News | Books+Publishing

Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

News >

Full program announced for Ubud 2024

Wednesday, 4 September 2024
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) has announced the full line-up for its 21st festival program, themed ‘Satyam Vada Dharmam Chara’ (‘Speak the Truth, Practice Kindness’), which will run on...

New offices for S&S

Wednesday, 4 September 2024
Simon & Schuster Australia has moved to new offices. From 3 September, the Sydney office has moved to Level 4, 32 York Street, in the Sydney CBD. The Melbourne CBD...

MacDonald wins 2024 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize

Wednesday, 4 September 2024
Herb MacDonald is the winner of the 2024 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize, the Margaret Mahy Estate, Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand, and Little Moa have announced. The judging panel praised MacDonald’s...

Medal for Excellence in Translation shortlist announced

Wednesday, 4 September 2024
The shortlist for the 2024 Medal for Excellence in Translation, administered by the Australian Academy of the Humanities (AAH), has been announced. The shortlisted translators and their works are: Stephanie...

A&U acquires Clutton novel in two-book deal

Wednesday, 4 September 2024
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to the ‘uplit’ novel The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains by Sarah Clutton, via Melanie Ostell from the Melanie Ostell Literary Agency,...

Wiley expects to make US$44 million from AI partnership, authors unable to opt out

Wednesday, 4 September 2024
In the US, academic publisher Wiley has revealed it expects to make US$44 million (A$66m) from artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships that allow large language models (LLMs) to be trained on...

‘A service we wish to recommit to and double down on’: Shant Kradjian on Booktopia’s distribution services, staffing, and plans to rebuild trust

Tuesday, 3 September 2024
Shant Kradjian, owner of digiDirect, is the new owner of Booktopia, which began trading again last week. With plans ‘to restore Booktopia with a back-to-basics strategy’, Kradjian says his team...

Major publishers, authors sue over Florida book ban laws

Tuesday, 3 September 2024
In the US, six major publishers, together with the Authors Guild and several bestselling authors, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of two provisions of Florida’s recently enacted...

Reid launches PR and literary agency

Tuesday, 3 September 2024
Karen Reid, who resigned from Penguin Random House Australia last year after 30 years at the company, has launched a new business, Reid Books PR and Literary Agency. ‘This agency...

APA sustainability survey results, recommendations released

Tuesday, 3 September 2024
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has released the results from its inaugural sustainability survey, along with a set of recommendations for publishers to follow to improve the environmental sustainability of...

S&S acquires Dix memoir

Tuesday, 3 September 2024
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to The Promise, the memoir of Arnold Dix, an international barrister, scientist and engineer who spearheaded the rescue of 41 trapped...

Indigenous Literacy Day 2024 to include launch of three bilingual titles

Monday, 2 September 2024
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) has called for registrations ahead of its annual Indigenous Literacy Day, which is running this Wednesday, 4 September, and will feature a film, a livestreamed...

Simon & Schuster acquires Cottle YA series

Monday, 2 September 2024
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to two books in a new YA series by debut author Ruby Jean Cottle, via agents Lou Johnson and Belinda Bolliger...

‘The Meaning of Singleness’ wins 2024 Australian Christian Book of the Year

Monday, 2 September 2024
The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church (Danielle Treweek, InterVarsity Press Academic) has been named 2024 Australian Christian Book of the Year. The $3000 prize...

Murdoch acquires Goh solo cookbook

Monday, 2 September 2024
Murdoch Books has acquired world rights to the first solo cookbook by Helen Goh, Baking and the Meaning of Life. The publisher described the book as a ‘brilliant modern-day baking...

Davitt Awards 2024 winners announced

Monday, 2 September 2024
Sisters in Crime has announced the winners of the 2024 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. The winning titles in each category, chosen from shortlists announced...

Inaugural Shalom Australian Jewish Book Award 2024 winners announced

Monday, 2 September 2024
The inaugural Shalom Australian Jewish Book Award winners were announced at the Sydney Jewish Writers Festival, which ran 21 to 25 August. Michael Gawenda won the Leslie and Sophie Caplan...

Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2024 shortlist announced

Monday, 2 September 2024
In the UK, the shortlist for the 2024 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, which celebrates ‘the best popular science writing from across the globe’, has been announced, reports BookBrunch....

Readings chair to run new festival, Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival program launched

Monday, 2 September 2024
A new Carlton-based writers’ festival and the 2024 Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival will both take place this November. Readings chair Mark Rubbo is launching a new literary festival, to be...

PRH global sales, earnings up in first half of the year

Thursday, 29 August 2024
Penguin Random House (PRH) parent company Bertelsmann reported that the publisher’s sales grew 8.5% in the first half of 2024, while operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation)...

Muse bookstore closes

Thursday, 29 August 2024
The Muse bookstore in Canberra closed last weekend, after owners Dan Sanderson and Paul Eldon decided not to renew their lease on the establishment, which was also a cafe/restaurant and...

Atlantic acquires Zorn novel ‘Better Days’

Thursday, 29 August 2024
Atlantic Books Australia, a division of Allen & Unwin, has acquired ANZ rights to the novel Better Days by Claire Zorn, in a deal brokered by Grace Heifetz at Left Bank...

Shawline denies allegation of unpaid royalties

Thursday, 29 August 2024
Shawline Publishing Group CEO Brad Shaw, whose company is being sued by author Dan Moon in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for alleged unpaid royalties, has responded to the...

Alyson O’Brien on literacy and trade publishing: ‘It’s lucky for a manuscript for the very young to even make it to an acquisitions meeting’

Wednesday, 28 August 2024
A year ago, when former Bright Light publisher Alyson O'Brien moved from commercial publishing to Raising Literacy Australia, she thought her commercial experience would add value to the organisation; she...