Oz Day honours, Perth Festival program and more
Thursday, 28 January 2021
A handful of book industry figures have been recognised in the annual Australia Day honours. The full line-up for the 2021 Perth Festival Literature & Ideas program—which runs from 8–28...
Oz book sales up 7.8%, royalties down for a third of authors
Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Australian book sales were up nearly 8% in 2020, led by strong growth in adult fiction and children’s titles, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, the ASA has reported that royalties declined for...
UWAP to become hybrid publisher, latest awards and more
Wednesday, 13 January 2021
In December last year, the University of Western Australia announced the university’s publishing arm will become a ‘hybrid’ publisher, with the library to take over internal management of the press....
White launches new imprint, Booktopia lists on ASX, VPLAs shortlists
Wednesday, 9 December 2020
Former UWA Publishing director Terri-ann White has launched a new not-for-profit imprint, Upswell, to be distributed within the Black Inc. list. In other news from the past week, online bookseller...
Bertelsmann to buy S&S, court dismisses HarperCollins defamation case
Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Penguin Random House’s parent company Bertelsmann announced it will acquire Simon & Schuster from media company ViacomCBS for US$2.175 billion. Last week, a federal court judge dismissed a defamation case...
ASA writers survey, first Perth Fest guests, Booker Prize winner
Wednesday, 25 November 2020
A new survey by the Australian Society of Authors shows more than half of full-time writers earn below $15,000 per year. The first guests for next year’s Perth Festival Literature...
Pan Mac cuts ties with Evans, PMLA shortlists announced
Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Pan Macmillan is finalising its contractual relationship with Pete Evans, following a social media post by the cookbook author that included a symbol appropriated by Nazis and recognised as a...
Radnidge takes on literary at Hachette, Richell Prize winner and more
Wednesday, 11 November 2020
In industry moves, Vanessa Radnidge is taking on literary at Hachette, with Fiona Hazard to head a newly created lifestyle list, while former Hachette managing editor Brigid Mullane has joined...
Oz book sales forecast to grow 4%, Booktopia to list on ASX, latest awards
Thursday, 5 November 2020
According to a new report, Australia’s overall book sales in the 2021 financial year will be up 4% on the previous year. The report, from consultants Frost & Sullivan, was...
Robotham wins Gold Dagger, new publishing houses launched
Wednesday, 28 October 2020
In awards news this week, crime writer Michael Robotham won this year’s CWA Gold Dagger award for best crime novel, becoming the first Australian to win the award twice. Maria...
CBCA Book of the Year winners; Watkins appointed Ultimo publishing director
Wednesday, 21 October 2020
The winners of the CBCA Book of the Year awards were announced last week, while a new study found CBCA early childhood category shortlisted books to be overwhelmingly white. In...
Industry pushes for early Christmas shopping; Australia Reads to stream on YouTube
Wednesday, 14 October 2020
The ABA and APA have launched a new campaign to encourage Australians to do their Christmas shopping early as the global supply chain strains under the pressure of the Covid-19...
Booktopia senior appointments, latest awards
Wednesday, 7 October 2020
This week Booktopia announced a slate of senior appointments, including a new CFO. Meanwhile, the Big Issue released its 2020 fiction edition line-up and the Queensland Poetry Festival received funding...
QBD, Dymocks petition Vic premier to reopen Melbourne stores; Hachette to boost ADS capacity
Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Bookselling chains QBD and Dymocks have each written to Victorian premier Daniel Andrews asking that bookstores be allowed to open in Melbourne, which has been under stage four lockdown since...
Oz YTD bestsellers, Rabble to no longer stock J K Rowling, latest awards
Wednesday, 23 September 2020
Books by Trent Dalton, Scott Pape and Bluey have topped Nielsen BookScan’s Australian charts for the year to the end of August. Perth bookshop Rabble Books and Games will no...
