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Aman, Brabon named joint winners of the David Harold Tribe Fiction Award

Thursday, 5 December 2019
Writers Claire Aman and Katherine Brabon are the joint winners of the 2019 David Harold Tribe Fiction Award, worth $12,000. The award is offered by the University of Sydney’s Department...

MidnightSun acquires Steve Heron picture book

Thursday, 5 December 2019
MidnightSun has acquired world rights to the picture book Ling Li’s Lantern, by Steve Heron and illustrated by Benjamin Johnston. Ling Li’s Lantern follows Ling Li on a quest that...

Big Sky sells six children’s titles to US imprint Windmill Books

Thursday, 5 December 2019
Big Sky Publishing has sold North American and US territories rights to six children’s titles to Windmill Books, an imprint of independent educational publishing house Rosen Publishing. The deal, which...

‘The Dirt Hole and its Variations’ wins 2019 Diagram Prize

Thursday, 5 December 2019
Charles L Dobbins' self-published title The Dirt Hole and its Variations has won the 2019 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year presented by the Bookseller. Dobbins, who was...

SPN conference 2019: ‘Extremely positive’ feedback from delegates

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
The Small Press Network’s (SPN) eighth Independent Publishing Conference was held at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 21–23 November. SPN general manager Tim Coronel said that 180 tickets were...

Christmas closing list 2019

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
We have collated company closing dates for the Christmas period below. (more…)

To market, to market: Jane Curry on marketing

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Ventura Press publisher Jane Curry argues that despite the dominance of multinational publishers, there are still opportunities for small presses to flourish—and sell plenty of copies. This is my final...

Marchetta’s ‘On the Jellicoe Road’ to be adapted for drama series

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Melina Marchetta’s 2006 young adult novel On the Jellicoe Road (Penguin) is being adapted for a young adult drama series, reports Deadline. The project is a co-production by the US’s...

Hardie Grant Travel acquires Steffensen’s book on Indigenous fire management

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Hardie Grant Travel has acquired world rights to Fire Country, the memoir of Indigenous fire practitioner Victor Steffensen. Steffensen is a Tagalaka descendant from Far North Queensland who is dedicated...

‘The Book Ninja’ optioned for film

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus’ novel The Book Ninja (S&S) has been optioned for film by producers Chris Brown of Pictures in Paradise and Veronica Fury of Fury Film Co....

Beasley wins inaugural OzCo Arts and Disability Award for an emerging artist

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Tennant Creek-based artist and illustrator Dion Beasley was one of three winners at the Australia Council’s inaugural Arts and Disability Awards, presented at a ceremony at Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery...

Van Zweden wins 2019 KYD unpublished manuscript award

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Literary journal Kill Your Darlings (KYD) has announced Sam van Zweden as the winner of its 2019 unpublished manuscript award for her manuscript ‘Eating with my Mouth Open’. Van Zweden...

Indie Book Awards 2020 longlists announced

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Leading Edge Books has announced the longlists for the 2020 Indie Book Awards for books published in 2019. The longlisted titles in each category are: Fiction The White Girl (Tony...

One more ‘WBN’ this year, last chance to submit job ads

Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Next week’s Weekly Book Newsletter on 11 December will be the last for 2019. If you would like to post a job ad or classified, please use the submissions portal...

More than 380,000 UK children don’t own a single book: National Literary Trust

Tuesday, 3 December 2019
In the UK, research from the National Literary Trust (NLT) has found more than 380,000 children don’t own a single book, reports the Bookseller. The research found children who own...

Former Macmillan Education staff launch new educational publisher

Tuesday, 3 December 2019
Former staff from Macmillan Education Australia’s school division have formed a new educational publishing company called Matilda Education. After Macmillan Education Australia announced in August that it would withdraw its...

Thomson receives inaugural Varuna/New England Writers’ Centre Fellowship

Tuesday, 3 December 2019
Armidale writer Anna Thomson is the inaugural recipient of the Varuna/New England Writers’ Centre (NEWC) Fellowship. Thomson’s winning submission included an extract from her paranormal fantasy manuscript ‘Bloodwood’. The fellowship...

2020 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards shortlists announced

Monday, 2 December 2019
The shortlists for the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Fiction The House of Youssef (Yumna Kassab, Giramondo) Act of Grace (Anna Krien, Black...

Hardie Grant staff lodge majority support determination with Fair Work

Monday, 2 December 2019
On behalf of staff in several departments of the publishing division at Hardie Grant Publishing, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has filed a majority support determination (MSD) with...

‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’ named Waterstones book of the year, Thunberg named author of the year

Monday, 2 December 2019
In its annual awards, UK bookselling chain Waterstones has announced The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (Ebury) as book of the year and climate...

UQP acquires two new nonfiction titles by Foley, Bond

Monday, 2 December 2019
The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired world rights to two books by leading Indigenous scholars, visual artist Fiona Foley’s Biting the Clouds and public intellectual Chelsea Bond’s Another...

Room on our Rock wins Charlotte Huck Award in US

Friday, 29 November 2019
In the US, Room on our Rock (Kate & Jol Temple, illus by Terri Rose Baynton, Scholastic) has won the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for outstanding fiction for children. Room...

Writers Victoria announces latest Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund recipients

Friday, 29 November 2019
Writers Victoria has announced the fifth round of recipients for the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund. Eleven successful writers, booksellers and publishers were selected from 99 applicants to receive a...

Sales wins 2019 Walkley Book Award

Friday, 29 November 2019
Journalist and author Leigh Sales has won the 2019 Walkley Book Award for Any Ordinary Day (Hamish Hamilton). Any Ordinary Day describes how tragedy and loss can affect people. Judges...

Christmas predictions: Tim Gott from Devonport Bookshop

Friday, 29 November 2019
In the lead-up to Christmas, the busiest time of year on the bookselling calendar, Books+Publishing is asking booksellers across the country to predict their biggest sellers and surprise sellers. In this first instalment for...