Hardie Grant acquires Ellis’ ‘Sex, Lies and Question Time’
10 August 2020
Hardie Grant Books has acquired Sex, Lies and Question Time: The successes and struggles of women in Australia’s parliament by former Australian politician Kate Ellis. The publisher said Ellis’ book...
Magabala acquires Reid’s ‘Our Matriarchs Matter’
10 August 2020
Magabala Books has acquired Our Matriarchs Matter by Wiradjuri and Wailwan activist, lawyer and co-founder of Instagram account Blackfulla Bookclub, Teela May Reid. The publisher acquired the work of junior...
UQP acquires Walker’s ‘The First Time I Thought I was Dying’
7 August 2020
UQP has acquired world rights to The First Time I Thought I was Dying, a collection of personal essays and cultural criticism on ‘the unruly body in late capitalism’ from...
S&S acquires Rogers autobiography
7 August 2020
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired the autobiography of rugby player Mat Rogers. The book, scheduled for Christmas 2021, is the first major acquisition by new S&S nonfiction publisher...
HarperCollins acquires Mattinson’s ‘We Were Not Men’
5 August 2020
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to Campbell Mattinson's debut novel We Were Not Men, from Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown. ‘It only took the first 22 pages of this novel—which...
Wakefield acquires Parker’s ‘Endo Days’
5 August 2020
Wakefield Press has acquired world rights to journalist Libby Trainor Parker’s debut nonfiction book, which has the working title Endo Days: Life, love and laughs with endometriosis. Endo Days is...
Black Inc. acquires ‘We’ve Got This’ anthology
4 August 2020
Black Inc. has acquired world rights to We've Got This: Parenting with a disability, an anthology to be edited by journalist and disability advocate Eliza Hull, creator of the ABC...
Scribner acquires Watson’s ‘The Passion of Private White’
30 July 2020
Simon & Schuster Australia’s (S&S) Scribner imprint has acquired ANZ rights to a new work of nonfiction by Don Watson, The Passion of Private White. S&S said the book ‘describes...
Rights round-up
29 July 2020
Acquisitions Fiction Transit Lounge has acquired world English-language rights to Travelling Companions (Antoni Jach) (see news). Nonfiction Scribe has acquired world English-language rights to The Chief Witness: Escape from China’s...
Transit Lounge acquires Jach’s ‘Travelling Companions’
29 July 2020
Transit Lounge has acquired world English-language rights to Antoni Jach’s fourth novel, Travelling Companions. Publisher Barry Scott said the novel is ‘charming, amusing and philosophical. Solitary travellers and a couple...
UQP acquires two new books from Birch
23 July 2020
University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired a short story collection, Dark as Last Night, and a work of poetry, Whisper Songs, by Miles Franklin–shortlisted author Tony Birch. ‘Dark as...
Wakefield to publish #LoveOzYA horror anthology
22 July 2020
Wakefield Press will publish YA fiction anthology Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, described as ‘the brainchild of acclaimed YA author and Wakefield Press staff member Poppy Nwosu, who will curate...
Scribe acquires nonfiction anthology on class in Australia
22 July 2020
Scribe has acquired world rights to Cop this Lot: Writers on growing up class-conscious in Australia, an anthology of essays on the theme of social class in Australia. Rights were...
Pantera acquires Liminal anthology ‘Collisions’
21 July 2020
Pantera Press has acquired world rights to Liminal magazine anthology Collisions: Fictions of the Future (ed by Leah Jing McIntosh, Adalya Nash Hussein, Cher Tan & Hassan Abul). The anthology...
S&S acquires two new Blanchard novels
16 July 2020
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired world rights to two new books by historical fiction author Tania Blanchard. The first book in the new contract, like Blanchard's previous novels,...
EK Books acquires picture book from Exisle Academy participant
16 July 2020
Exisle Publishing has acquired Cookie, a debut picture book by 18-year-old writer Isabelle Duff. Duff was part of the first intake of students to participate in 'Exisle Academy', an author...
Scribe acquires Doig’s ‘We Are All Preppers Now’
15 July 2020
Scribe has acquired world English-language rights to Tom Doig’s third full-length book, We Are All Preppers Now, a narrative nonfiction work that examines the practices of survivalism and doomsday prepping...
Affirm acquires Grills’ ‘big beautiful female theory’
14 July 2020
Affirm Press has acquired ANZ rights to big beautiful female theory, an illustrated collection of 'memoir–essays' by comics artist, critic and poet Eloise Grills, in a deal brokered by Martin...
PRH acquires Doyle’s ‘Echolalia’
13 July 2020
Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) has acquired Echolalia by Briohny Doyle in a two-book deal via Rach Crawford of Mackenzie Wolf. According to Doyle, the novel is ‘about grief, responsibility,...
‘Real Pigeons’ to be adapted for TV by James Corden
8 July 2020
Real Pigeons Fight Crime (Andrew McDonald, illus by Ben Wood, Hardie Grant Egmont) is being developed by host of the The Late Late Show James Corden as a TV series...
‘Taking Tom Murray Home’ optioned for screen
7 July 2020
Sydney-based production company Soft Tread Enterprises has optioned Tim Slee's novel Taking Tom Murray Home (HarperCollins) for the screen. Taking Tom Murray Home was the inaugural winner of the Banjo...
UQP acquires new Chong poetry collection
6 July 2020
The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has acquired Eileen Chong’s poetry collection A Thousand Crimson Blooms. Chong is the author of nine books, including her most recent poetry collection Rainforest, which...
Text acquires four additional Text Prize-shortlisted books
26 June 2020
Text Publishing has acquired world rights to four manuscripts that were shortlisted for the 2020 Text Prize, in addition to the winner, middle-grade novel Rainfish (Andrew Paterson). From the shortlist...
Wakefield acquires Haghdoosti’s debut YA novel ‘Sunburnt Veils’
26 June 2020
Wakefield Press has acquired ANZ and UK rights to Sara Haghdoosti's debut YA novel Sunburnt Veils. Sunburnt Veils is a character-based exploration of Islamophobia through a heroine who’s the kind...
Hardie Grant acquires Ablett autobiography
24 June 2020
Hardie Grant Books has acquired world rights to AFL player Gary Ablett Jr’s autobiography. The fully illustrated book will include guest chapters from his father Gary Ablett Sr, Geelong captain...
Fremantle Press acquires ‘Unlimited Futures’ anthology
22 June 2020
Fremantle Press will publish a new anthology, Unlimited Futures: Speculative, Visionary Blak+Black Fiction, to provide ‘the chance for established and emerging First Nations writers and Black writers to share the...
Hachette acquires Lau’s ‘Gunk Baby’
18 June 2020
Hachette Australia has acquired ANZ rights to the novel Gunk Baby by Jamie Marina Lau. Hachette head of literary Robert Watkins said he is excited to be publishing the novel,...
Billie B Brown optioned for TV
17 June 2020
Fremantle and development partner 720 Creative have acquired screen rights to the children’s book character Billie B Brown, from the junior fiction series written by Sally Rippin, illustrated by Aki...
Rights round-up
11 June 2020
Acquisitions Fiction Sally Bird at Calidris Literary Agency has sold world rights to Elodie Cheesman’s debut novel to Pan Macmillan. Lyn Tranter at Australian Literary Management has sold world rights...
Perlman’s ‘Maybe the Horse Will Talk’ to be adapted for US TV
10 June 2020
Paramount Television Studios in the US has optioned Australian author Elliot Perlman’s novel Maybe the Horse Will Talk (Vintage) for adaptation into a TV series, with Perlman to adapt and...
