News sections | Books+Publishing

Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

News sections >

Taipei book fair postponed due to coronavirus

Monday, 3 February 2020
The Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE), originally scheduled for 4–9 February, has been postponed until 7–12 May as a result of the spreading coronavirus epidemic. The Ministry of Culture, Taiwan...

Brasch joins Melbourne Jewish Book Week as festival director

Monday, 3 February 2020
Writer and teacher Nicolas Brasch has been appointed festival director of Melbourne Jewish Book Week (MJBW). Brasch is the author of more than 400 books, mainly for children and young...

Publishers Weekly

Monday, 3 February 2020
Books+Publishing is partnering with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine for a limited time. This edition includes a look at...

Charts this week

Monday, 3 February 2020
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 Bluey: Time to Play! Bluey Puffin 2 Not a Diet Book James Smith HarperCollins 3 The Last Wish # Andrzej Sapkowski Gollancz...

Play ‘Counting and Cracking’ wins $100k Victorian Prize for Literature

Friday, 31 January 2020
Sydney playwright S Shakthidharan and associate writer Eamon Flack have won the $100,000 Victorian Prize for Literature for their play Counting and Cracking (Belvoir and Co-Curious) at this year’s Victorian...

We need Torres Strait Islander voices in YA

Thursday, 30 January 2020
'Why can’t I find any Torres Strait Islander young adult literature? Is there some unconscious bias that has been turning these stories away? Is nobody looking for this diverse experience...

New boss for HarperCollins, Australia Day honours, Adelaide Writers’ Week line-up, latest awards and more

Thursday, 30 January 2020
Yesterday, James Kellow announced he’s stepping down as HarperCollins ANZ CEO after eight years in the head role. He’s being replaced by Jim Demetriou, who returns to HarperCollins following his...

Rights round-up

Thursday, 30 January 2020
Sales Nonfiction Black Inc. has sold Hungarian-language rights to Jacinda Ardern: A new kind of leader (Madeleine Chapman, Nero) to Alexandra Kiadó via DS Budapest; and Ukrainian-language rights to The...

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2020 longlists announced

Thursday, 30 January 2020
The longlists for the 2020 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards have been announced. The longlisted titles in each category are: Fiction The Absolute Book (Elizabeth Knox, Victoria University Press) Lonely Asian...

HarperCollins acquires rights to Maley’s debut ‘The Truth About Her’

Thursday, 30 January 2020
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to journalist Jacqueline Maley’s debut novel The Truth About Her, in a two-book deal via Jeanne Ryckmans at Cameron’s Management. The Truth About Her follows...

Fairweather awarded Costa Book of the Year for ‘The Volunteer’

Wednesday, 29 January 2020
In the UK, Jack Fairweather has been awarded the £30,000 (A$57,800) Costa Book of the Year award for The Volunteer: The true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz (W...

Full program for Adelaide Writers’ Week 2020 announced

Wednesday, 29 January 2020
The full program for Adelaide Writers’ Week, which runs from 29 February to 5 March under the theme ‘Being Human’, has been announced. In total, 117 writers, poets, journalists and...

ALA Youth Media Awards 2020: graphic novel wins Newbery for first time

Tuesday, 28 January 2020
In the US, the American Library Association (ALA) has announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott medals. Jerry Craft’s graphic novel New Kid (Quill...

Publishers Weekly

Tuesday, 28 January 2020
Books+Publishing is partnering with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine for a limited time. This edition includes a look at...

Charts this week

Tuesday, 28 January 2020
Top 10 Bestsellers Index Title Author Imprint 1 Bluey: Time to Play! Penguin 2 The Barefoot Investor Scott Pape John Wiley & Sons 3 Dark Emu Bruce Pascoe Magabala Books...

Pantera acquires Emanuel’s ‘The Covered Wife’

Friday, 24 January 2020
Pantera Press has acquired ANZ rights to Lisa Emanuel’s debut novel The Covered Wife, via Catherine Drayton at InkWell Management. Emanuel’s novel follows an ambitious young lawyer who falls under...

Adaptation of Winton’s ‘Blueback’ gets Screen Aus funding

Thursday, 23 January 2020
A feature film adaptation of Tim Winton’s 1997 novella Blueback (Penguin) has received production funding from Screen Australia in its latest funding round. Writer/director Robert Connolly of Arenamedia will work...

Robotham, Tranter nominated for 2020 Edgar Awards

Thursday, 23 January 2020
In the US, Australian authors Michael Robotham and Kirsten Tranter have been shortlisted for 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards. The 'Edgars' honour ‘the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television’...

#AuthorsForFireys, Perth Fest, OzCo international residencies and latest awards

Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Earlier this week, the organisers of the #AuthorsForFireys campaign—which saw more than 500 authors, illustrators and publishing professionals auction items for bushfire relief—confirmed it had raised nearly $500,000 in donations...