Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

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Wombat acquires Page’s interactive novel

Photo of Gabriella Page. Thursday, 13 November 2025
Wombat Books has acquired world rights to Gabriella Page’s The Nardi Puzzle, an interactive middle-grade story that allows readers to solve puzzles alongside the characters. The novel follows Sebastian Walker’s...

CWF: Casual in the capital 

Wednesday, 12 November 2025
The 9th Canberra Writers Festival (CWF) ran from 22 to 26 October – the first under the current programming team of CEO Travis Green, artistic director Andra Putnis and artistic...

Kay Kerr recommends 

Tuesday, 11 November 2025
The last two Australian books I read and loved were Moonlight and Dust by Jasmin McGaughey – for the intrigue and lush, gorgeous writing, and Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica...

Kay Kerr on “Might Cry Later” 

Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Queensland-based author Kay Kerr made her debut with Please Don’t Hug Me (Text, 2020), followed by Social Queue (Text, 2021). Her latest release, Might Cry Later (Macmillan, November), marks her...

The Bookshop opens in Colac

Photo of the interior of The Bookshop in Colac. Monday, 10 November 2025
Recently, The Bookshop opened in the Victorian town of Colac. Owner Kris Seabert spoke with Books+Publishing about his vision for the shop. Why did you decide to open a bookshop? Do...

Crime and memoir top Aussie bestsellers 

Cover of Chloe Fisher's "Always You." Friday, 7 November 2025
Top 10 bestsellers Last One Out (Jane Harper, Macmillan) Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid 20) (Jeff Kinney, Puffin) The Detective (Matthew Reilly, Macmillan) Always You (Chloe Fisher, Hachette) Nobody’s...

Books in the media this weekend, 8 to 9 November 

A cover of "The Transformations" by Andrew Pippos. Friday, 7 November 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend. This week's round-up will be updated as information becomes available. National The Book Show, ABC...

Junior Book Club – this month’s reads

Friday, 7 November 2025
Searching for your next great read to share with kids? Our Junior Book Club highlights 10 new titles each month that are perfect for classrooms, libraries and family reading time....

ISNI: A global standard for identifying creators 

Thursday, 6 November 2025
The ISNI is performing a growing role for authors, publishers, librarians and other creative organisations. Australian ISBN Agency representative Andrew Wrathall reports on the ISNI session at September’s International ISBN...

Webster wins 2025 Nature Writing Prize

Wednesday, 5 November 2025
Bridget Webster has won the 2025 Nature Writing Prize for her piece “Like All Good Fruit”. Island editorial manager and lead judge Jane Rawson said, “Bridget’s work stood out to...

Reilly’s The Detective enters Aussie bestsellers 

Friday, 31 October 2025
Top 10 bestsellers Last One Out (Jane Harper, Macmillan) Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #20) (Jeff Kinney, Puffin) Nobody’s Girl (Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Doubleday) The Detective (Matthew Reilly, Macmillan)...

Books in the media this weekend, 1 to 2 November 

A cover of "Not Quite White in the Head" by Melissa Lucashenko. The title and author's name are featured on a red and grey background. Friday, 31 October 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this weekend. This week’s round-up will be updated as information becomes available. National The Book Show, ABC Radio...

BWF wrap up: Generous storytelling 

Brisbane Writers Festival 2025 logo Wednesday, 29 October 2025
This year, the Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) ran from 9 to 12 October in its new venue, the Brisbane Powerhouse. Over 100 live events were organised with more than 200...

Bakers Lane Books acquires McGuinness YA novel

A photograph of Bryony McGuinness standing front of a curtain. She has black hair and is smiling. Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Bakers Lane Books has acquired world rights to Violet Town, a young adult novel by Bryony McGuinness. Violet Town follows Cate Hawkins, a longstanding resident of Hickory’s Orphanage, as she...

Industry welcomes government’s AI copyright announcement

Photo of attorney-general Michelle Rowland speaking at a conference. Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Publishing industry organisations have reacted enthusiastically to news that the Australian Government has ruled out relaxing copyright rules for generative AI training. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Sunday that the...

NSW State Library announces 2026 fellowships

logo for the state library of new south wales Monday, 27 October 2025
The State Library of NSW has announced its 2026 fellowships, with a total of $314,000 awarded across 9 categories. The fellowships cover a range of original research topics to be...

Labor blocks AI industry moves to waive copyright

Photo of attorney-general Michelle Rowland speaking in parliament. Monday, 27 October 2025
The federal government won’t change the law to allow tech companies to train artificial intelligence (AI) models using copyright material, Australian media outlets reported today. The decision is a rejection of...

Last One Out comes first: this week’s bestsellers 

Friday, 24 October 2025
Top 10 bestsellers Last One Out (Jane Harper, Macmillan) Australia (Tony Abbott, HarperCollins) The Impossible Fortune (Richard Osman, Viking) Arnott’s The Cookbook (Are Media Books, AWW Cookbooks) Gravity Let Me...

Books in the media this weekend, 25 to 26 October 

the book cover for Pictures of You by Tony Birch Friday, 24 October 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend.  National The Book Show, ABC Radio National Boy Swallows Universe (Trent Dalton, Fourth Estate) Burial...

Inaugural AusArt Day seeks to support creative work

AusArt Day Thursday, 23 October 2025
Creative Australia’s (CA) inaugural national giving to the arts day, AusArt Day, takes place today, 23 October. The new initiative is “designed to support artists and arts organisations to fundraise...

ASA, APA, authors take on Senate over AI 

Four authors at Parliament Huuse Wednesday, 22 October 2025
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was recently joined by the Australian Publishers Association (APA) and a formidable coalition of authors to speak to a Senate committee at Parliament House...

Tan announced as managing editor for Overland

Photo of Cher Tan Monday, 20 October 2025
Overland has announced Cher Tan will step into the role of managing editor. An essayist, editor and critic, Tan takes over from Natasha Seymour, who is leaving the journal after seven...

Osman keeps Dalton from top spot: this week’s bestsellers 

The book cover for Legacy, featuring a river curving gently into a red dust horizon Friday, 17 October 2025
Top 10 bestsellers The Impossible Fortune (Richard Osman, Viking) Gravity Let Me Go (Trent Dalton, Fourth Estate) Arnott's The Cookbook (Are Media Books, AWW Cookbooks) Legacy (Chris Hammer, A&U) Mad Mabel (Sally...

Books in the media this weekend, 18 to 19 October 

The book cover for Beautiful Changelings, which features a collage art butterfly against a blue background. Friday, 17 October 2025
A round-up of the books being reviewed and mentioned in key media this coming weekend.  National The Saturday Paper Alexandrian Sphinx (Peter Jeffreys & Gregory Jusdanis, Summit Books) beautiful changelings...