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Woollahra Digital Literary Award shortlists announced

Monday, 6 November 2023
The shortlists for the 2023 Woollahra Digital Literary Award have been announced. The shortlisted works in each category are: Fiction  'The Life of a Folk Devil' (Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Meanjin)...

Neilma Sidney Travel Fund recipients announced

Monday, 6 November 2023
Writers Victoria has announced the tenth round of recipients for the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund. The nine successful recipients—who share in a total of $69,761—are: Alana Hicks (NSW), to...

No newsletter on Tuesday

Monday, 6 November 2023
Due to the Melbourne Cup public holiday in Victoria, Books+Publishing will not publish a newsletter tomorrow, Tuesday, 7 November.

Danger Awards 2023 winners announced

Friday, 3 November 2023
The winners of the 2023 Danger Awards have been announced at the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival. Novelist Chris Hammer, who took out the award for best crime fiction, has...

Walkley Book Award shortlist announced

Friday, 3 November 2023
The shortlist for the Walkley Book Award has been announced. The shortlisted works are: Ghosts of the Orphanage (Christine Kenneally, Hachette Australia) The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel exports the technology of...

Sawyer wins 2023 Richell Prize 

Logo for the Richell Prize, featuring a swooping bird Thursday, 2 November 2023
Alex Sawyer is the 2023 winner of the Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for the manuscript ‘Rat Daniels’, Hachette Australia has announced. Sawyer is a clinical psychologist, volunteer firefighter and...

Hobart named a UNESCO City of Literature

Thursday, 2 November 2023
The United Nations’ cultural arm UNESCO has named Hobart a City of Literature. The Hobart City of Literature Working Group (HCLWG) was formed in January 2023 to present the bid...

PRH UK to cut 38 roles

Thursday, 2 November 2023
In the UK, Penguin Random House (PRH) has proposed removing 38 roles as the publisher faces ‘longer-term’ challenges to profitability ‘in the face of increasing cost pressures’, reports the Bookseller....

Australian Reading Hour to end

Thursday, 2 November 2023
Australia Reads will retire its annual Australian Reading Hour event in favour of 'a practical, unified, and year-round approach to advocating for reading in Australia'. In a statement, Australia Reads...

McNicol Smith to depart Affirm 

Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Affirm Press publicity manager Laura McNicol Smith is departing the organisation. Discussing the move, McNicol Smith said: 'After six wonderful years at Affirm Press, I’ve decided it’s time for a...

Transit Lounge acquires Downes novel 

Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Transit Lounge has acquired world rights to Stephen Downes’ new novel, Mural. Publisher Barry Scott said Mural is 'a haunting "confession" by a psychopath held in a secure facility'. Told...

New S&S imprint Bundyi acquires Walton historical novel 

Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Simon & Schuster Australia imprint Bundyi Publishing has announced its first acquisition, acquiring world rights to I Am Nan’nert’garrook, a historical fiction novel from author and actor Tasma Walton. Walton...

KKR completes S&S purchase

Wednesday, 1 November 2023
Private equity firm KKR has completed its US$1.6 billion (A$2.5b) purchase of Simon & Schuster (S&S) from Paramount Global in an all-cash transaction, reports Publishers Weekly. S&S is a now...

Yumna Kassab on ‘Politica’ 

Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Yumna Kassab is a writer from Western Sydney. She is the author of The House of Youssef (Giramondo, 2019), Australiana (Ultimo, 2022), and The Lovers (Ultimo, 2022). She has been listed...

Yumna Kassab recommends 

Tuesday, 31 October 2023
I think the standout book for 2023 has to be Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari. The writing has great clarity, and it evokes such a strong sense of place....

Ottley wins at World Fantasy Awards

Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Australian author, visual artist and composer Matt Ottley has been recognised in the category of special award—professional in the 2023 World Fantasy Awards for his book The Tree of Ecstasy...

Lim, Sworder on 2024 IBBY Honour List

A combined image of the covers of Tiger Daughter and My Strange Shrinking Parents Tuesday, 31 October 2023
IBBY Australia has announced its 2024 selection for the biennial IBBY Honour List: for writing, Rebecca Lim’s Tiger Daughter (A&U, 2021), and for illustration, Zeno Sworder’s My Strange Shrinking Parents...

Hearts ‘reignite’ for 20th Ubud program

Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) recorded over 15,000 festival attendees for its 20th-anniversary festival program, held from 18–22 October 2023 in Ubud, Indonesia. Festival director Janet DeNeefe said, ‘We...

Shaw sells US and Canada rights to Adam novel 

Monday, 30 October 2023
Martin Shaw from Shaw Literary has sold North American rights to Aotearoa New Zealand author Pip Adam's latest novel, Audition. Audition was acquired in the US by Coffee House Press...

HarperCollins acquires Almond debut novel 

Author photo of Alexandra Almond Monday, 30 October 2023
HarperCollins has acquired ANZ rights to Alexandra Almond's debut fantasy novel, titled Thoroughly Disenchanted, via Abigail Nathan at Alex Adsett Literary. Described by the agent as a ‘cosy fantasy’, Thoroughly...

HarperCollins acquires debut crime novel The Wolf Tree 

Thursday, 26 October 2023
HarperCollins has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) to Laura McCluskey’s debut novel The Wolf Tree in a two-book deal. HarperCollins fiction publisher Anna Valdinger and HarperCollins UK publisher,...

Crawford wins inaugural Walker Books Manuscript Prize

An author photograph of Ange Crawford Thursday, 26 October 2023
Melbourne-based writer Ange Crawford has won the inaugural Walker Books Manuscript Prize for her YA novel, How to Be Normal. The shortlist was judged by authors Sally Murphy, Jared Thomas...