Bill to establish Writing Australia, King’s Birthday Honours, WA Premier’s Book Award winners
Federal arts minister Tony Burke introduced a bill to parliament on 5 June to formally establish Writing Australia and First Nations Arts as bodies within Creative Australia, with Writing Australia to commence operations (following the passage of the bill) in July next year. Meanwhile, a few book industry figures were among those recognised in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, including Bundjalung artist and illustrator Bronwyn Bancroft (AO), poet and scholar Mark O’Connor (OAM) and writer Robyn Davidson (OAM). And, on 7 June, the winners of the 2024 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards were announced.
In other awards news this week, in Aotearoa New Zealand, the finalists for the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults were announced; and in Australia, The Occupation by Chloe Adams won the 2024 Penguin Literary Prize, the shortlist for the 2024 Australian Literature Society (ALS) Gold Medal was announced, and so was the shortlist for the 2024 Dick and Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History, and Writers Victoria announced the recipients for the eleventh round of the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund.
In the US, Publishing Perspectives reported that several educational publishers filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that it violates the Copyright Act and supports piracy; meanwhile, in the UK, the shortlists for the 2024 Orwell Prizes for political writing were announced. Also in international news, the International Publishers Association has announced the 2024 shortlist for the Prix Voltaire.
This week, in rights news, Penguin Random House announced that Fiona McIntosh’s The Pearl Thief is being adapted into a feature film; Upswell acquired world rights to a new collection of poetry from Yvette Henry Holt, titled Fitzroy North 3068; Allen & Unwin acquired ANZ rights to debut author Jennifer Trevelyan’s literary coming-of-age story, A Beautiful Family; Simon & Schuster Australia acquired world rights to a nonfiction title from teacher Gavin McCormack, titled Raising Resilient Children: 7 ways to nurture lifelong learners; and S&S announced that the first acquisition by Jane Palfreyman as Summit Books publishing director is We Are the Stars, a memoir by Gina Chick, winner of the inaugural season of Alone Australia.
Elsewhere in related news, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award at a ceremony in Sweden earlier this month, following the announcement of the win during the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April. And, following the release of the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours list, ArtsHub wrote on the ‘appalling lack of King’s Birthday Honours for the arts’.
Category: This week’s news
