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ABA booksellers of the year 2019 finalists announced

Wednesday, 29 May 2019
The finalists for the 2019 Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) booksellers of the year awards have been announced. The finalists for bookseller of the year are: Desiree Boardman (Readings Hawthorn) Suzie...

Davitt Awards 2019 longlists announced

Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the longlists for the 2019 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. A total of 127 titles have been longlisted, including...

Scribe acquires new Allington novel

Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Scribe has acquired world rights to Rise and Shine, a novel by Adelaide writer Patrick Allington. According to the publisher, the book is 'a Kafkaesque fable of hope about a future where eight...

Brow Books to publish guide to community-based projects

Tuesday, 28 May 2019
The Relationship is the Project, a new resource that aims to help practitioners, artists and cultural workers better engage with community-based projects, will be published by Brow Books later this...

‘Half the Perfect World’ to be adapted for film

Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Cascade Films has acquired the film adaptation rights to Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalziell’s Half the Perfect World: Writers, Dreamers and Drifters on Hydra, 1955–1964 (Monash University Publishing). Half the...

‘Boy Swallows Universe’ to be adapted for stage in 2020

Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Queensland Theatre has acquired the stage adaptation rights to Trent Dalton’s bestselling Boy Swallow Universe (Fourth Estate). The adaptation will be produced in partnership with the Brisbane Festival and premiere...

New Dymocks store opens at Point Cook, VIC

Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Chain retailer Dymocks has opened a new shop in the outer Melbourne suburb of Point Cook, about 30 kilometres west of the CBD. The Point Cook store is the second...

Affirm acquires debut thriller; UK, US rights also sold

Monday, 27 May 2019
Affirm Press has acquired ANZ rights to author Anna Downes’ debut thriller The Safe Place in a two-book deal, with US and UK & Commonwealth rights to the title already...

Sheppard wins $15,000 Kathleen Mitchell Award; Dunk wins $15,000 Dal Stivens Award

Monday, 27 May 2019
Holden Sheppard has been announced as the winner of this year’s Kathleen Mitchell Award, presented biennially to the author aged 30 or under for an outstanding novel or novella. Sheppard...

Shortlist announced for 2019 UK Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize

Monday, 27 May 2019
In the UK, the shortlist for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recognising the best science books for children, has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: 100 Things to...

Fletcher appointed federal arts minister

Monday, 27 May 2019
Paul Fletcher has been appointed Minister for Communications, Cybersafety and the Arts under cabinet changes introduced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Fletcher takes over the arts and communications portfolios from...

‘Goodwood’ to be developed for television

Monday, 27 May 2019
The ABC, along with ABC Studios International, will develop Holly Throsby’s Goodwood (A&U) as a television series. The series will be written by Alison Bell and Sarah Scheller, best known...

The ‘new Australian sensibility’: Literary agent Barbara J Zitwer on discovering Australian writers

Friday, 24 May 2019
New York-based literary agent Barbara J Zitwer represents writers including Man Booker International Prize-winner Han Kang, and recently sold rights on behalf of her Australian authors Jamie Marina Lau and...

PRH buys minority stake in US independent publisher Sourcebooks

Friday, 24 May 2019
In the US, Penguin Random House (PRH) has bought a significant minority stake in independent publisher Sourcebooks. Sourcebooks will retain its majority ownership of 55% while PRH now owns a...

Peter Carey Short Story Award 2019 shortlist announced

Friday, 24 May 2019
The shortlist for the 2019 Peter Carey Short Story Award has been announced. The shortlisted stories are: ‘Elisabeth Kubler Ross’ by Paige Clark ‘Place, Lost’ by Laura Elvery ‘Sketch in...

Copyright Agency announces inaugural Reading Australia Teacher Fellow

Friday, 24 May 2019
The Copyright Agency has announced the inaugural Reading Australia Fellow for a teacher of English and literacy. Alex Wharton, from Carinya Christian School in Gunnedah, NSW, receives $15,000 for a...

MWF schools’ program 2019 announced

Friday, 24 May 2019
The program for the 2019 Melbourne Writers Festival schools’ program has been announced. More than 60 writers, artists and performers will feature in over 70 events from 2–5 September, with...

Higgie wins inaugural Fogarty Literary Award for ‘The History of Mischief’

Thursday, 23 May 2019
Rebecca Higgie has won the inaugural Fogarty Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript for her novel The History of Mischief. Higgie receives a $20,000 cash prize from the Fogarty Foundation...

‘Boy Swallows Universe’ to be adapted for TV

Thursday, 23 May 2019
Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe (Fourth Estate) will be adapted as an international television drama, reports Deadline Hollywood. Screen rights to Dalton’s bestselling debut, negotiated on behalf of HarperCollins Australia,...