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Morris-Marr’s ‘Fallen’ wins 2020 Walkley Book Award

Monday, 23 November 2020
Investigative journalist, writer and broadcaster Lucie Morris-Marr has won the 2020 Walkley Book Award for Fallen: The inside story of the secret trial and conviction of Cardinal George Pell (A&U)....

National Book Award winners announced  

Monday, 23 November 2020
In the US, the winners of this year’s National Book Awards have been announced. The winning titles in each category are: Fiction Interior Chinatown (Charles Yu, Europa Editions) Nonfiction The...

Pan Mac, Nosy Crow among FutureBook Awards winners

Monday, 23 November 2020
In the UK, the winners of the FutureBook Awards: Best of Lockdown have been announced, reports the Bookseller. The winners include publishers Nosy Crow and Pan Macmillan, Bath-based bookshop Mr...

ABA, APA plan in person conferences in 2021 

Friday, 20 November 2020
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced it will hold its 2021 national conference from 20 to 22 June at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. The event, which will include...

Stuart wins Booker Prize for ‘Shuggie Bain’

Friday, 20 November 2020
Scottish author Douglas Stuart has won the £50,000 (A$91,100) Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain (Picador), reports the Bookseller. Stuart’s novel, based on his own childhood, tells the...

Voss Literary Prize 2020 shortlist announced

Thursday, 19 November 2020
The shortlist for the 2020 Voss Literary Prize has been announced. The shortlisted novels are: Crossings (Alex Landragin, Picador) The Rich Man’s House (Andrew McGahan, A&U) The Palace of Angels...

Pearson creates direct-to-consumer division

Thursday, 19 November 2020
Pearson has announced the creation of a new direct-to-consumer division, focused on direct-to-consumer products and channels. 'With the accelerating interest in digital learning across the globe, we need to meet...

Treloar wins 2020 Barbara Jefferis Award

Thursday, 19 November 2020
Lucy Treloar has won the 2020 Barbara Jefferis Award for her novel ​Wolfe Island ​(Picador). The $50,000 award, which is administered by the Australian Society of Authors (ASA), is presented...

Book it in: 2021 children’s and YA preview 

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Alongside a slate of new books by established children’s authors, next year looks to be a year of firsts, featuring books by debut authors, established authors trying their hands at...

Meet Hachette Australia head of rights Sarah Brooks 

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
As the pandemic keeps rights sellers from meeting face-to-face, Books+Publishing’s Think Australian publication is shining a regular spotlight on the work of Australian rights agents. Today, we hear from Hachette Australia...

Giggs shortlisted for ALA Andrew Carnegie Medal

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Australian writer Rebecca Giggs has been shortlisted for the American Library Association's (ALA) 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for nonfiction for Fathoms: The world in the whale (Scribe). Giggs's consideration of whales...

Christmas closing list: Reminder to submit dates

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Publishers and distributors are asked to submit their Christmas closing dates by 5pm this Friday, 20 November. A full list will appear in the Weekly Book Newsletter on Wednesday, 25 November. This...

UQP Writing Mentorship inaugural recipient announced

Tuesday, 17 November 2020
UQP and the University of Queensland’s (UQ) School of Communications and Arts have announced that Martine Kropkowski is the inaugural recipient of the UQP Writing Mentorship. Kropkowski will receive editorial...

The Next Chapter 2020 recipients announced

Tuesday, 17 November 2020
The Wheeler Centre has announced the recipients of the 2020 Next Chapter grants for developing writers, worth $15,000 each. The 10 recipients are: Sharlene Allsopp (fiction, QLD) Bigoa Chuol (poetry,...

UQP acquires Norman debut story collection 

Tuesday, 17 November 2020
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired ANZ rights to debut short story collection Permafrost by visual artist, performer and writer S J Norman via Curtis Brown. Norman, under the...

UK book sales down 11% for first half

Monday, 16 November 2020
In the UK, stats from the Publishers Association (PA) show that total book sales across the industry fell 11% in the first six months of the year, reports the Bookseller....

HarperCollins acquires Baird book on grace 

Monday, 16 November 2020
HarperCollins Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Bright Shining by Julia Baird, from Amanda Urban at ICM Partners. Baird's nonfiction book on grace—what it is, what it looks like in our...

New Amplify Bookstore to specialise in BIPOC books

Friday, 13 November 2020
A new online-only bookshop, launched by masters of publishing and communications students Marina Sano and Jing Xuan Teo, will specialise in books by Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC)...

WHSmith posts £69 million loss

Friday, 13 November 2020
UK book chain WHSmith has recorded a £69 million (A$125m) headline loss in preliminary results announced for the year ended 31 August. The company made a £31 million (A$56m) group...

Cover of new Heiss novel to feature title in Wiradjuri

Friday, 13 November 2020
Simon & Schuster (S&S) has revealed the cover for Anita Heiss's forthcoming novel Bila Yarrudhang-galang-dhuray (River of Dreams, May 2021). According to Heiss, it is the first Australian commercial fiction release...

Dymocks Book of the Year 2020 shortlist announced

Friday, 13 November 2020
The shortlist for the 2020 Dymocks Book of the Year has been announced. The six shortlisted books, as voted by Dymocks booksellers across the country, are: All Our Shimmering Skies...