New boss for HarperCollins, Australia Day honours, Adelaide Writers’ Week line-up, latest awards and more

Yesterday, James Kellow announced he’s stepping down as HarperCollins ANZ CEO after eight years in the head role. He’s being replaced by Jim Demetriou, who returns to HarperCollins following his eight years as Allen & Unwin sales and marketing director.

Earlier in the week, publisher Jane Covernton, former ABA CEO Joel Becker, and Stella-prize winning author Clare Wright were among the book industry figures recognised in the annual Australia Day honours. The full program for this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week was also revealed, with newly announced guests including Michael Christie, Tony McAleer, Tim Flannery, Archie Roach, Anna Goldsworthy and Christos Tsiolkas among the 117 featured artists.

In other news, HarperCollins and Pantera have made debut fiction acquisitions, Elena Gomez has left PRH for a freelance career, and Kinokuniya has warned a ‘dating coaching’ company to stop using the store to practice ‘pickup’ techniques with its clients.

In awards news, the longlists for this year’s New Zealand Book Awards have been announced; British journalist Jack Fairweather was named the winner of the Costa Book of the Year award, for The Volunteer: The true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz (W H Allen); and the American Library Association has named a graphic novel and a picture book centring diverse experiences as the winners of its Newbery and Caldecott medals.

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Category: This week’s news