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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...

Bologna moves to June; plans new general publishing exhibit

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair has changed its dates for next year’s fair from April to June 14-17. Director Elena Pasoli said pushing the fair back ‘gives us the valuable...

S&S to publish Kerr children’s series and World Cup diary

Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to a new children’s series by Sam Kerr, captain of the Australian national women’s soccer team the Matildas, in a six-book...

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...

Pan Macmillan ‘finalising contractual relationship’ with Evans

Tuesday, 17 November 2020
Pan Macmillan has stated it is ‘finalising its contractual relationship’ with celebrity chef Pete Evans and ‘will not be entering any further publishing agreements moving forward’. The publisher lists 17...

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...

Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2020 shortlists announced

Monday, 16 November 2020
The shortlists for the 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction The Death of Jesus (J M Coetzee, Text) Exploded View...

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...

Australian First Nations and People of Colour in Publishing Network launched

Friday, 13 November 2020
Publishing professionals Camha Pham, Grace Lucas-Pennington and Radhiah Chowdhury have created and launched the Australian First Nations and People of Colour (FNPOC) in Publishing Network. ‘It can be lonely and...

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...

Authors, industry researchers to appear at parliamentary inquiry

Thursday, 12 November 2020
Book industry researcher David Throsby, the Sydney Review of Books and authors Helen Garner, Charlotte Wood and Christos Tsiolkas are among those who will appear at the first virtual public...

Screen Canberra invests in book-to-screen adaptations

Thursday, 12 November 2020
Adaptations of Peter Papathanasiou's memoir Little One (A&U) and Kaaron Warren's fantasy novel The Grief Hole (IFWG Publishing Australia) are among several projects to receive investment from Screen Canberra. Papathanasiou's...