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Paramount acquires film rights to McKinty’s ‘The Chain’

Thursday, 20 June 2019
Paramount Pictures has acquired the film rights to Adrian McKinty’s forthcoming novel The Chain (Hachette, July), reports Deadline. Paramount executive Alex Jackson acquired the rights via Shane Salerno from The...

Adam wins 2019 Desmond Elliott Prize

Thursday, 20 June 2019
Claire Adam has won the 2019 Desmond Elliott Prize for first-time novelists for Golden Child (Faber). The winning novel, which follows the lives of a family living in rural Trinidad,...

Woodhead to leave Overland

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Overland editor Jacinda Woodhead is stepping down after 10 years in editorial roles with the literary journal. Woodhead joined Overland in late 2009 as an intern, and later became deputy...

Book buyer spotlight: Peter Pal’s Stuart Dunstan

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
How does book buying differ for the library sector? Stuart Dunstan, fiction buyer for Australian library supplier Peter Pal, spoke to Books+Publishing for our ‘book buyer spotlight’ series. How long have...

Change maker: Sally Rugg on ‘How Powerful We Are’

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
LGBTIQ rights activist Sally Rugg led the GetUp campaign for marriage equality for five years and is now executive director at change.org. Rugg’s first book, How Powerful We Are (Hachette,...

Meryl Halls: Creating better bookshops

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Meryl Halls recently became managing director of the UK Booksellers Association (BA). In June she’s in Australia to give the keynote address at the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) conference. She...

NSW regional library shares 200 copies of ‘The Van Apfel Girls are Gone’

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Central West Libraries in New South Wales is sharing 200 copies of Felicity McLean’s The Van Apfel Girls are Gone (Fourth Estate) as part of its One Library One Book...

Hachette to change library ebook licensing terms

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
In the US, Hachette will change its terms for library ebook licensing terms—the third Big Five publisher to do so in the past year, reports Publishers Weekly. From 1 July,...

Libraries Tasmania reports member growth after late fees abolished

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
More than 8000 new members have signed up to Tasmanian government-run library services since fines and processing fees for overdue books were abolished in November last year, reports the ABC....

Acevedo, Morris win 2019 Carnegie, Greenaway medals

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
The UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has announced the winners of the 2019 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals. Dominican-American writer and slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo won...

A&U launches new children’s imprint

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has created a new children’s imprint, Albert Street Books. Albert Street Books will have a commercial focus and will publish books for babies to 12-year-olds. A&U...

Meet the ABA Young Booksellers of the Year: Eadie Allen from the Sun Bookshop

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
In the lead-up to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) 2019 conference, Books+Publishing spoke to each of the five shortlisted nominees for the Young Bookseller of the Year award ahead of the winner announcement on...

Hachette acquires 2017 Richell Prize winner ‘State Highway One’

Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Hachette Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Sam Coley’s State Highway One, via Grace Heifetz at Curtis Brown. Coley’s entry of the same name won the 2017 Richell Prize for...

Tim’s Bookshop Kew up for sale after 35 years

Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Tim’s Bookshop in the Melbourne suburb of Kew is for sale, after owners Tim Warmington and Lynn Frankes decided to retire after 35 years in the book trade. Warmington told...

Scholastic acquires ‘Hunger Games’ prequel

Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Scholastic has acquired world English rights to a new novel by Suzanne Collins set in the 'Hunger Games' universe. The yet to be titled prequel, known as Untitled Panem Novel,...

Cothren wins 2019 Peter Carey Short Story Prize

Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Alex Cothren has won the 2019 Peter Carey Short Story Award for his story ‘Let’s Talk Trojan Bee’. Judge Nic Low described Cothren’s story as ‘a polyphonic piece built entirely...

Robertson wins Walter Scott Prize for ‘The Long Take’

Tuesday, 18 June 2019
In the UK, Robin Robertson has won the 2019 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for The Long Take (Picador). The first Scot to win the award, Robertson’s book also...

A&U UK to publish Hardcastle’s ‘Below Deck’ in UK

Monday, 17 June 2019
Allen & Unwin’s UK arm (A&U UK) has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding ANZ and Canada) to Below Deck, the third book by 25-year-old author Sophie Hardcastle, reports the...

Tim Flannery children’s book sells to US, Canada

Monday, 17 June 2019
Catherine Drayton at InkWell Management has sold US and Canadian rights to writer and environmentalist Tim Flannery's forthcoming children's book Explore Your World: Weird, wild, amazing! (illus by Sam Caldwell)....

Analysis of bestselling UK picture books shows ‘concerning’ lack of diversity

Friday, 14 June 2019
In the UK, an analysis of bestselling picture books has found for the second year running that the most popular illustrated children's books are dominated by male characters and feature...

Meet the ABA Young Booksellers of the Year: Aisling Lawless from Dymocks Joondalup

Friday, 14 June 2019
In the lead-up to the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) 2019 conference, Books+Publishing spoke to each of the five shortlisted nominees for the Young Bookseller of the Year award ahead of...

Daddo, Phommavanh, Bancks among participants in Littlescribe co-author program

Friday, 14 June 2019
Online literacy platform Littlescribe has announced its co-author program and participating authors. Authors Andrew Daddo, Oliver Phommavanh, Katrina McKelvey, Tristan Bancks, Deborah Abela and Andreea Kindryd have signed up to...