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National Book Awards 2021 winners

Friday, 19 November 2021
In the US, the winners of the 2021 National Book Awards have been announced. The winning titles in each category are: Fiction Hell of a Book (Jason Mott, Trapeze) Nonfiction All...

Apolonio wins 2021 Deborah Cass Prize

Friday, 19 November 2021
Bryant Apolonio has won Writers Victoria’s 2021 Deborah Cass prize for his story ‘Independencia’. Apolonio’s story was chosen from a shortlist of nine, He receives $3000 and a mentorship to assist in...

PANZ Book Design Awards 2021 winners announced

Friday, 19 November 2021
The winners of the 2021 Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) Book Design Awards have been announced. The winners in each category were: Gerard Reid Award for Best Book Nature...

PRH acquires Daily Aus guide ‘Break the News’

Thursday, 18 November 2021
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired world rights to Break the News: The Daily Aus explains the stuff you need to know by Sam Koslowski and Zara Seidler, founders...

Keefe wins 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction

Thursday, 18 November 2021
In the UK, Patrick Radden Keefe has won the £50,000 (A$92,850) Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction for his book Empire of Pain: The secret history of the Sackler dynasty (Picador)....

Cuthbert joins Pantera

Thursday, 18 November 2021
Pantera Press has appointed Kate Cuthbert to the newly created position of editorial director, for a 14-month contract role while managing editor Lucy Bell is on parental leave. Previously managing...

Pause on east coast consignments as trade works to mitigate XL supply issues

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Book distributors Alliance Distribution Services (ADS) and Harper Entertainment Distribution Services (HEDS) have informed booksellers of a pause on stock going into XL Express's Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne depots, as...

Better Read union members recommence work bans

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) members at bookshop Better Read Than Dead (BRTD), in the inner-Sydney suburb of Newtown, have recommenced industrial action, with RAFFWU stating BRTD management...

Getting in early: 2022 children’s and YA preview

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
New novels by Lynette Noni, Zana Fraillon and Holden Sheppard are among the exciting new children's and YA books releasing next year, alongside forays into fiction for younger readers by...

Brumby Sunstate acquires JB Books

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Book wholesaler Brumby Sunstate has announced the acquisition of South Australian wholesale distributor and publisher JB Books. Brumby Sunstate said the JB Books warehouse would be relocating ‘to integrate with...

Melbourne City of Lit meets Dunedin’s University Book Shop

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
In this series, run in partnership with the Melbourne City of Literature Office, we get to know some of the bookstores in the UNESCO Cities of Literature network. Meet Dunedin's...

Kate Gordon recommends

Wednesday, 17 November 2021
I have been an enormous fan of Steven Herrick since childhood, so when a new book of his is released it’s an event in my house. I was so excited to...

Kate Gordon on ‘Xavier in the Meantime’

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Kate Gordon's latest book is a companion novel to her CBCA award–winning Aster's Good, Right Things. Xavier in the Meantime (Riveted Press, February) is a 'sensitive but unflinching' story of...

BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival in-person 2021 program announced

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
The program for the 2021 BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival, which runs 2–5 December at the State Library of NSW, has been announced. The festival's 40 events include panels, crime...

Stewart wins Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Emily Stewart has won the 2021 Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award for her manuscript ‘Running Time’. Selected from a shortlist of seven announced earlier this month, the Sydney poet...

Voss Literary Prize 2021 shortlist announced

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
The shortlist for the 2021 Voss Literary Prize has been announced. The shortlisted works, chosen from a longlist of 10, are: The Rain Heron (Robbie Arnott, Text) Our Shadows (Gail...

Abul wins Liminal & Pantera Press Nonfiction Prize

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Hassan Abul is the winner of the inaugural $10,000 Liminal & Pantera Press Nonfiction Prize. Abul's winning essay 'Third Cowboy From the Sun' was chosen by judges Brian Castro, Maddee...

Supply chain: Booksellers report serious delays; missing, damaged stock

Monday, 15 November 2021
Booksellers on Australia’s east coast are reporting serious delivery delays, missing deliveries and damaged stock, with reports that the problems are particularly acute in Queensland. And while freight company XL...

ABA to hold 2022 conference in Sydney

Monday, 15 November 2021
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced its 2022 National Conference and Trade Exhibition will take place in Sydney from 12–13 June next year. The ‘much-needed and totally fabulous industry...

Get to know the SPN Book of the Year shortlist

Monday, 15 November 2021
The winner of the 2021 Small Press Network (SPN) Book of the Year Award will be announced on 26 November during the annual SPN Independent Publishing Conference. Each Monday, in the...

Affirm Press Mentorship Award winners; NEWC fellowship shortlist

Monday, 15 November 2021
Affirm Press and Varuna, The National Writers' House have announced the winners of the 2021 Affirm Press Mentorship Award. The winners are: Maha Sidaoui for ‘One Arabian Girl’ Alison Whipp for...

Storytel buys Audiobooks.com; Spotify moves into US market

Monday, 15 November 2021
Stockholm-based audiobook streaming company Storytel is buying Audiobooks.com from RBmedia for an undisclosed amount, reports Publishers Weekly. The acquisition is Storytel’s first entry into the English-language market. The company, which...