Daisley on Walter Scott longlist
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
In the UK, Aotearoa New Zealand author Stephen Daisley has been longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, worth £25,000 (A$48,500). The full list of titles longlisted for...
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing acquires Rossell middle-grade novel
Monday, 26 February 2024
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has acquired world rights (ex North America) to The Midwatch, a middle-grade novel from author and illustrator Judith Rossell, via Annabel Barker of Annabel Barker...
HG Explore acquires Mayo’s Always Was, Always Will Be
Monday, 26 February 2024
Hardie Grant Explore (HG Explore) has acquired world rights to Thomas Mayo’s nonfiction book Always Was, Always Will Be, via Clare Forster at the Curtis Brown Agency. HG Explore said...
PRH to turn Grantham facility into new hub for PRH US in Europe
Monday, 26 February 2024
In the UK, Penguin Random House (PRH) UK’s Grantham Book Services warehouse will be retrofitted to become a new operational hub for PRH US to fulfil orders from customers in...
Brooks wins 2023 Judith Wright Poetry Prize
Monday, 26 February 2024
Overland has announced that Andrew Brooks is the winner of the 2023 Judith Wright Poetry prize, for his poem ‘Celestial Tree’. Brooks is a lecturer in media and culture, living...
Zhang wins 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize
Monday, 26 February 2024
Overland has announced that Annie Zhang is the winner of the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, for her story ‘Who Rattles the Night?’. Zhang is a writer and editor...
A&U promotes Forge to associate publisher
Monday, 26 February 2024
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has promoted Samantha Forge to the position of associate publisher—books for children and young adults. Forge has over 12 years’ experience in trade publishing, and was...
Smith wins 2024 Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize
Thursday, 22 February 2024
Yasmin Smith has won Island magazine’s 2024 Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize for the poem ‘The Burial Feathers’. Smith’s poem was chosen from about 500 entries. The two runners-up were Emilie...
Affirm Press sells screen rights to Funny Ethnics
Thursday, 22 February 2024
Flying Bark Productions has optioned the screen rights to Shirley Le’s Funny Ethnics (Affirm), in a deal negotiated by Bold Type Agency on behalf of Affirm Press. The 2022 novel ‘catapults...
The Heart Is a Star screen option sold to Aquarius Films
Thursday, 22 February 2024
The Heart Is a Star (Megan Rogers, HarperCollins) has been optioned by Aquarius Films, in a television deal negotiated by Zeitgeist Agency. The novel—Rogers’ debut—is ‘set predominantly in rugged Tasmania’,...
UK indies struggling to find distribution post-Grantham
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
In the UK, independent publishers are finding distribution ‘particularly challenging’ following last year’s announcement that Grantham Book Services (GBS) will close in 2025, reported the Bookseller. ‘The reality is that...
Can ChatGPT edit fiction? Four editors put it to the test
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Editors Rose Michael, Sharon Mullins, Renée Otmar and Katherine Day have previously explored how AI tools might work, or be made to work, for editorial. In this extract from an...
Perth Writers Weekend programming remains unchanged, despite open letter
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Perth Writers Weekend, which will run from this Friday, 23 February until Sunday, 25 February, is taking place amid controversy due to the programming of Deborah Conway. An open letter...
HarperCollins acquires Gardiner, Kumar cosy crime
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
HarperCollins has acquired world rights to Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective, a forthcoming cosy crime novel from Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar, via Danielle Binks and Jacinta di Mase of...
Canberra Writers Festival moves to October
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
The 2024 Canberra Writers Festival will run from 23–27 October. With the new dates occurring late in the year, organisers said that the 2024 festival is planned to ‘kick off...
UQP acquires Behrendt novel
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
UQP has acquired world rights to Alchemy, a new novel from Larissa Behrendt. Alchemy is described by UQP as ‘an intertwining story about the blurred lines between science and supernatural, the...
Copyright Agency announces recipients of $440k in Cultural Fund grants
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Twenty-seven arts organisations have received a total of $439,840 in the latest round of funding from the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, which will also support nine writers' festivals. Among the...
Kroetsch appointed Writers SA CEO
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Writers SA has appointed Laura Kroetsch as its new CEO. In an announcement on behalf of the Writers SA board, chair Tanya Wilkins said: ‘I look forward to working closely...
Glasgow Worldcon chair promises transparency following Hugo censorship
Monday, 19 February 2024
In the US, a report by science fiction and fantasy writers Chris M Barkley and Jason Sanford on the 2023 Hugo Awards—which draws on leaked emails from a member of...
Funder longlisted for inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction
Monday, 19 February 2024
Anna Funder is longlisted for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, worth £30,000 (A$58,000), for her book Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s invisible life (Hamish Hamilton). The fifteen other titles longlisted for the award...
BookPeople announces conference guest authors
Monday, 19 February 2024
BookPeople has announced its first guests for this year's conference—the authors who will speak at its 100th anniversary gala dinner and awards night. Helen Garner will be the pre-dinner speaker....
A&U acquires Beer middle-grade novel
Monday, 19 February 2024
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired ANZ rights to Thunderhead, a debut illustrated middle-grade novel by picture book author and illustrator Sophie Beer, via Annabel Barker at Annabel Barker Agency....
Rodrick wins inaugural Pearl Prize
Monday, 19 February 2024
Spencer M F Rodrick has won the inaugural Pearl Prize, presented by queer arts and cultural organisation Midsumma. Rodrick, who was chosen from a list of 15 finalists, and was...
DANZ Children’s Book Award shortlists announced
Thursday, 15 February 2024
The shortlists for the inaugural DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award have been announced. Chosen from longlists announced last month, the shortlisted titles in each...
Blak & Bright Festival 2024 program announced
Thursday, 15 February 2024
Blak & Bright Festival has announced its 2024 program, with the festival to run from 13 to 17 March in Naarm/Melbourne. The biennial First Nations literature festival will this year...
B&N plans to open five stores in Chicago angers Volumes
Thursday, 15 February 2024
In the US, Barnes & Noble (B&N) has announced plans to open five new bookstores in the Chicago area from the coming US spring, after earlier sharing its goal to...
Ultimo acquires Holmes debut
Thursday, 15 February 2024
Ultimo has acquired Commonwealth rights (ex Canada) to a debut novel from Gail Holmes, titled In the Margins. Calling Holmes ‘a remarkable new voice in historical fiction’, the publisher described...
Stuart Kells recommends
Wednesday, 14 February 2024
I’ve recently returned to a lot of Australian writing that I love, such as Kate Jennings’s books and Barry Hill’s Broken Song (Vintage). Another book that stands out is The...
Graham longlisted for Carnegie Medal for Illustration
Wednesday, 14 February 2024
In the UK, Australian author Bob Graham has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration (previously known as the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration), which was announced along with...
Dorph, Webb-Pullman join VIPs committee, 2024 program dates announced
Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Creative Australia has announced that the 2024 Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) Program will run alongside the Sydney Writers' Festival in May this year. The 2024 VIPs Program will run from...
