ABIA business shortlists, Books Create Australia’s Election 2025, Writing Australia funded
We at Books+Publishing had some news of our own this week, as we welcome Jasmin McGaughey to our team in the newly created role of editorial and production coordinator. Jasmin commences on 14 April.
The Australian Book Review also had a staffing announcement this week, naming Georgina Arnott as its new editor and CEO, succeeding Peter Rose, who is stepping down after 24 years in the role.
Ahead of the announcement of the upcoming federal election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed forthcoming literature funding body Writing Australia will be funded in the 2025–26 Federal Budget, with the organisation set to commence operations on 1 July. Staying on the election, Books Create Australia launched advocacy campaign Election 2025, with seven key industry recommendations.
In other local news, the ABIA business award shortlists have just been announced, ahead of the award ceremony on 7 May in Naarm/Melbourne; and Mila’s Books was named the 2025 Bologna Best Children’s Publisher, Oceania, as part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
Meanwhile, in bookstores, We Are the Stars by Gina Chick is the first nonfiction book to top Dymocks’ annual Top 101 list; and QBD Books was recognised for a second year running in Deloitte Australia’s Best Managed Companies award program.
In further awards news, the winners of the 2025 Tasmanian Literary Awards were announced this week; and French writer Marion Brunet received the 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. Meanwhile, shortlists were revealed for the Judith Wright Poetry Prize and the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize locally, for the Women’s Prize for Nonfiction in the UK, and for the Dublin Literary Award in Ireland.
Catch up on two short features shared during the week: Australian attendees on the 2025 London Book Fair and Books+Publishing publishing director Kate Cuthbert on the 2025 Clunes Booktown Festival.
Locally, in acquisitions, Allen & Unwin acquired world rights to Ride On by Michelle Payne with Angus Fontaine, in a deal brokered by Michael Rivette and Nanette Moulton at Rivette Moulton Broadbent; UQP acquired world rights to a new historical YA novel from Meg Caddy, titled A Flash in the Dust; and Affirm acquired world rights to Mark Mupotsa-Russell’s upcoming novel, The Wolf Who Cried Boy, via literary agent Sarah McKenzie.
Meanwhile, Publishers Weekly reported that worldwide sales at Penguin Random House increased by 8.5% and profits rose 11.3% in 2024, due to higher book prices, the continuing strength of the audiobook market, and higher acquisitions in 2024 compared to 2023.
In other bookish news, Nicole Moore wrote for the Conversation on news that an Australian self-published ‘dark romance’ author has been charged with producing, possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material: ‘It will be interesting to see how [the police’s] reading of [the novel] may play out in a courtroom, or not, with an author who has clearly stated her remorse.’ And, also in the Conversation, Agata Mrva-Montoya outlined the current legal challenges against AI companies scraping data (including full books) for their generative AI products: ‘The legal battles centre on a fundamental question: does mass data scraping for AI training constitute “fair use”?’
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Category: This week’s news
