News | Books+Publishing

Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Sally Heath has joined Allen & Unwin as adult nonfiction publisher. Heath was previously an associate publisher at Thames & Hudson Australia and New Zealand, where she worked on the...

Hawker Brownlow authors move to Amba Press

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Independent Australian educational publisher Amba Press has announced that it will republish a number of Australian authors formerly published by Hawker Brownlow Education (HBE). In an announcement posted to LinkedIn,...

Ultimo acquires Chandran novel

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Ultimo Press has acquired ANZ rights to Safe Haven, the new novel from the winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin award, Shankari Chandran, via Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown Australia....

PRH US to ‘encourage’ employees to use office more frequently

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
In the US, Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya has written a memo to US staff encouraging them to use the office ‘more frequently’, reports Publishers Weekly. Malaviya wrote that...

Mariner Books acquires ‘The Shortest History of Economics’

Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Peter Hubbard at Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins US, has acquired North American rights to The Shortest History of Economics (Andrew Leigh, Black Inc.) at auction. The deal was...

New Amazon guidelines to disclose use of AI

Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Amazon has updated its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) guidelines to require users to acknowledge AI-generated content, reports the Bookseller. The new guidelines distinguish between AI-generated content and AI-assisted content, which...

ILD 2023: Over 300,000 tune in for music-filled celebration

Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Last Wednesday, 6 September, was Indigenous Literacy Day (ILD)—the annual event hosted by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) to celebrate First Nations peoples’ storytelling and raise funds to support literacy...

Big Sky acquires Blum memoir

Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Big Sky Publishing has acquired world rights to the memoir Easy Target: Battling the black dog by Adam Blum. In the book, Blum shares his battle with bullying and health...

Inaugural SA Literary Fellowships open for applications

Monday, 11 September 2023
Writers SA and the State Library of South Australia (SLSA) have announced that applications are open for the inaugural SA Literary Fellowships program for professional writers in South Australia. The...

Rockpool relocates to Leichhardt, announces US distribution deal

Monday, 11 September 2023
Rockpool Publishing has acquired its own premises and begun operations from the new location in Leichhardt, New South Wales. In a statement, the publisher said the 'strategic move reflects Rockpool...

Dymocks customers warned about data breach

Monday, 11 September 2023
Dymocks has warned its customers of a potential data breach, after the retailer’s cybersecurity experts found evidence of discussions about Dymocks customer records being available on the dark web. In...

EPAA 2023 winners announced

Friday, 8 September 2023
The winners of the 2023 Educational Publishing Awards Australia (EPAA) have been announced. The winners in each category are: Primary publisher of the year Seven Steps Secondary publisher of the...

Danger Awards 2023 shortlists announced

Friday, 8 September 2023
The BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival has announced the shortlists for the 2023 Danger Awards. The shortlisted titles in each category are: Fiction Brunswick Street Blues (Sally Bothroyd, HarperCollins) Daughters...

Environment Award for Children’s Literature, Karajia Award 2023 winners announced

Friday, 8 September 2023
The Wilderness Society has announced the winners of the 2023 Environment Award for Children’s Literature and the Karajia Award for First Nations children’s storytelling. The winners in each category are:...

NSW Premier’s History Awards 2023 winners announced

Friday, 8 September 2023
The State Library of NSW (SLNSW) has announced the winners for the 2023 NSW Premier’s History Awards. The winning titles in each category are: Australian history prize Elizabeth and John:...

Affirm acquires Downes novel

Thursday, 7 September 2023
Affirm Press has acquired ANZ rights to thriller Red River Road, the third novel from Anna Downes, via Tara Wynne of Curtis Brown. Set along the Western Australian Coral Coast,...

WHSmith sales grow 28%

Thursday, 7 September 2023
In the UK, retailer WHSmith has reported a 28% year-on-year increase in revenue in the 12 months to 31 August, driven by a 42% spike in its travel business, reports...

Queensland Literary Awards 2023 winners announced

Thursday, 7 September 2023
The winners of the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards have been announced, with a total of $238,500 in prize money awarded across 12 categories. The winning titles in each category are:...

Beverley McWilliams on ‘Spies in the Sky’

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
Beverley McWilliams is a children's writer based in South Australia who loves sharing history with children. Books+Publishing reviewer Karys McEwen describes her new book, Spies in the Sky (Pantera, November),...

Scribe acquires ‘When Cops Are Criminals’ essay collection, Gorrie to edit

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
Scribe has acquired world rights to When Cops Are Criminals, a new essay collection edited by Veronica Gorrie. This ‘powerful and provocative’ anthology will include contributors’ ‘experiences, whether personal or...

Stan adaptation of ‘Scrublands’ sold to BBC

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
A four-part adaptation of Scrublands (Chris Hammer, A&U) has been acquired by the BBC from Abacus Media Rights, which has international distribution rights for the series, and will screen on...

Celdran wins 2023 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
Alba Gil Celdran is the winner of the 2023 Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize, Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand and the Margaret Mahy Estate have announced. The judging panel praised the humour,...

Book industry organisations announce support for Voice

Wednesday, 6 September 2023
A number of Australian publishers and writing organisations have published statements in support of Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum. The Australian Publishers Association (APA) made the following statement...