artistic director Ann Mossop will step down from her role. In a statement, SWF CEO Brooke Webb said Mossop would remain in the...
Creative Australia releases arts survey results
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Creative Australia has released the results of the most recent National Arts Participation Survey; Big Day of Books Perth will broadcast on ABC Radio; this year’s Willy Lit Fest program will...
Fiction Over Reality on bookshop life in Queensland’s Wellington Point
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Late last year, new bookstore Fiction Over Reality opened in the seaside suburb of Wellington Point in Queensland. Owner Aimee Boyd spoke with Books+Publishing about the first months of operation and...
Arts participation survey 2025: More people reading at least once a week across all formats
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Creative Australia has released the results of the most recent National Arts Participation Survey, which shows that more people are engaging with reading at least once a week across all formats,...
Big Day of Books Perth 2026 program announced
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
At Big Day of Books Perth on 20 June, Western Australian radio presenters will chat to Australian authors about their new books during a live broadcast literary show. Hosted by...
No newsletter on Monday
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Books+Publishing will not publish a newsletter on Monday, 8 June due to the King’s Birthday public holiday. The deadline for job ads and classifieds for next Wednesday’s Weekly Book Newsletter...
Wiley acquisition of Emerald Publishing “deepens Wiley’s proprietary content position” for AI use
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
The US-based publishing company Wiley has bought UK-based Emerald Publishing from Cambridge Information Group for £337 million, reports the Bookseller, adding that the acquisition expands Wiley’s journal portfolio to approximately...
Willy Lit Fest 2026 program announced
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Willy Lit Fest will run in the Williamstown Town Hall, Melbourne, from 12 to 14 June under the theme of “reflections”. The event will feature 40 sessions and almost 80...
Robinson wins 2026 UQP Quentin Bryce Award
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has announced Lenny Robinson as the winner of the 2026 UQP Quentin Bryce Award, worth $5000, for her debut novel And in the Morning. The...
NZSA Ngā Kaituhi Māori Mentorship recipients announced
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Ngā Kaituhi Māori and the New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (NZSA) have announced the recipients of the 2026 NZSA Ngā Kaituhi Māori Mentorship program, and...
Annie’s Books on Peregian relocates
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Annie’s Books on Peregian, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has relocated. The bookshop has moved just a few doors from its original store, according to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA). Co-owner...
S&S acquires Kieran Kennedy’s “This Explains Everything”
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired This Explains Everything: A Psychiatrist’s Guide to Navigating Adult ADHD by psychiatrist Kieran Kennedy. According to the publisher, the book draws on the...
Bacon fiction and nonfiction shortlisted for British Fantasy Awards
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
African Australian author Eugen Bacon is among those whose works have been shortlisted in the 2026 British Fantasy Awards. “Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity: Finding the Self in...
Lewis, Daut win James Tait Black prizes
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
In the UK, Shady Lewis and Marlene L Daut have been awarded the James Tait Black Prizes for fiction and biography, respectively. Lewis was awarded the fiction prize for the...
“Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath” sells to France
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
French language rights for S Shakthidharan’s memoir, Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath (Powerhouse Publishing), have been sold to Le Bruit du Monde. Le Bruit du Monde CEO Marie-Pierre...
Allen & Unwin acquires Evonne Goolagong Cawley memoir
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Only Ever Evonne by Evonne Goolagong Cawley. In the memoir, Goolagong Cawley shares memories of her childhood in Barellan, where she grew...
Thames & Hudson moves Aotearoa distribution to Bookreps NZ
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Thames & Hudson Australia (T&H) has announced it will move its Aotearoa New Zealand distribution to Bookreps NZ, effective 1 August. Distribution of T&H titles in the country is currently...
Allen & Unwin acquires Zoe Foster Blake’s “Group Chat”
Monday, 1 June 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Group Chat by Zoë Foster Blake, in a deal brokered by Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown. Described by the publisher as “part...
“Gliff” wins 2026 Dublin Literary Award
Monday, 1 June 2026
Scottish author Ali Smith has won the 2026 Dublin Literary Award for her novel Gliff (Hamish Hamilton), receiving the €100,000 prize. At the award ceremony, Dublin Lord Mayor Ray McAdam...
Wright leaves Leading Edge as part of restructure
Monday, 1 June 2026
Leading Edge member services manager Kaye Wright has left the business and will not be replaced in the role. Leading Edge head of books Leanne Kadareanu told Books+Publishing that Wright’s...
The Dick and Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History 2026 shortlist announced
Monday, 1 June 2026
The shortlist for the biennial Dick and Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History, worth $25,000, has been announced. The works shortlisted for the award are: Umarrah & George: Friendship...
Pantera Press acquires “The Curator” by Jonathan Butler
Monday, 1 June 2026
Pantera Press has acquired world rights to “gripping true crime investigation” The Curator by Jonathan Butler. Part murder mystery, part queer history, and part portrait of Melbourne’s art world, the...
Local authors shortlisted for UK Dagger crime writing awards
Monday, 1 June 2026
Local authors Sam Guthrie, Laura McCluskey, and Zoë Rankin are among those whose works have been shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers’ Association’s (CWA) 2026 Dagger Awards. The authors were...
Aotearoa New Zealand 2026 Book Industry Awards finalists announced
Monday, 1 June 2026
The finalists in Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2026 Book Industry Awards, presented by Booksellers Aotearoa NZ and the Publishers Association of New Zealand Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ), have been announced....
DANZ Children’s Book Award 2026 shortlists announced
Monday, 1 June 2026
The 2026 shortlists for the DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award have been announced by the Australian School Library Association (ASLA). Chosen from previously announced longlists,...
Ractliffe joins The Pilkington Agency, expanded role for Cottrell
Monday, 1 June 2026
The Pilkington Agency has announced that former Hachette Australia managing director Justin Ractliffe has joined the business as a literary agent, while rights agent Alice Cottrell’s role “will be expanded”....
Simon & Schuster acquires Vasiliou’s “Better Man”
Thursday, 28 May 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to Better Man by Ben Vasiliou, in a deal negotiated by Daniel Pilkington of The Pilkington Agency. The “practical guide to...
ABC Radio National countdown to focus on Australian books
Thursday, 28 May 2026
This year, ABC Radio National’s annual Top 100 Books Countdown will focus on the theme “Australian books”, both fiction and nonfiction. The ABC said the countdown’s definition of Australian was...
French book chains file for receivership amid falling sales
Thursday, 28 May 2026
In France, the owner of two bookstore chains has announced it will file for receivership, reports the Bookseller. The news that Nosoli, the owner of bookstore chains Le Furet du...
