A&U acquires Tasker’s debut novel
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Michael Caleb Tasker’s Just Like the Night, in a deal brokered by Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group. The novel follows...
Carnegie Medal 2026 shortlists released
Monday, 16 March 2026
In the UK, the shortlists for this year’s Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: The 2026...
A&U acquires Davis’s “The Modern Dad”
Monday, 16 March 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title, The Modern Dad, by Aotearoa New Zealand author Louis Davis. The Modern Dad provides advice about how to...
CJZ options Ayliffe’s “Dark Desert Road” for TV
Monday, 16 March 2026
Tim Ayliffe’s first standalone novel, Dark Desert Road (Echo), has been optioned by Australian TV production company CJZ. Dark Desert Road follows police officer Kit McCarthy, who hasn’t seen her twin...
Text acquires MacFie’s debut novel
Monday, 16 March 2026
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to Stephanie MacFie’s debut novel Once Upon a Breakfast Show. Set in the high-pressure world of breakfast radio, this “funny and wise novel about love and...
HarperCollins acquires “Conversations with My Rabbi”
Monday, 16 March 2026
HarperCollins Australia has acquired ANZ rights to Conversations with My Rabbi: Timeless Teachings for a Fractured World by Nikki Goldstein in a deal negotiated with Rena Rossner of the Deborah...
Apollo Bay WORDfest 2026 line-up announced
Monday, 16 March 2026
The Apollo Bay WORDfest has released the program for its 2026 festival, to be held in the Victorian coastal town from Friday 24 July to Sunday 26 July. Authors scheduled...
Vale Patricia Clarke
Thursday, 12 March 2026
Writer, historian and former journalist Patricia Clarke has died, aged 99. National Library of Australia Publishing writes: Dr Patricia Clarke OAM FAHA is the author of over a dozen books...
Penguin Literary Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Thursday, 12 March 2026
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has announced the shortlist for the 2026 Penguin Literary Prize. The shortlisted manuscripts are: “An Allergy” by Sunil Badami (Sydney, NSW) – “‘An Allergy’ explores...
Manly Writers’ Festival announces 2026 program
Thursday, 12 March 2026
The Manly Writers’ Festival has released its program, which will run from 19 to 22 March 2026, bringing together almost 90 writers, journalists, historians, thinkers and musicians, while examining “how...
Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki 2026 program announced
Thursday, 12 March 2026
The program for the 2026 Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki, to run from 12 to 17 May, has been announced. This third program by artistic director Lyndsey Fineran features...
Stella Prize 2026 longlist announced
Thursday, 12 March 2026
The longlist for the $60,000 Stella Prize for women and non-binary writers has been announced. The longlisted books are: KONTRA (Eunice Andrada, Giramondo) The Rot (Evelyn Araluen, UQP) Memorial Days...
Changes for QLAs; Mirror Cities initiative announced; local authors shortlisted in UK awards
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
The Queensland government has announced the State Library of Queensland will no longer manage the Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) or the black&write! fellowship program; Melbourne’s UNESCO City of Literature is...
Rights round-up
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Sales Fiction Bold Type Agency has sold German rights to Driven (Emma J Warrender) on behalf of Melanie Ostell Literary; Spanish rights to the first two Puckboy titles and the...
HarperCollins acquires new Rogers novel
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to The Clue Keeper, a new novel by Megan Rogers, in a deal brokered by Benython Oldfield at Zeitgeist Agency. The Clue Keeper follows Ginnie...
Alliance Distribution Services: “A day at ADS”
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
In the lead-up to the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs), Books+Publishing is inviting the event's major sponsors to share little-known facts about their organisations, their top tips for booksellers and...
S&S acquires world rights to Barry quartet
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia has acquired world rights to The Northshine Quartet, a new contemporary series by Amy Barry, in a deal brokered by Sarah Younger at Nancy Yost Literary...
Sydney Writers’ Festival program announced
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
The program for this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival, running from 17–24 May, has been announced. The festival is hosting 200+ in-person and live-streamed events featuring 39 international guests and over...
Read the latest Publishers Weekly
Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Books+Publishing partners with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine. View the current edition.
Edith: The Girl Who Was 100 Years Old (Catharina Valckx, trans Antony Shugaar, Gecko)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
In Edith: The Girl Who Was 100 Years Old, French author and illustrator Catharina Valckx tells the bittersweet story of a little girl granted 2 extraordinary gifts, in an English...
Bella Grows a Bicycle (Lellie Lopter, illus Chiara Franceschetti, Five Mile)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
In Bella Grows a Bicycle, Lellie Lopter delivers a warm and imaginative picture book about creativity, sustainability and problem-solving. Bella dreams of owning a new bicycle, but after her dad...
The Northern Tomb (Isabelle Li, Puncher & Wattman)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Isabelle Li’s The Northern Tomb is a quietly powerful, deeply human novel that unfolds in 4 parts, blending personal stories with history in a way that feels both intimate and...
The Thornbacks (Chloe Wilson, Hamish Hamilton)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Chloe Wilson’s debut novel, The Thornbacks, follows stepsisters Gertie and Tabitha: a pair of morticians who – apart from a sinister hobby – are mostly harmless. Come “date night”, they...
Don’t Let Them Leave (Mike Lucas, Penguin)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
In Don’t Let Them Leave, Mike Lucas (What We All Saw) delivers a creepy and suspenseful historical thriller for readers aged 12 and over. The story follows Charlotte, Jack and...
Henry Goes Bush (Wayne Marshall, Picador)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Wayne Marshall blends fact and fiction (including time travel) to explore alternative versions of Henry Lawson’s 1892 trip to Bourke. Lawson was 25, depressed, nearly deaf and already battling alcoholism...
Fitzroy North 3068 (Yvette Henry Holt, Upswell)
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Fitzroy North 3068 by multi-award-winning poet Yvette Henry Holt is more than a collection of poems – it is an experience. To call it “immersive” feels almost inadequate for a...
Local authors on 2026 British Book Awards shortlists
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
The late Australian author Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Sarah Wynn-Williams are among the writers and illustrators shortlisted for this year’s British Book Awards (also known as the...
Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize 2025 shortlist released
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
The shortlist for the 2025 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize has been announced. The 8 shortlisted stories, chosen from more than 500 entries, are: “Many Small Violences” by Arden Baker “Two...
UQP sells Abdel-Fattah’s “Discipline” to Oneworld
Thursday, 5 March 2026
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has sold world English (ex ANZ) rights to Randa Abdel-Fattah’s novel Discipline to Oneworld Publications, in a deal between UQP rights manager Erin Sandiford and Oneworld...
ASAL 2026 fellows announced
Thursday, 5 March 2026
The Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL) has announced its two writers’ fellowships for 2026 in association with the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. This year’s fellows are: Western...
