Books+Publishing Weekly Book Newsletter
Image. Advertisement:
15 January 2025

How were your Christmas sales? Let us know in our annual survey x

Books+Publishing is currently conducting its annual Christmas survey of booksellers and publishers. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey online. We are accepting submissions... Read more
 
Image. Advertisement:

 

Indie Book Awards 2025 shortlists announced

The shortlists for the 2025 Indie Book Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction Dusk (Robbie Arnott, Picador) Cherrywood (Jock Serong, Fourth... Read more
 

 

New independent publisher Spoor Books launches x

In Aotearoa New Zealand, Erena and Balamohan Shingade have launched Spoor Books. Spoor Books is ‘an independent publisher, a community-oriented platform, and a bookshop featuring... Read more
 
Image. Advertisement:

 

NLA announces 2025 Fellows

The National Library of Australia (NLA) has announced its 2025 Fellows, awarded to local and international scholars. The recipients and their research projects are: NLA... Read more
 

Cover of Fierce Elegy

 

Gizzi wins 2024 TS Eliot Prize

In the UK, Peter Gizzi has won the 2024 TS Eliot Prize, worth £25,000 (A$49,319), for Fierce Elegy (Penguin), reports Book Brunch. Fierce Elegy was... Read more
 
Image. Advertisement:

Local book markets down; Text Prize discontinued; authors allege Meta knowingly used pirated books

Nielsen BookScan figures show that the Australian and Aotearoa book markets were down in the year just ended, by 3% and 6.6% in value respectively; Nagi Maehashi’s RecipeTin Eats: Tonight (Macmillan) has topped the 2024 Australian Christmas bestsellers list, while in Aotearoa New Zealand it was In Too Deep (Lee Child & Andrew Child, Bantam) that took out number one on the Christmas bestseller list.

Creative Australia revealed the delegates for the 2025 New York Publishers Program; Varuna introduced a new fellowship program; the National Library of Australia announced its 2025 fellows; new independent publisher Spoor Books launched in Aotearoa New Zealand; and Text is discontinuing the Text Prize, with the 2024 recipient to be in the final in the award’s 16-year history.

In other awards news, Vahida Berberovic won the inaugural WestWords Prize for her novel Piggy Tales; Lilian Pearce is the winner of this year’s PF Rowland Manuscript Development Grant; and the longlists for the 2025 Tasmanian Literary Awards and shortlists for the Indie Book Awards and the ABR Peter Porter Poetry Prize have been announced.

Meanwhile, in the US, Reuters reports that a group of authors is alleging Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg approved the use of pirated books to train Meta’s AI systems; and Simon & Schuster has launched Simon Maverick, an audio-first imprint.

In acquisitions, HarperVia acquired world English rights to two novels by Tiffany Tsao, in a pre-empt deal; and Riveted Press acquired worldwide rights to the middle-grade fantasy series Farwood by Jayne McIntyre, in a three-book deal.

Elsewhere in book industry news, Vulture spoke with eight women, including Aotearoa New Zealand resident Scarlett Pavlovich, for its report on allegations of sexual assault against author Neil Gaiman following a series of accusations initially covered by Tortoise Media.

 

 

Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex on 'Outrageous Fortunes'

Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex bring Mary Fortune, one of Australia’s most prolific yet overlooked woman crime writers, and her criminal son, George, to light... Read more
 

 

Megan Brown recommends x

Natasha Lester’s The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard. I really enjoyed it because it weaves fact and fiction together, but not in a forced way or... Read more
 

Cover of Restless Dolly Maunder

 

Lucy Sussex recommends x

Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville, which captures the female Australian voice and experience so well – just like Mary Fortune.
 

