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Xoum announces 2017 XO Romance Prize shortlist

Thursday, 11 January 2018
Xoum Publishing has announced the shortlist for the 2017 XO Romance Prize for an unpublished manuscript. The shortlisted works and their authors are: L Francis for ‘Legally Bound’, a ‘heartwarming...

Government reveals $5.4m cut to OzCo in MYEFO

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
The federal government revealed a $5.4m funding cut to the Australia Council in its 2017-18 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) on 18 December 2017. The $1.8m per year over...

SWF announces earlier dates for 2018, 2019

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
The 2018 Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) will be held from 30 April to 6 May—a month earlier than in previous years. The date change is due to the festival’s temporary...

Ismail wins Deborah Cass Prize 2017

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Perth writer Rafeif Ismail has won Writers Victoria’s 2017 Deborah Cass Prize for emerging writers from migrant backgrounds for her manuscript extract ‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts’. ‘Almitra Amongst Ghosts’ was announced...

Goldsworthy wins Horne Prize 2017

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
The Saturday Paper and cosmetics company Aesop announced writer Kerryn Goldsworthy as the winner of the $15,000 Horne Prize 2017 for her essay, ‘The Limit of the World’. ‘The Limit of...

ABIAs 2018 date, venue announced

Wednesday, 10 January 2018
The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) will be held on Thursday, 3 May this year. This year’s awards will be held at the International Convention Centre Sydney to accommodate the...

Pape tops 2017 bestsellers chart

Monday, 8 January 2018
Scott Pape’s The Barefoot Investor (Wiley) was the highest selling book in Australia in 2017, selling 438,000 copies, reports Fairfax. According to statistics provided by Nielsen BookScan, five of the...

PANZ to lead Bologna delegation

Monday, 8 January 2018
The Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) will have a New Zealand collective stand for the first time at Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2018. With the support of Creative...

Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature shortlists announced

Monday, 8 January 2018
The shortlists have been announced for this year’s Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, presented biennially by the South Australian government. The shortlisted works in each category are: Children’s Rockhopping (Trace...

Text acquires new YA debut

Monday, 8 January 2018
Text has acquired world rights to debut author Kay Kerr’s YA novel, Please Don’t Hug Me. Kerr’s novel is a ‘contemporary coming-of-age tale’ about ‘a neuro-diverse and socially awkward year...

Natasha Lester signs four-book UK deal

Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Hachette Australia has sold UK and Commonwealth (ex ANZ) rights to four historical fiction novels by Natasha Lester to UK publisher Sphere. Rights were acquired by Sphere commissioning editor Viola...

Echo acquires world rights to d’Alpuget’s fiction backlist

Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Bonnier Publishing Australia’s Echo imprint has acquired world rights to bestselling novelist Blanche D’Alpuget’s backlist. Echo will publish the last two titles in D’Alpuget’s ‘Birth of the Plantagenets’ series in...

Haywood wins UQ library’s Creative Writing Fellowship

Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Poet and academic Ashley Haywood is the recipient of the University of Queensland library’s Creative Writing Fellowship. Haywood will draw on the Fryer Library’s Dorothy Hill collection for a book...

Griffiths wins 2017 ACT Book of the Year

Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Tom Griffiths has won the 2017 ACT Book of the Year for his nonfiction book The Art of Time Travel (Black Inc.). Griffiths was chosen from a shortlist of five,...

Adaptations win at AACTA Awards 2017

Friday, 8 December 2017
The 2017 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards have been announced, with many of the awards going to book-to-screen adaptations. The feature film adaptation of Saroo Brierley’s...

Dymocks stores undergo extensive upgrades in 2017

Friday, 8 December 2017
Dymocks has announced it is making ‘significant upgrades’ to its network, with the bookseller refurbishing 15% of its stores in 2017. Upgrades have included introducing consistent signage across categories, additional...

Pham awarded NSW Writer’s Fellowship

Thursday, 7 December 2017
Cabramatta-based writer Stephen Pham has been awarded the NSW Writer’s Fellowship, worth $30,000. The fellowship, presented by NSW Minister for the Arts Don Harwin, includes an optional residency at Varuna,...

Booksellers respond to Amazon’s Australian launch 

Wednesday, 6 December 2017
Australian booksellers have reacted cautiously to the launch of Amazon’s online store in Australia, with some noting that the online retailer ‘has given very little away’ despite extensive media coverage of...