‘Tentative agreement’ in Anthropic copyright lawsuit
Monday, 1 September 2025
AI company Anthropic has reportedly reached a preliminary agreement with attorneys representing authors and publishers in a class action lawsuit, reported Publishers Weekly (PW). Anthropic has been charged with illegally using...
Readings 2025 Children’s Fiction Prize
Monday, 1 September 2025
Readings has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Readings Children's Fiction Prize. The shortlisted titles are: Big Trouble with Angry Chairs (Lachlann Carter & Douglas Holgate, HGCP) Brightest Wild (Tania...
Readings 2025 Young Adult Prize shortlist
Monday, 1 September 2025
Readings has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Readings Young Adult Prize, for the best new contribution to Australian young adult literature. This year’s six shortlisted books are: Aisle Nine...
WestWords Varuna Emerging Writers Residency 2025 recipients
Monday, 1 September 2025
Varuna, the National Writers' House has announced the recipients of the 2025 WestWords Varuna Emerging Writers Residency. The four recipients are: Jasmine Baker for work on multiple projects including poetry,...
Oratia celebrates 25 years, launches Five Oceans imprint
Monday, 1 September 2025
Aotearoa New Zealand independent publisher Oratia Media has announced the launch of a new imprint, Five Oceans. The imprint will publish literary nonfiction and children’s books from ‘cultures whose works...
Fyfe wins ‘Book of the Year’ at 2025 WA Premier’s Book Awards
Monday, 1 September 2025
The winners of the 2025 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards have been announced. The awards, presented on 29 August at the State Library of Western Australia, included four new categories...
Recommended reads for Father’s Day
Friday, 29 August 2025
As Father’s Day approaches – one of the busiest times of the year for book sales – Books+Publishing reviews editor Jess Lomas highlights recent reviewer favourites that make perfect gifts...
US publishing sales: ‘modest gains’ in 2024
Thursday, 28 August 2025
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has announced its final publishing industry sales estimates for 2024. In 2024, total sales ‘rose 4.1%, to $32.5 billion (A$50b)’ from the 1281 publishers...
Call for submissions: A how-to guide for responding to government
Thursday, 28 August 2025
In the wake of the Productivity Commission’s (PC) first report on AI, and its request for more industry contributions via submissions, Books+Publishing reached out to the Copyright Agency to help...
Ditmar Awards ballot announced
Thursday, 28 August 2025
The Ditmar subcommittee has announced the Ditmar Award ballot for works celebrating Australian science fiction. The shortlisted works include: Best Novel Blood Covenant (Alan Baxter, Cemetery Dance Publications) The Escher...
Sullivan named 2025–2028 Aotearoa New Zealand Poet Laureate
Thursday, 28 August 2025
Robert Sullivan (Ngāpuhi, Kāi Tahu) of Ōamaru has been named the Aotearoa New Zealand Poet Laureate for 2025–2028. Sullivan is a poet, writer, editor and academic, and the current president...
Northern Territory Literary Awards 2025 shortlists announced
Thursday, 28 August 2025
The Northern Territory Literary Awards 2025 shortlists have been announced. Chosen from over 240 entries, the shortlisted writers are: Brown’s Mart Theatre ($1000) Jada Alberts for ‘Black light’ Ryanna Clayton...
St Joseph’s College Devagiri Library: A door to the future
Thursday, 28 August 2025
With libraries, their work, and free access to information under increasing threat around the world, B+P and the Melbourne UNESCO City of Literature Office reached out to libraries in other designated cities of...
Roche wins 2025 Moth Short Story Prize
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
The Moth magazine has announced Australian author Clare Roche as the winner of the 2025 Moth Short Story Prize for ‘(Un)Tethered’. Roche will receive €3,000 (A$5376), and ‘(Un)Tethered’ will be...
S&S CEO to step down, launch Simon Six imprint
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
In the US, Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp has announced he will step down to launch and lead a new imprint, Simon Six, reported Publishers Weekly (PW) yesterday. Karp will...
International Literary Programmers Roundtable set to return to Melbourne
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
The Melbourne City of Literature office has announced that its International Literary Programmers Roundtable initiative will return in 2026. In this fifth iteration of the program, six participants from literary...
Danger Awards 2025 shortlists announced
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
The BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival has announced the shortlists for the 2025 Danger Awards. Shortlisted titles in each category are: Debut crime fiction What I Would Do to You...
Readings 2025 New Australian Fiction Prize shortlist announced
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Readings has announced the shortlist for the 2025 Readings New Australian Fiction Prize. This year’s six shortlisted books are: The Confidence Woman (Sophie Quick, A&U) Edenhope (Louise Le Nay, Text)...
A&U acquires New Blue Ribbon Cookbook
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world English rights to The New Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Liz Harfull, in a deal brokered by Fiona Inglis at Curtis Brown. ‘Every year thousands...
Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival announces 2025 program
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
The full program for the 2025 Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival, which runs 31 October–2 November, has been announced. With the theme 'a path to wonder', the 2025 program includes more...
Polari Prize ‘paused’ following author, judge withdrawals
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
In the UK, the Polari Prize organisation has announced that the 2025 awards are ‘paused’, reported Book Brunch. This follows news earlier this month that more than half of the...
Australian World Heritage Residency Program supports ‘Wet Tropics of Queensland’ project
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Amanda Niehaus (on behalf of Science Write Now) has been announced as one of three recipients of the inaugural Australian World Heritage Residency Program for the project ‘Wet Tropics of...
UWAP acquires ‘Mother Salad’ by Pantsis
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
UWA Publishing (UWAP) has acquired world rights to Mother Salad, a collection of short stories by Helena Pantsis. ‘Mother Salad is a series of small fictions that explore the plights...
WestWords announces new CYA manuscript prize
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
WestWords has announced the Libby Gleeson Prize for Children’s Literature, a new biennial prize for an unpublished manuscript for children or young adults. The winning manuscript is set to be...
David Allen named Dymocks CEO
Monday, 25 August 2025
Dymocks has announced the appointment of David Allen as its new CEO, effective from Monday 8 September 2025. Allen replaces outgoing CEO Mark Newman, who announced his departure earlier this...
yinfluence editorial agency relaunches
Monday, 25 August 2025
Editorial agency yinfluence has announced an expansion from a solo practice into ‘collective of freelance editors dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices in fiction’, including people of colour and queer and...
Copyright Agency relaunches industry grants
Monday, 25 August 2025
The Copyright Agency has announced the launch of the Publishing Fellowships – an updated extension of its previous Publishing Industry Career Development grants (PICD), which were paused during the pandemic....
Sanders wins the 2025 NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award
Monday, 25 August 2025
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (NZSA) has announced Cristina Sanders as the winner of the 2025 NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award, worth NZ$5000. Sanders is...
Atlantic Books acquires Grey’s next novel
Monday, 25 August 2025
Atlantic Books Australia, a division of Allen & Unwin, has acquired UK/ANZ rights to Start at the End by Emma Grey, in a two-book deal brokered by Anjanette Fennell at Key...
Denmark drops taxes on books to combat reading crisis
Monday, 25 August 2025
The Danish government announced it will abolish a 25% sales tax on books, ‘in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”’, reported the BBC. The move to abolish the tax...
