International Booker Prize longlist revealed
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
In the UK, the longlist for the 2026 International Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$95,597), has been announced. Longlisted titles are: The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran (Shida Bazyar, trans Ruth Martin,...
NZ Booklovers Awards 2026 shortlists announced
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
In Aotearoa New Zealand, the 2026 NZ Booklovers Awards shortlists have been announced. Shortlisted titles include: Best Adult Fiction Book 1985 (Dominic Hoey, Penguin) A Beautiful Family (Jennifer Trevelyan, A&U)...
Diversity Arts Australia report; new Australian Poetry head; Notable children’s books
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Local news Diversity Arts Australia (DARTS) released “Fair Play Reflections”, an evaluation of the Fair Play equity and culture-change initiative over the past 7 years; and Australia’s peak poetry body,...
Rights round-up
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Sales Fiction Bold Type Agency has sold German, Dutch and Italian language rights to the Divorced Men’s Club series, along with German rights to the first 2 titles of the...
Constellations: Not Writers’ Week releases full program
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Constellations: Not Writers’ Week, created following the cancellation of this year’s Adelaide Writers' Week (AWW), has named more than 100 authors who will appear at 50 events in 19 venues,...
Upswell acquires Scott-Patrick Mitchell poetry
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to poet Scott-Patrick Mitchell’s next collection, Incantations to a Drowned Canyon. A Perth-based poet and spoken word performer, Mitchell published their first volume of...
Read the latest Publishers Weekly
Wednesday, 25 February 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.
Dove (Georgia Harper, Penguin)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Georgia Harper’s Dove is a quiet, restrained novel with a philosophical tone and a steady undercurrent of tension. Set in a small Queensland town in 1993, the story centres on...
My Ball Is Broken (Rob Graves-Morris, Walker)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
My Ball Is Broken, written and illustrated by Rob Graves-Morris, is a playful picture book with hidden depth for readers aged 4 and over, told from the perspective of a...
Gross Things Animals Eat (Claire Stevens, illus Adele K Thomas, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Gross Things Animals Eat is packed with disgusting, bizarre and outrageous descriptions and illustrations that young readers aged 5 and up will absolutely love. Australian veterinarian Claire Stevens invites children...
Look After Your Feet: Some Keen Observations on the Unexpected Advantages and Indignities of Getting Older (Rosalie Ham, A&U)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Rosalie Ham (The Dressmaker) turns her sharp wit toward the journey of ageing in her first nonfiction book, Look After Your Feet. Insightful, mischievous and often very funny, the memoir...
Tiwi war kwampini: Mwarlapwara kangi tingati (Tiwi War Hero: Footprints in the Sand) (Mavis Kerinaiua, ILF)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Tiwi war kwampini: Mwarlapwara kangi tingati (Tiwi War Hero: Footprints in the Sand) is written, translated and illustrated by Mavis Kerinaiua, with support from Laura Rademaker. This compelling picture book...
Griefdogg (Michael Winkler, Text)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Miles Franklin–shortlisted author Michael Winkler (Grimmish) returns with his anticipated new novel, Griefdogg. Jeffrey is a hydrologist in Mildura who, after inheriting a small fortune, decides to abandon his adult...
Fanny and Mina: The Fastest of Friends (Samantha Tidy, illus Hilary Cresp, Windy Hollow)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Fanny and Mina: The Fastest of Friends, written by Samantha Tidy and illustrated by Hilary Cresp, is a narrative nonfiction picture book for readers aged 5 to 8. It introduces...
The Friendship Paradox (Aśka, A&U Children’s)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
The Friendship Paradox is a heartwarming YA graphic novel by author and artist Aśka (Stars in Their Eyes) about personal growth and friendship, with accessible science concepts sprinkled throughout. The...
Crip Stories: An Anthology of Disabled Writers (ed BS Windon, Laura Pettenuzzo, Misbah Wolf & Katie Hansord, NewSouth)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Crip Stories: An Anthology of Disabled Writers, edited by BS Windon, Laura Pettenuzzo, Misbah Wolf and Katie Hansord, in partnership with Mascara Literary Review and with the support of Creative...
The Nocturnals (Frances Whiting, HarperCollins)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Frances Whiting’s third novel, The Nocturnals, follows 5 teenagers in 1997 who promise “to love each other wholly” as they become inseparable in their final year of school. The group...
The Last Word (Two Hearts) (A L Tait, Scholastic)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Scholastic’s multi-authored Two Hearts series is capturing the Australian middle-grade romance market. It is notable for its appealing, tween-appropriate relationships, where friendships can evolve into gentle romance and culminate in...
The Chateau on Sunset (Natasha Lester, Hachette)
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
The Chateau on Sunset is the latest historical fiction novel from bestselling author Natasha Lester, set against both the glamour and the darkness of 1950s Hollywood. Told through split perspectives...
Riveted Press acquires Stanton’s “The Adventures of Squidape”
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Riveted Press has acquired worldwide rights to The Adventures of Squidape, a middle-grade mystery by John Stanton. The novel follows Roland Bickering-Jones – who “likes facts, lists and things that make...
MidnightSun announces inaugural Picture Book Prize shortlist
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
MidnightSun Publishing has announced the shortlist for its inaugural picture book prize. Shortlisted works are: “An Excellent Hat” (Linda Brucesmith) “The Tinker’s Light” (Ashling Kwok) “The Battle of the Beast”...
A&U acquires Saunders’s “Fighting for Country”
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to a new nonfiction title, Fighting for Country: The Extraordinary Life of Reg Saunders, Australia’s First Indigenous Military Officer, Hero of Two Wars by...
Aurealis Award 2025 winners announced
Monday, 23 February 2026
The winners of the 2025 Aurealis Awards for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing have been announced at GenreCon in Brisbane. Winning titles in each category, chosen from shortlists announced...
Leavy wins 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize
Monday, 23 February 2026
Cheryl Leavy has won the 2026 Peter Porter Poetry Prize for her poem “Kumanjayi”. Presented by the Australian Book Review (ABR) and worth $6000, the prize honours the life and work...
HarperCollins acquires “Bondi Terror” by Markson and Ryvchin
Monday, 23 February 2026
HarperCollins Australia has acquired world rights to Bondi Terror: The Tragedy, the Courage, the Aftermath by Sharri Markson and Alex Ryvchin. “Bondi Terror reconstructs the massacre in real time, from...
A&U acquires “Being” by Menzies & Menzies
Monday, 23 February 2026
Allen & Unwin has acquired Australian, New Zealand, Oceania and non-exclusive Southeast Asia rights to Rachel E Menzies and Ross G Menzies’s Being: Why It’s Harder to be Human Than...
Echo acquisitions cease; Meanjin revived; ABA reverts to former branding
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Among local headlines this week, Bonnier Books UK is ceasing new acquisitions for Australian imprint Echo, effective immediately, attributing the decision to “increasingly challenging market conditions”; while in brighter news,...
HarperCollins acquires Ferguson’s narrative nonfiction
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to narrative nonfiction by Kirstin Ferguson in a multi-book deal brokered by Key People Creative Management. Ferguson has worked as an officer in the Royal...
Rights round-up
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Sales Fiction Jane Novak Literary Agency has sold French rights to Voss and The Solid Mandala (Patrick White, various imprints) to Au Vent des Îles, via Lora Fountain at the Lora Fountain...
Text acquires Kernot’s “Night Swimming”
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to Night Swimming, a psychological thriller in verse by Sharon Kernot, in a deal brokered by Martin Shaw at Shaw Literary. According to the publisher,...
