Australian market news: Mergers, new ventures, and local top-selling authors

After a turbulent 12 months for independent publishing, with three established independent publishers acquired by and integrated into larger publishing houses, 2025 has been an opportunity to walk a new publishing landscape.

Affirm Press (acquired by Simon & Schuster Australia in August 2024), Pantera Press (acquired by Australian independent publisher Hardie Grant in September 2024), and Text Publishing (acquired by Penguin Random House Australia in January 2025) have all continued to publish under their own imprints in 2025, with all three announcing new acquisitions, moving into 2026 and 2027.

With change often comes opportunity, and 2025 has also welcomed the launch of several new publishing ventures.

Pink Shorts Press, announced in November 2024, has officially launched its first acquisitions: Plastic Budgie, a piece of autofiction from Olivia De Zilva, and Playing Nice Was Getting Me Nowhere, a collection of satirical short stories from Alex Cothren.

Other new publishing ventures include Perentie Press, with a focus on graphic novels, and Bakers Lane Books, with a mandate for ‘bold, inclusive storytelling’.

Productivity and generative AI

At the forefront in every conversation about the creative industries is, of course, the looming presence of generative AI. Australian publishing industry professionals have kept a weather eye on what is happening with our US and UK colleagues, as well as in other markets around the world. With the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission tasked with exploring the impact, the industry has responded with concerns regarding fair recompense to creators and recognition of copyright in this context. (more…)

Originally published by Books and Publishing (Read More)