Staff changes at Hardie Grant, Scribe; Booktopia Group traded while insolvent; Oliver children’s book withdrawn from sale
Hardie Grant Publishing group managing director Julie Pinkham is leaving her role at the end of 2024, moving to a non-executive advisory position with the company, with the company subsequently announcing a new leadership team; Scribe has announced the forthcoming departure of two staff as the result of a restructure; and Booktopia Group administrators McGrathNicol reported the company traded while insolvent from at least 31 January this year. Also making the headlines this week, Penguin Random House UK has withdrawn Jamie Oliver’s children’s book Billy and the Epic Escape from sale in all countries where it holds rights, including Australia and the UK, after condemnation from First Nations communities, reported the Guardian.
In other news, the Emerging Writers’ Festival announced the inaugural Speculate Prize for Emerging Writers, in partnership with RMIT University; Ubud Writers & Readers Festival reported increased aggregate ticket sales for its 2024 program; and Alliance Distribution Services (ADS) announced a new trial airfreight service for Aotearoa New Zealand customers.
In awards news, Alison Wong received this year’s Burr/Tatham Trust Award, one of eight Laureate Awards presented by the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi; Yasmin Smith won the 2024 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers; Cameron Stewart won the 2024 UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing; and Think+DO Tank Foundation and Scribble Books named Leila Frijat, Lia ‘Lima’ Maula, Huaning Wu as the recipients of the 2025 MIRROR Mentorships; while in the UK, Samantha Harvey won the 2024 Booker Prize for Orbital (Vintage), and Rachel Cusk won the Goldsmiths Prize for Parade (Faber).
Meanwhile, in the US, Publishers Weekly released its 2024 publishing industry salary and jobs report, which ‘reveals the beginnings of a generational shift in publishing and continuing unease about AI’.
In acquisitions news, HarperCollins Australia acquired ANZ rights to The Revisionists, a new novel by Michelle Johnston, via Martin Shaw of Shaw Literary.
Elsewhere, the Conversation published several perspectives on the Jamie Oliver book withdrawal, with Jeanine Leane and Elizabeth Smyth writing that ‘non-Indigenous writers need to listen to Indigenous writers first’; and Amy Thomson, Katherine McLay and Marine Shay observing that the book ‘really missed the mark’, while ‘there are plenty of fantastic First Nations books if schools look for them’; while on Instagram, agent Jacinta Dimase criticised UK publishing culture and called for children’s publishing staff at PRH UK to undertake mandatory training, highlighting resources by Terri Janke provided by Creative Australia.
Category: This week’s news