Rights round-up x

Sales Nonfiction Allen & Unwin has sold traditional Chinese rights for Good With Money (Emma Edwards) to Sun Color Culture. Black Inc. has sold Ukrainian... Read more
 

Cover of RecipeTin Eats: Tonight

 

Maehashi continues to rule bestsellers x

Top 10 bestsellers RecipeTin Eats: Tonight (Nagi Maehashi, Macmillan) Escaping Peril (Wings of Fire graphic novel #8) (Tui Sutherland, Scholastic) Here One Moment (Liane Moriarty,... Read more
 

 

Creating Schools: Where Students and Teachers Want to Be (Michael Lawrence & Fabio D’Agostin, Melbourne Books) x

Teachers Michael Lawrence (Testing 3, 2, 1) and Fabio D’Agostin (whose PhD was called ‘Task-Related Emotions in Mathematics Education’) have written an informed and considered... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Half Truth (Nadia Mahjouri, Penguin) x

Half Truth follows Zahra, a young Moroccan Australian woman, and her grandmother, Khadija. In alternating narratives, the novel follows the pair as they come of age... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Joan Lindsay: The Hidden Life of the Woman Who Wrote 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (Brenda Niall, Text) x

Brenda Niall’s portrait of author Joan Lindsay is bookended by her charming recollections of meeting Lindsay in 1984, just months before her death. In the... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

The Knowing (Madeleine Ryan, Scribe) x

Camille works for a semi-famous florist in Armadale, where she commutes daily from her home in the country. She yearns for a life full of... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Outrageous Fortunes (Megan Brown & Lucy Sussex, La Trobe) x

‘Mary Fortune’ might sound like a pseudonym but it’s the name of one of Australia’s most prolific—if often overlooked—woman crime writers. Outrageous Fortunes is a... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Past & Parallel Lives (Kaya Ortiz, UWA Publishing) x

In their debut poetry collection, Past & Parallel Lives, Kaya Ortiz explores what it means to wrestle with your identity and find belonging. Their poetry... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Creature Corridors (Billie Rooney, illus Anke Noack, CSIRO Publishing) x

Billie Rooney’s educational picture book, Creature Corridors, explores how human infrastructure impacts animal habitats and highlights the role of wildlife corridors in helping animals travel... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

A Good Kind of Trouble (Brooke Blurton & Melanie Saward, HarperCollins) x

Noongar-Yamatji youth advocate Brooke Blurton has teamed up with Bigambul and Wakka Wakka author and academic Melanie Saward (Love Unleashed) for a new YA series, beginning... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Harry and Gran Bake a Cake (Fiona McIntosh, illus Sara Acton, Puffin, March) x

Fiona McIntosh (The Sugar Palace), the much-celebrated author for grown-ups, makes her debut in picture books with the simply delicious Harry and Gran Bake a... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Monty and Mandy Take On Camp Spaloonka (Adam Wallace, illus Dave Atze, Larrikin) x

Monty and Mandy Take on Camp Spaloonka is a junior graphic novel that follows the hilarious adventures of Monty and Mandy, two best friends who... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

 

Sunny and Shadow (Helen Milroy, Fremantle) x

Sunny and Shadow is a heartfelt junior fiction novel and intergenerational tale that follows Calla and her descendants, who all have the precious gift of... Read more

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

an image of Kerri Lane/Kaz Delaney

 

Vale Kerri Lane

Author Kerri Lane, who also wrote as Kaz Delaney, has died. Across both pseudonyms, Lane wrote more than 70 novels for children, young adults, and... Read more
 

Photograph of Brenda Walker

 

Vale Brenda Walker

The author Brenda Walker has died. Walker was the author of the novels Crush, One More River, Poe’s Cat and The Wing of Night. The latter won the 2006... Read more
 

 

Read the latest Publishers Weekly x

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
 

Page joins WHSmith x

Jon Page has been appointed book buyer at WHSmith. Page was previously general manager of Dymocks Sydney.
 

Submit your 2025 ABIA nominations now!

Nominations are currently open for the 2025 Australian Book Industry Awards.

  • Book Award nominations are open until Wednesday 29 January
  • Audiobook and Publisher Business Award nominations are open until Wednesday 12 February
  • Nominations for all 2025 Retail Awards can be made by completing this form by Tuesday 21 January.

You can visit the ABIA website to learn more about the Awards and eligibility criteria for each category, and to start nominating.

