New appointments at HarperCollins and Bloomsbury, Hazel Rowley shortlist

Wednesday, 19 January 2022 Books+Publishing

HarperCollins has announced the appointment of Michelle Weisz as publishing director of HarperCollins Australia’s children’s books division. Weisz replaces Cristina Cappelluto, who has joined Bloomsbury Australia as managing director. The Australian Library and Information Association’s Sue McKerracher will be stepping down from her role as CEO to take up the position of Libraries Tasmania executive director.

The shortlist for the 2022 Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship has been announced by Writers Victoria, and Magabala Books has announced the six recipients of its 2021 Creative Development Scholarships.

The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne Writers Festival and Writers Victoria are among the arts and cultural organisations sharing in Creative Victoria’s multi-year funding. Meanwhile, the latest Australian Society of Authors survey has found author earnings are continuing to decline.

In the US, children’s book author Dav Pilkey’s Mothering Heights (Scholastic) was the bestselling print book of 2021, while a new Gallup poll shows Americans are reading fewer books. In the UK, Joelle Taylor has won the 2021 T S Eliot Prize for her collection C+nto & Othered Poems (The Westbourne Press).

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