Leading Edge Group enters administration; Alisa Ahmed named Rising Star; DANZ winners
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Leading Edge Group, which operates the Leading Edge Books buying group, has entered administration and administrators have scheduled the first creditors meeting; Simon & Schuster has announced further details of...
APA, ASA welcome prime minister’s AI comments; Randa Abdel-Fattah launches legal action; Hardie Grant to deliver First Nations editorial development program
Tuesday, 21 July 2026
The Australian Publishers Association and Australian Society of Authors have welcomed comments made by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese regarding AI and copyright following his major speech on the topic; author...
APA Rising Star shortlist announced; WA Premier’s awards shortlist released; Creative Australia funding awarded
Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Literature organisations and individuals are among recipients of the latest Creative Australia funding; Hardie Grant has announced that future Pantera Press titles will be published across its existing Australian publishing...
Authors call on government to resist AI pressure; QBD celebrates 150 years; Varuna announces 2027 fellowships
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Authors and other creators are calling on the federal government to hold firm on copyright amid AI companies’ lobbying efforts; a new report on audiobook listening in Australia has been...
Simon & Schuster restructures; Miles Franklin shortlist announced; new literary fellowships
Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia has announced the departures of Cate Blake and Kelly Doust amid a publishing team restructure; Vicki McDonald has been appointed State Library Victoria CEO; publishing revenue and...
Book sales up in 2026; new bookseller events grants; ASA updates agreements with AI clauses
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Book sales in the local market are up so far in 2026, according to NielsenIQ BookData; publishing revenue in Aotearoa New Zealand increased by 1.8% in 2025, while total unit...
Booktopia staff changes; WH Smith profit warning; new author-support business
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Several Booktopia staff have been made redundant; WH Smith has issued a profit warning; two former Big Fivers have launched a new author-support business; new ISBN data show the number of books...
Creative Aus participation survey; SWF director steps down; King’s Birthday Honours
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Creative Australia has released the results of the most recent National Arts Participation Survey; Sydney Writers’ Festival artistic director Ann Mossop will step down from her role; former Leading Edge...
Wright leaves Leading Edge; Aotearoa sales changes at Thames & Hudson and Simon & Schuster; Hachette launches new imprint
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Leading Edge Books member services manager Kaye Wright has left as part of a restructure; Thames & Hudson Australia (T&H) has made some staff changes; and announced it will move...
Miles Franklin longlist; ABIA winners; record-breaking SWF
Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Sydney Writers’ Festival and Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki each reported box office record-breaking years for the 2026 festival (and shared their bestsellers); while Melbourne Writers Festival reported attendance...
NSW Literary Awards; Stella winner; Heiss resigns from UQ
Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Anita Heiss has announced her resignation from the University of Queensland; Penguin Random House marketing and publicity director Dot Tonkin has left the publishing house; Better Reading has appointed Natika...
Silvey pleads guilty; Age, ABDA winners; Open Book interns announced
Wednesday, 13 May 2026
Author Craig Silvey has pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material; the successful interns for the 2026 Open Book: Australian Publishing Internship have been announced; Berkelouw Books Leichhardt has closed after...
The Nile adds international shipping; Better Reading launches app; Byron Writers Festival reveals initial line-up
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
The Nile has added international shipping; Better Reading will launch a new app, What Are You Reading?; the inaugural Aotearoa NZ Children’s Book Week will run from 15 to 21...
Milsom appointed AWW director; authors leave UQP over “Bila” cancellation; ABA Book of the Year shortlists
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Rosemarie Milsom has been appointed director of Adelaide Writers’ Week; UQP authors, including Evelyn Araluen and Randa Abdel-Fattah, as well as UQP staff, have condemned the decision by the University...
Ball joins UQP; new owner for Robinsons; ABIA business shortlists
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
In local news this week, University of Queensland Press has announced the appointment of Ben Ball as publishing director “after an extensive recruitment process”; Denis Crema is the new owner...
SWF responds to bookseller criticism, Shakthidharan wins Windham-Campbell Prize, Stella shortlist announced
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
The Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has stated that it is “supportive, on a case-by-case basis, of an in-store bookshop event with under 50 attendees”, responding to bookseller criticism of its...
ABIA shortlists, DANZ longlist, Australia Reads up for innovation award
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
The Australian Society of Authors has announced the winners of mentorships in the 2026 CA/ASA Developmental Leadership Program, Writing NSW has announced the winners of the 2026 Cultivate Mentorship Program...
QLAs move to BWF; a “strong year” for PRH locally as global earnings down; CBCA shortlists announced
Wednesday, 1 April 2026
In news this week, the Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) will become part of the Brisbane Writers Festival for the foreseeable future; Penguin Random House Australia (PRH) reports “a strong year”...
APA, ASA warn against copyright exceptions; Hachette, Sweatshop launch First Nations, CALD scholarship; Writers Victoria petition hits 10K signatures
Wednesday, 25 March 2026
In news this week, industry bodies including the Australian Publishers Association, Australian Society of Authors, and Copyright Agency have released a joint statement warning against expansions to copyright exceptions it...
Stella Prize longlist; Penguin Literary Prize shortlist; Silvey faces further charges
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
Writing Australia is looking for a delivery partner in the publishing sector to operate the black&write! fellowship program. Author Craig Silvey was charged with more child exploitation offences. Obsidian Bookshop,...
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...
Victorian and NZ awards announced; Fearless Prize awarded; Sorrento Writers Festival program released
Wednesday, 4 March 2026
Awards This week the Wheeler Centre announced the winners of the 2026 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards; the shortlists for this year’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards were announced; Bakers Lane...
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,...
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,...
Griffiths named Australian Children’s Laureate; Australia’s best children’s picture book; DIY Publishing Toolkit
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Local news This week, Author Andy Griffiths was named the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027; Simon & Schuster reorganised its Australia and New Zealand sales team, with Elissa...
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...
