Weekly news | Books+Publishing

Richell Prize 2023 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 11 October 2023
Hachette, in partnership with the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF), has announced the shortlist for the 2023 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. The five shortlisted entries are: ‘When I Was Your...

Newcastle Poetry Prize 2023 shortlist announced

Wednesday, 11 October 2023
The Hunter Writers’ Centre has announced the 2023 shortlist for the $15,000 Newcastle Poetry Prize, with several poets reaching the shortlist with more than one entry. Shortlisted poets include: Eileen...

Pickard appointed OUP ANZ general manager

Wednesday, 11 October 2023
OUP ANZ has announced that former operations director Selina Pickard is returning to the organisation in the role of general manager. At OUP, Pickard was previously a digital and creative...

Spotify offers Australian subscribers 15 hours of audiobooks per month

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Music streaming platform Spotify has announced it is making over 150,000 audiobooks available to its premium subscribers in Australia and the UK, who will receive 15 hours of listening per...

Beveridge wins $10k ACU Poetry Prize

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Sydney-based poet Judith Beveridge has won the $10,000 Australian Catholic University (ACU) Prize for Poetry for her poem ‘Two Houses’. Responding to this year’s theme of ‘Love’, Beveridge’s poem is...

Magabala to offer two $10k AIC Creative Grants

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
Magabala Books will offer two $10,000 creative grants for First Nations storytellers, writers, illustrators and artists, in partnership with Australian Indigenous Coffee (AIC). The publisher said the grants ‘are intended...

Inaugural ABDA ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship opens for applications

Wednesday, 4 October 2023
The Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA) has opened applications for its ‘Baseline’ Book Design Internship, after its initial announcement at the Australian Book Design Awards. The 'Baseline' program is a paid...

ABC Books acquires Georgiadis children’s gardening book series

Wednesday, 27 September 2023
ABC Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, has acquired four picture books by Costa Georgiadis, host of ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and Gardening Australia Junior, and illustrator Brenna Quinlan....

ARA Historical Novel Prize shortlists announced

Wednesday, 27 September 2023
The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) has announced the shortlists for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize. This year’s shortlisted titles are: Adult category Salonika Burning (Gail Jones, Text) Iris...

Australian Political Book of the Year 2023 longlist revealed

Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Judges have announced the 2023 longlist for the Australian Political Book of the Year awards. This year's longlist includes ten titles: Dreamers and Schemers: A political history of Australia (Frank...

Upswell acquires Dominic Gordon debut

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to Excitable Boy: Essays on risk, a debut book of essays by Melbourne writer Dominic Gordon. The publisher said that the book 'tracks the...

Affirm acquires King debut novel

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Affirm Press has acquired world rights to Birds of a Feather, a debut novel from Rhianna King, via Rochelle Fernandez of Alex Adsett Literary. Described by Fernandez as ‘a gorgeously...

Brown announced as new Magabala CEO

Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Magabala Books has announced that Gumbaynggirr educator, researcher and advocate Lilly Brown will be its next CEO. Brown—who has most recently held an executive director role at youth mental health...

Heath joins A&U

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Sally Heath has joined Allen & Unwin as adult nonfiction publisher. Heath was previously an associate publisher at Thames & Hudson Australia and New Zealand, where she worked on the...

Hawker Brownlow authors move to Amba Press

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Independent Australian educational publisher Amba Press has announced that it will republish a number of Australian authors formerly published by Hawker Brownlow Education (HBE). In an announcement posted to LinkedIn,...

Ultimo acquires Chandran novel

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ rights to Safe Haven, the new novel from the winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin award, Shankari Chandran, via Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown Australia....

Mariner Books acquires ‘The Shortest History of Economics’

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Peter Hubbard at Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins US, has acquired North American rights to The Shortest History of Economics (Andrew Leigh, Black Inc.) at auction. The deal was...

Scribe acquires ‘When Cops Are Criminals’ essay collection, Gorrie to edit

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
Scribe has acquired world rights to When Cops Are Criminals, a new essay collection edited by Veronica Gorrie. This ‘powerful and provocative’ anthology will include contributors’ ‘experiences, whether personal or...

Stan adaptation of ‘Scrublands’ sold to BBC

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
A four-part adaptation of Scrublands (Chris Hammer, A&U) has been acquired by the BBC from Abacus Media Rights, which has international distribution rights for the series, and will screen on...

Celdran wins 2023 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
Alba Gil Celdran is the winner of the 2023 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize, Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand and the Margaret Mahy Estate have announced. The judging panel praised the humour,...

Book industry organisations announce support for Voice

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
A number of Australian publishers and writing organisations have published statements in support of Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum. The Australian Publishers Association (APA) made the following statement...