The shortlists for the 2025 Australian Book Design Awards, presented by the Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA), have been announced. Shortlisted works in each category... Read more

Fremantle Press has acquired world rights to Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder by Tim Winton, with illustrations by Cindy Lane, in a deal brokered by Jenny... Read more

In the UK, the shortlist for the 2025 International Booker Prize, worth £50,000 (A$107,528), has been announced. Chosen from a longlist of 16, the titles... Read more

The 2025 Stella Prize shortlist made history this week, with judging chair Astrid Edwards noting that this is the first shortlist in the prize’s 13-year history to be entirely made up of women of colour.

Two New South Wales literary festivals – Words on the Waves and the Rose Scott Women Writers Festival – have released their full programs.

Meanwhile, in awards news, the 2025 shortlists for the ASLA DANZ (Diversity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award were announced this week; the Australian Book Design Awards 2025 shortlists were also announced; while IBBY Australia nominated author Emily Rodda and illustrator Bruce Whatley as the Australian candidates for the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Awards.

Further from home, in the UK, the 2025 shortlists for the International Booker Prize and the Women’s Prize for Fiction were announced; Caroline Criado Perez won the inaugural Unwin Prize, a new UK nonfiction literary award for early-career authors worth £10,000 (A$21,505); and in the US, the winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards were revealed.

Two residency programs also revealed their inaugural successful applicants over the last week: the Varuna Trans and Gender Diverse Fellowship; and the Frank Moorhouse Reading Room writing residency.

In local acquisitions news, Fremantle Press acquired world rights to Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder by Tim Winton, with illustrations by Cindy Lane, in a deal brokered by Jenny Darling of Jenny Darling & Associates; and Allen & Unwin acquired world rights to new nonfiction title Just Saying from author and social psychologist Hugh Mackay.

Overseas, Publishers Weekly reported that, in the context of new US tariffs, ‘at least for now, books have fared well’; while novel-writing nonprofit NaNoWriMo has shuttered in the wake of turbulence – financial and otherwise.

And in sad news closer to home, the industry remembers authors Kerry Greenwood and Andrew Krakouer, who both died recently.

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In the lead-up to the 2025 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs), Books+Publishing is in conversation with the event’s major sponsors about the status of the industry,... Read more

Sales Fiction Allen & Unwin has sold North American rights for Ash (Louise Wallace) to HarperCollins imprint Mariner Books; UK rights to Ash to Hutchinson... Read more

Top 10 print bestsellers RecipeTin Eats: Tonight (Nagi Maehashi, Macmillan) RecipeTin Eats: Dinner (Nagi Maehashi, Macmillan) Here One Moment (Liane Moriarty, Macmillan) It Ends with... Read more

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Chairman Mao’s decade of terror is the subject of Bombard the Headquarters!, Australian sinologist Linda Jaivin’s excellent primer on China’s Cultural Revolution. In 1966, Peking... Read more

Holden Sheppard hits again with the blunt edge of Australian queerness in his latest novel, King of Dirt. Continuing his work in the gay coming-of-age... Read more

The latest novel from award-winning author Gail Jones, The Name of the Sister, is a literary whodunnit set in a small mining town. The book begins... Read more

Sinéad Stubbins’ debut fiction novel, Stinkbug, is a sharp, darkly funny reflection on the corporate ‘normal’ and the compromises we make to survive in a... Read more

Children are naturally fascinated by the night sky, and Lucky’s Star will surely delight primary-aged students with its clever combination of storytelling and facts. Based... Read more

My Name Is Jemima is a heartwarming and informative picture book that introduces young readers to the life and work of guide dogs and teaches... Read more

Take one part Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Wood, add a sprinkle of Diana Wynne Jones and a dash of Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor, and you’ve got... Read more

Books+Publishing is partnering with US trade news magazine Publishers Weekly to provide our subscribers with exclusive access to the weekly digital edition of PW magazine.... Read more

Rockpool Publishing is thrilled to announce the appointment of Jude McGee as publisher, effective immediately. Reporting to Lisa Hanrahan, Jude will drive the growth of our diverse publishing list, collaborating with authors and teams to bring impactful products to life across various genres.

With over 30 years in the industry, Jude has held key leadership roles at HarperCollins, Allen & Unwin, and Random House Australia, working on bestselling and award-winning titles across non-fiction, memoir, lifestyle, and children’s books. A skilled publisher, editor, writer, and industry educator, she brings a strategic vision and deep passion for publishing.

‘For nearly 20 years I’ve watched with great admiration as Rockpool Publishing grew from a small start-up to a hugely successful business,’ Jude said. ‘Now they’re publishing for the world and I’m thrilled to be a part of the next Rockpool chapter.’

Welcome to the team, Jude! We can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make.

Read more: News | Rockpool Publishing

Media Enquiries:
Vicky Smith, Marketing Manager
Email: vicky.smith@rockpoolpublishing.com.au
Website: www.rockpoolpublishing.com

Fremantle Press is proud to present our catalogue of children’s books that have been named Notables, Honour Books, Shortlisted, and Winners of the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards. View here.