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National Poet Laureate; TitlePage engagement; Wheeler Centre turns 15

Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Local news This week, Writing Australia invited applications for the inaugural National Poet Laureate, an appointment created under the Australian Government’s Revive policy; TitlePage’s subscriber engagement figures for December 2025 reflected...

Literary figures among Australians of the Year, Australia Day Honours; Writing Australia announces investments, partnerships, 2026 VIPs

Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Headlining this week's news, several authors, publishers and literary workers were named in the 2026 Australia Day Honours and the Australian of the Year awards; while Writing Australia announced a...

Creative Australia announces funded projects; Writers Victoria petition launches; APA releases ABIA guide

Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Among these week's headlines, literature organisations and individuals around Australia received a total of $10.6 million for 212 projects in Creative Australia’s latest funding round; Writers Victoria launched a petition...

AWW cancelled, resignations; Silvey arrested; the Australian book market up

Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Major local news In 2026 literary news, Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) has been cancelled after over 100 panelists withdrew following the removal of Randa Abdel-Fattah from its program. In the wake...

Jane Curry named S&S ANZ managing director; Arts Queensland Poetry Award winners; 2026 fiction and poetry previews

Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Local news In local news, the State Library Victoria responded in more detail to media reporting of a leaked document outlining job and service cuts and redeployments; and a philanthropic...

SLV responds to reports on staff cuts; PRH bookseller grant recipients; Amplify Bookstore celebrates 5 years

Wednesday, 3 December 2025
Local news In news across Australia this week, the State Library Victoria responded to reports of changes to its services and staffing; Melbourne-based think tank Grattan Institute has announced its...

Macdonald appointed IPEd chair; Thom-Jones wins Scarlet Stiletto Award; SLV proposed cuts

Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Local news In local news this week, the Institute of Professional Editors appointed Catherine Macdonald as chair of the board following the 2025 AGM on 10 November. Awards Author Sandra...

Duffy named UQP director; Saunders wins Peter Blazey Fellowship; Readings Prize winners

Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Local news The University of Queensland appointed Madonna Duffy as director of the University of Queensland Press (UQP), with her new role to commence on 1 December; the Small Press...

Szalay wins the Booker Prize; Thomas wins Nib; Ruffino steps down

Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Local news In local news this week, Canberra Writers Festival recorded more than 10,000 audience attendees at its 2025 program, an increase of 55% on the 2024 festival. This year’s...

Richell Prize winner; Disability Arts History Australia website; speech pathology book of the year winners

Wednesday, 5 November 2025
Local news In local news this week, a new Disability Arts History Australia website was launched at the Queensland University of Technology, bringing together the stories, achievements and influence of...

Australian Government blocks attempts to change copyright law; BWF breaks records; Children’s Booker to be awarded

Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Major local news The Australian Government announced this week that it won’t change the law to allow tech companies to train artificial intelligence models using copyright material, Australian media outlets...

Melbourne Books scam; ARA Historical Novel Prize winners; ASA, APA, authors speak to Senate committee about copyright

Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Local news In local news this week, Melbourne Books has alerted writers to a vanity publisher with a similar name, Melbourne Book Publisher, which has been impersonating its business; Overland announced...

BookPeople new CEO; Voss longlist; Bundyi Writing Prize; Books from abroad

Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Major news BookPeople has named Susannah Bowen as incoming CEO, replacing Robbie Egan who will step down at the end of the year. Frankfurt Book Fair begins 15 October 2025...

The Bookshop Darlinghurst to close; Garner shortlisted for Baillie Gifford; EWF shares 2025 report

Wednesday, 8 October 2025
In Books+Publishing (B+P) news this week, Kate Cuthbert has resigned as publishing director. Her last day will be 30 October. In B+P features this week, Emily Baulch shared her research...

Prime Minister’s Literary Awards; Sovereign Texts journal; Magabala publisher Rachel Bin Salleh on Charmaine Papertalk Green

Wednesday, 1 October 2025
This week, Writing Australia announced the winners of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, which included Theory & Practice (Michelle de Kretser, Text); Mean Streak (Rick Morton, Fourth Estate); Critical Care: Nurses...

Berbay Travel and Little Smith imprints launched; PANZ Book Design Awards presented; Creative Australia Fellowships announced

Wednesday, 24 September 2025
In local news, children’s publisher Berbay Publishing announced Berbay Travel, a new imprint dedicated ‘to revealing the hidden and unseen elements of destinations around the globe’; while Smith Street Books...

Myint wins Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award; Hachette, EWF reveal Richell Prize longlist; Le Roy leaves Creative Australia

Wednesday, 17 September 2025
In local industry news, Karen Le Roy left Creative Australia after 14 years; among other projects, she oversaw the Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) program. Meanwhile, Pigface Bookstore opened in Perth,...

Meanjin literary journal to close ‘on financial grounds’, NSW History Award winners revealed, Anthropic settles book piracy lawsuit

Wednesday, 10 September 2025
In a move roundly condemned by industry figures and other publications, Melbourne University Publishing shuttered 85-year-old literary journal Meanjin last Thursday ‘on financial grounds’. This was followed by a brief...

Indigenous Literacy Day takes place today; Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards; Aotearoa New Zealand Poet Laureate

Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Happy Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD)! This year, ILD's theme is ‘Strength In Our Stories: For Now & Future Generations’, and live events are being streamed from three Aboriginal Communities. Also...

Allen appointed Dymocks CEO; Ruby Award winners revealed; Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival program announced

Wednesday, 27 August 2025
In local news this week, Dymocks announced the appointment of David Allen as its new CEO, effective from Monday 8 September; editorial agency yinfluence announced an expansion from a solo...

Bendigo Writers Festival updates; NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults; festival programs launched

Thursday, 21 August 2025
Industry news this week featured heavily on the Bendigo Writers Festival, which ran a truncated program 15–18 August 2025 after 50 authors and the festival bookshop withdrew in protest of...

PMLA shortlists; Byrne appointed Writing Australia director; Waitere appointed PANZ president

Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Welcome to this week's news. The Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2025 shortlisted titles were announced this week, with a record 645 titles submitted for consideration. This will be the first year...

Productivity Commission report; El-Zein wins National Biography Award; PANZ Publishing Market Size Report

Wednesday, 6 August 2025
Headlining the news this week, the Australian government Productivity Commission’s (PC) current Harnessing Data and Digital Technology inquiry released an interim report, which called for feedback on ‘the issue of copyrighted materials...