 

Thames & Hudson order procedures for PRHD (UBD) move

Thames & Hudson would like to inform our customers about the procedure for placing last orders with ADS before the switch to PRHD (UBD) from 1 February 2025.

Orders

Last EDI or manual orders to ADS must be placed by COB Tuesday 28 January 2025 and will be dispatched by Friday 31 January 2025. The final dispatch date of all orders from ADS is Friday 31 January 2025.

From 7am on Friday 31 January 2025, retailers are to switch over EDI ordering from ADS to PRHD, and orders can be placed with PRHD, with the first dispatch from Monday 3 February 2025 (PRHD SAN: 9000011).

All new-release orders and backorders (both EDI and non-EDI) placed with ADS will be transferred to PRHD.

Backorders will be transferred from ADS to PRHD on Friday 31 January 2025, with the first dispatch from Monday 3 February 2025.

Returns (as previously communicated)

The last day for returns authorisation requests to be processed by ADS is Friday 28 February 2025. Valid requests must be received by COB Thursday 27 February 2025.

The last day for authorised returned stock to be accepted by ADS is Monday 31 March 2025. Any returns received after this date will be rejected and pulped, unless the retailer accepts the costs of returning the stock within two days of being notified of a rejected return.

The first date that PRHD will accept returns for stock invoiced by ADS (within agreed sale-or-return parameters – 3 to 12 months from invoice date) is 1 March 2025.

 

Pantera Press distribution move

Pantera Press moves from PRH Distribution to TDLC for distribution in Australia and New Zealand

Pantera Press would like to inform our customers that, with the change of distribution to Hardie Grant (TDLC) from 1 March 2025, PRH Distribution (PRHD) will continue to service Pantera Press through to the end of February 2025.

New release titles

The last new releases to be supplied by PRHD will be February 2025.

Orders for March new release titles and beyond are to be sent to TDLC. The order cut-off for March new releases at TDLC is 3 February 2025.

Backlist

All backlist orders for Pantera Press are to continue to be sent to PRHD up to and including 24 February and will be dispatched by PRHD by 28 February 2025.

Backorders recorded with PRHD will be cancelled on 25 February. Customers will need to place a new order with TDLC.

All backlist orders after 24 February are to be sent to TDLC.

Returns

Return Authorisations for books invoiced by PRHD will cease to be issued after 28 March 2025. All authorised returns must be received by PRHD no later than 30 April 2025.

Returns received by PRHD after 30 April 2025, or sent to PRHD without a valid Return Authorisation, will be returned to the customer at the customer’s expense.

Contact details for customers

PRHD Customer Service
Phone: 1800 33 88 36
Email: aftersales@unitedbookdistributors.com.au

TDLC Customer Service
Phone: 1300 65 90 82
Email: enquiries@tdlc.com.au

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Contact us

Subscriptions
subscriptions@booksandpublishing.com.au
Phone (02) 8227-6486

Editorial
Please note that all editorial staff at Books+Publishing work part-time.

To reach the team, address queries to news@booksandpublishing.com.au.

Publishing director
Kate Cuthbert

Managing editor
Angela Glindemann

Reviews editor
Jess Lomas

Digital and operations manager
Andrew Wrathall

Classifieds, jobs and notices
submit.booksandpublishing.com.au
classifieds@booksandpublishing.com.au

Display advertising
advertising@booksandpublishing.com.au

Company: Books and Publishing Pty Ltd

Address: Books+Publishing, PO Box 42, Prahran VIC 3181, Australia

Books+Publishing’s website and publications contain content that is exclusive to subscribers. To photocopy, email or otherwise reproduce all or part of Books+Publishing’s content without the written permission of the publisher is illegal.

News

Do you want to submit news to Books+Publishing?
Read the editorial submissions page.

Classifieds

Classifieds, job ads and notices can be placed in Books+Publishing via the advertising submissions page.

Select newsletters

Select which newsletters you’d like to receive here.
Unsubscribe from individual newsletters here.
Or unsubscribe from all newsletters here.

View articles

Purchase a subscription to Books+Publishing to view all articles on the website.

If you need help with your subscription, please email the subscriptions team.

Follow us