‘A coiled spring of a novel, Revenge hits you right between the eyes.’—Malcolm Harris A family favour their son over their daughter. Shan attends university... Read more

The winners of the 2019 Aurealis Awards, presented for science fiction, fantasy and horror writing in Australia, have been announced. The winners in each category... Read more

The winners of the inaugural Furphy Literary Award have been announced. Ruby Todd won the $15,000 open category for her short story ‘Awakening’, chosen from... Read more

Allen & Unwin (A&U) and Thames & Hudson Australia (THA) have confirmed their staff have returned to full-time hours. In early April A&U announced its... Read more

Transit Lounge has acquired world English-language rights to Antoni Jach’s fourth novel, Travelling Companions. Publisher Barry Scott said the novel is ‘charming, amusing and philosophical.... Read more

Nigerian-British writer Irenosen Okojie has won the 2020 Caine Prize for African Writing, worth £10,000 (A$18,000), for her short story ‘Grace Jones’. The story appears... Read more

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 Copyright Agency fellowships, and the longlist for the Nib Literary Award has been announced, as have the shortlists for the Queensland Literary Awards people’s choice award and the Educational Publishing Awards.

In other news, the federal government has extended its JobKeeper wage subsidy program through to next year—albeit at a lower rate and with tighter conditions—and supermarket chain Coles has partnered with Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton to offer pocket-sized ‘Treehouse’ books as part of a promotion.

The Melbourne Writers Festival has launched the program for MWF Digital, which kicks off in August. Meanwhile, the new interim board at The Lifted Brow has apologised for past misconduct and announced a complete re-evaluation of the organisation.

Overseas, Scholastic’s revenue dropped 10% for the year to May on the back of school closures and book fair cancellations. European book sales are mostly well below pre-Covid levels, while the UK’s Publishers Association reported that 2019 was the best ever year for the British book market.

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Although the major publishers appear to be holding up well in spite of the chaos wrought by Covid-19, it’s a different story for many smaller... Read more

In the four years since Danielle Binks wrote about the under-representation of middle-grade literature, the genre has exploded. Now a middle-grade author herself, Binks follows... Read more

Acquisitions Fiction Transit Lounge has acquired world English-language rights to Travelling Companions (Antoni Jach) (see news). Nonfiction Scribe has acquired world English-language rights to The... Read more

Bluey is back on top of the bestsellers chart after a week at number two, with Big Backyard swapping spots with David Walliams’ The World’s... Read more

Just Money opens with a first-person account of the car crash that left author and journalist Royce Kurmelovs $23,000 in debt. Kurmelovs’ subsequent experience with... Read more

Scarlet, Dylan and Rumi are new students at the Arcadia Institute, where they will receive the training required to turn them into good citizens of... Read more

The Tunnel of Dreams is a charmingly breezy middle fiction fantasy novel about identical twins Arlo and Stefan, and their adventure in a parallel, magic-filled... Read more

In 1927 at Halfwell Station in regional WA, the station owner’s daughter, Ana, discovers a body in the nearby desert. At around the same time,... Read more

‘It is an unusually high proportion [of debuts], and especially surprising to the judges themselves, who had admired many books by more established authors, and regretted having to let them go. It is perhaps obvious that powerful stories can come from unexpected places and in unfamiliar forms; nevertheless, this kaleidoscopic list serves as a reminder.’—Booker Foundation literary director Gaby Wood says even the judges were surprised that eight out of 13 novels on the Booker Prize longlist are debuts.

Books+Publishing is partnering with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine.... Read more

Due to a legal issue in NSW, Hardie Grant Publishing is recalling copies of 9781743796061 SEARCHING FOR SPIDERMAN.

For booksellers located in NSW—please withdraw this edition from sale immediately. HEDS will issue a no fault return in due course.
When received, please return the complete book (do not remove cover or title page) as advised on the returns label.
Please contact your Hardie Grant sales representative should you have further queries.