Hardie Grant & Kellow launch Ultimo Press, $3bn Vic gov package for small businesses
Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Hardie Grant has announced the launch of Ultimo Press, a new Sydney-based publishing house to be led by former HarperCollins ANZ CEO James Kellow. In Victoria, the state government has revealed...
Over 18k view virtual ILD, Booktopia and QBD make AFR top 500
Wednesday, 9 September 2020
At the time of writing, over 18,000 people have viewed this year’s virtual Indigenous Literacy Day event, which was streamed live on YouTube on Wednesday, 2 September. Booktopia and QBD...
Over 30k attend MWF Digital, new bookshop for Noosa, latest awards
Wednesday, 2 September 2020
This year’s Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF)—which ran as a digital event due to the Covid-19 pandemic—attracted around 34,200 attendees. A new ‘profit for purpose’ bookshop has been announced for Noosa...
Indigenous Literacy Day to stream on YouTube; Lui to curate new A&U imprint
Wednesday, 26 August 2020
The ILF will hold its annual Indigenous Literacy Day celebration as a ‘visual event’ on its YouTube channel on Wednesday, 2 September. Allen & Unwin has announced that writer, actor...
Fed govt to propose copyright reforms, Williams appointed interim SWF artistic director
Wednesday, 19 August 2020
The federal government will propose reforms to Australia’s copyright laws in exposure draft legislation it expects to release later this year, and former Wheeler Centre director Michael Williams has been...
Future of Writing NSW under threat, new government funding guidelines and more
Wednesday, 12 August 2020
The future of Writing NSW is under threat after the organisation missed out on multi-year Create NSW funding. In pandemic-related news, the federal government has released guidelines for its $75m...
Melbourne bookshops close under stage four restrictions, new project to digitise out-of-print works
Wednesday, 5 August 2020
Under stage four lockdown restrictions introduced on Sunday, Melbourne bookshops have closed to the public and can only operate online or via the contactless click and collect method. The ASA,...
Booker Prize longlist, JobKeeper extended and more
Wednesday, 29 July 2020
The Booker Prize longlist—which features writers from the UK, US, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Ethiopia—headlines this week’s awards news. In local awards news, Rodney Hall and Krissy Kneen have received $80,000...
Winch wins Miles Franklin, Nielsen predicts book sales rebound and more
Wednesday, 22 July 2020
Tara June Winch has won the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her second novel The Yield (Hamish Hamilton), becoming the fourth First Nations writer to win the award in its...
Book sales down 2% for year to June, ABA Booksellers’ Choice awards winners and more
Wednesday, 15 July 2020
Nielsen BookScan data shows that strong sales during the second quarter of 2020 have largely cushioned the local book market from the effects of Covid-19, with sales down by just...
Ingram to open new Melbourne printing plant, research into accessible content and more
Wednesday, 8 July 2020
Online literary journal Verity La is taking a break from publishing to ‘reflect on the ways in which the journal has been complicit with systemic racism, sexism and disablism’ following...
Workers share salaries for transparency, new Wheeler Centre CEO and more
Wednesday, 1 July 2020
A spreadsheet inviting Australian publishing workers to share their salaries is circulating on social media, with about 70 staff so far having shared information including their job titles, wage, gender identity, ethnicity...
Miles Franklin shortlist, White leaves UWAP and more
Wednesday, 24 June 2020
The six titles shortlisted for this year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award have been revealed, ahead of the winner’s announcement on 16 July. In other awards news from the past week,...
New Magabala First Nations cadetship, latest awards and more
Wednesday, 17 June 2020
Magabala Books has announced a new cadetship for First Nations publishing professionals, which includes on-the-job training, professional development and sustainable employment, with mentorship from Magabala publisher Rachel Bin Salleh. Meanwhile,...
Queen’s Birthday Honours, latest funding, awards news and more
Thursday, 11 June 2020
A number of authors and publishing industry figures including Marcia Langton, Scott Pape and Karen Williams are among the recipients of this year’s 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours. Meanwhile, the ASA...





