News | Books+Publishing

Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

News >

New report shows government funding for literature and writing lags other artforms

Wednesday, 2 August 2017
A report prepared for the Department of Communications and the Arts has found that Australian federal, state and territory, and local governments contributed $5.8b to cultural activities in 2015-16, with...

A&U to publish Nick Riewoldt’s autobiography in November

Wednesday, 2 August 2017
Allen & Unwin will publish AFL player Nick Riewoldt’s autobiography in November, following the St Kilda captain’s announcement that he will retire at the end of the season. The publisher said...

‘The Chaser’s’ Andrew Hansen and wife Jessica Roberts sign two-book deal with Walker Books

Wednesday, 2 August 2017
Comedian Andrew Hansen, best known for his work on ‘The Chaser’, and his wife, designer Jessica Roberts, have signed a two-book deal with Walker Books. The books will be the...

The Lifted Brow launches imprint Brow Books

Wednesday, 2 August 2017
The Lifted Brow (TLB) has announced its new books imprint, Brow Books. In a statement on its website, the imprint said it will publish ‘across a variety of genres, styles...

US judge finds classics-inspired picture books infringe copyright

Wednesday, 2 August 2017
A US judge has ruled that Moppet Books’ series of classics-inspired children’s picture books have infringed the copyright of the originals, reports the Bookseller. As previously reported by Books+Publishing, in...

Pullman calls for UK to reintroduce minimum price for books

Tuesday, 1 August 2017
In the UK, author and Society of Authors president Philip Pullman has called for the reintroduction of a minimum price for books, drawing support for consideration of the idea from...

New festival to focus on Indigenous and culturally diverse writers

Tuesday, 1 August 2017
The NSW Writers’ Centre and Bankstown Arts Centre have announced a new writers’ festival that focuses on Indigenous and culturally diverse Australian writers and writing. The inaugural Boundless festival will...

Waterstones selects Australian author for UK ‘Book of the Month’ promotion

Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Melbourne-born, Edinburgh-based author Anthony O’Neill’s forthcoming novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Seek (Xoum, September) has been chosen by UK bookselling chain Waterstones as its Scottish ‘Book of the Month’ for September....

Screen rights to ‘The Good People’ optioned

Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Australian production company Aquarius Films has optioned the film and TV rights to Hannah Kent’s The Good People (Picador) via Curtis Brown Australia. Aquarius producers Angie Felder, Polly Staniford and Cecilia...

Dorrington steps down as PWF program manager

Tuesday, 1 August 2017
Perth Writers Festival (PWF) program manager Katherine Dorrington has left the organisation after 12 years in the role. Perth International Arts Festival artistic director Wendy Martin said in a statement:...

‘Before Rupert’ wins National Biography Award

Monday, 31 July 2017
The State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW) has announced Tom D C Roberts’ Before Rupert: Keith Murdoch and the Birth of a Dynasty (UQP) as the winner of this...

Survey finds Canadians reading more local authors

Monday, 31 July 2017
In Canada, the government-sponsored organisation BookNet has published the results from a survey of Canadian book buyers’ reading habits, reports Publishers Weekly. The survey found 44% of Canadian book buyers...

SLV 2017 Creative Fellowships announced

Monday, 31 July 2017
The State Library of Victoria (SLV) has announced the recipients of its 2017 Creative and Specialist Fellowships, including several writers working on book projects. The recipients of the Creative Fellowships,...

Dymocks Waurn Ponds wins top award at Dymocks conference

Monday, 31 July 2017
Dymocks Waurn Ponds in Geelong has won the Chairman’s Award for Retail Excellence at the 2017 Dymocks national conference, which was held on the Gold Coast from 23-25 July. Dymocks...

New ABC TV ‘Story Time’ series to screen during Children’s Book Week

Monday, 31 July 2017
A new ABC TV series called Story Time will screen during Children’s Book Week in August. The Play School spin-off series will feature Australian celebrities—including journalist Leigh Sales, comedian Rove...

Canberra Writers Festival 2017 program launched

Friday, 28 July 2017
The program has been announced for the second annual Canberra Writers Festival, which will run from 25-27 August. International guests appearing at the festival include UK novelist Samantha Shannon, Dutch...

Affirm to publish junior fiction series by ‘Bondi Rescue’ lifeguard

Friday, 28 July 2017
Affirm Press will publish a children’s fiction series by Bondi Rescue lifeguard Trent ‘Maxi’ Maxwell in 2018. The series will be co-written by David Lawrence, author of the ‘Fox Swift’...

‘The Commuter Pig Keeper’ wins 2017 Diagram Prize

Friday, 28 July 2017
The Commuter Pig Keeper: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Pigs when Time is your Most Precious Commodity (Michaela Giles, Old Pond Publishing) has won the 2017 Diagram Prize for the...

Whitehead wins 2017 Arthur C Clarke Award

Friday, 28 July 2017
Colson Whitehead has won the 2017 Arthur C Clarke Award for science-fiction for his novel The Underground Railroad (Orbit), reports the Guardian. The Underground Railroad—a ‘fantastic reimagining of US slavery’—has...

New ‘Books+Publishing’ reviews out now

Friday, 28 July 2017
Books+Publishing’s latest Reviews newsletter contains 14 reviews of books publishing in August, September and October. Four books received 4.5 stars, including Jeremy Chambers’ ‘nostalgic 1980s coming-of-age story’ Suburbia (Text, October). ‘Chambers’ writing feels...