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New children’s press Yellow Brick Books releases first title

Wednesday, 30 May 2018
A new small publisher focused on children’s books has recently released its first title, amid plans to release two more books in 2018. In May this year, Yellow Brick Books...

UQP acquires Sakr poetry collection

Wednesday, 30 May 2018
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired Western Sydney poet Omar Sakr’s forthcoming poetry collection, The Lost Arabs. World rights were acquired by UQP publishing director and acting-CEO Madonna Duffy,...

Readings YA Prize 2018 shortlist announced

Tuesday, 29 May 2018
The shortlist for the 2018 Readings Young Adult Prize has been announced. The shortlisted titles are: Small Spaces (Sarah Epstein, Walker Books) Amelia Westlake (Erin Gough, Hardie Grant Egmont) Between...

Bloomsbury reports best financial performance since founding in 1980s

Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Bloomsbury Publishing has reported a 13% surge in total revenues to £161.5 million (A$284.9m) in 2017, its best performance since it was founded in 1986, reports the Guardian. The publisher's global...

Alice appointed director of Writers SA

Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Writers SA has announced editor and festival programmer Jessica Alice as the organisation's new director. Alice, who commences the position on 2 July, takes over from outgoing director Sarah Tooth...

Australian Book Design Awards 2018 winners announced

Tuesday, 29 May 2018
The Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) announced the winners of the 2018 Australian Book Design Awards at an event in Melbourne on 25 May. The winning titles in each category...

Melbourne Prize announces new $7500 award for early-career published authors

Tuesday, 29 May 2018
The Melbourne Prize Trust has announced a new award for early-career authors, worth $7500. The Readings Residency Award is open to early-career published authors who are based in Victoria, writing...

Three local writers shortlisted for Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2018

Monday, 28 May 2018
Two Australians and one New Zealand writer are among the 24 shortlisted finalists for the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Poet Chris Mansell was shortlisted for her story ‘Nobody’s Wife’,...

‘300 Minutes of Danger’ adapted for VR project

Monday, 28 May 2018
A virtual reality (VR) project based on Jack Heath’s book of short stories 300 Minutes of Danger (Scholastic) is one of four online projects to receive production funding from Screen...

Golden Man Booker shortlist announced

Monday, 28 May 2018
The Booker Prize Foundation has announced the shortlist of its Golden Man Booker Prize, a special one-off award to mark the 50th anniversary of the prize. The shortlisted titles, which...

Schultz takes on publisher role at ‘Griffith Review’; Hay becomes editor

Monday, 28 May 2018
Griffith Review has announced that editor Julianne Schultz will take on the role of publisher at the quarterly publication, alongside a position as Professor of Media and Culture at Griffith...

UK Booksellers Association to tackle diversity with £50k worth of grants

Friday, 25 May 2018
In the UK, the Booksellers Association (BA) has announced several measures to improve diversity in bookselling, including providing £50,000 (A$66,910) worth of grants to bookshops, reports the Bookseller. The trade...

Territory Read Book of the Year 2018 shortlist announced

Friday, 25 May 2018
The Northern Territory Writers’ Centre has announced the shortlist for the Territory Read Book of the Year awards. The shortlisted titles are: There’s a Crocodile on the Golf Course (Rachel...

Woollahra Digital Literary Awards 2018 shortlists announced

Friday, 25 May 2018
The shortlists for the 2018 Woollahra Digital Literary Awards, for writing first published online or electronically, have been announced. Nonfiction Seeing Through Perspective: A Blind Tourist’s Guide to Art (Ria...

Peter Carey Short Story Award 2018 shortlist announced

Friday, 25 May 2018
The shortlist for the 2018 Peter Carey Short Story Award has been announced. The six shortlisted stories are: ‘Clearing’ (Alice Bishop) ‘Fighting Season’ (Alison Martin) ‘Being The Mother’ (Anne Casey)...

Transit Lounge acquires Pajalic family memoir on mental illness

Friday, 25 May 2018
Transit Lounge has acquired Amra Pajalic’s memoir, Things Nobody Knows But Me. Transit Lounge publisher Barry Scott told Books+Publishing the ‘beautifully written’ memoir was ‘a tender, funny and searingly honest story of...

Audible partners with Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine

Thursday, 24 May 2018
In the US, Audible has announced a partnership with Hello Sunshine, the cross-platform media brand founded by Reese Witherspoon that is dedicated to producing female-driven content, reports Publishers Weekly. Reese’s...

ASA launches podcast on ‘entrepreneurial’ creatives

Thursday, 24 May 2018
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has launched a new podcast series focusing on ‘the numerous ways wordsmiths can adapt their talents beyond the confines of a book’. Called Words...

A&U acquires Bowditch memoir

Thursday, 24 May 2018
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to a memoir by musician, actor and broadcaster Clare Bowditch, and will publish the title in October 2019. Publisher Kelly Fagan acquired...

New small publisher Elephant Tree Publishing launches first title

Thursday, 24 May 2018
A new Canberra-based small publisher of fiction, nonfiction and young adult fiction has recently released its first title. Mother-and-daughter team Jennifer Brown-Leslie and Kathryn Spurling have established Elephant Tree Publishing...