Pan Mac sells ‘Heartsick’ to US, UK

Pan Macmillan Australia has sold US and UK rights to debut nonfiction title Heartsick (Jessie Stephens) after ‘a highly contested auction’. US rights were sold to Henry Holt in a deal negotiated by Dan Lazar at Writers House and UK rights were sold to Macmillan UK, which is also representing translation rights. Heartsick, a work…

Meet literary agent Jacinta di Mase

Jacinta di Mase is the founder and lead agent at Jacinta di Mase Management, which she established after working under ‘formidable’ agents Lyn Tranter and Jenny Darling. She spoke to Think Australian. How did you become a literary agent? I followed advice from Australian book designer Sandy Cull on how to get into the publishing…

Graphic novel researcher: ‘Australian publishers are hungry for titles’

Sophie Splatt, an editor of books for children and young adults at Allen & Unwin for the past decade, is the Australian Publishers Association’s (APA) 2023 Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellow. Her research project will take her to the US and Canada to meet with graphic novel publishers, editors, agents and creators for her research project…

So much to share

Ahead of this year’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair, running 21–24 March, we are thrilled to share the latest children’s and YA titles from Australian publishers in this issue of Think Australian, which is being distributed by Publishers Weekly and BookBrunch. After two years away from in-person fairs, Australian rights managers are keen to meet up…

Australians comprise majority of Walter Scott Prize shortlist

Three out of the five books shortlisted for the £25,000 (A$44,900) Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction are by Australian authors. The five shortlisted novels are: The Tolstoy Estate (Steven Conte, Fourth Estate) A Room Made of Leaves (Kate Grenville, Text) The Mirror and the Light (Hilary Mantel, Fourth Estate) Hamnet (Maggie O’Farrell, Tinder Press) The Dictionary of Lost…

Aus publishers’ latest acquisitions

Among the latest children’s and YA acquisitions by Australian publishers: Children’s Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing (HGCP) has acquired two books by Maxine Beneba Clarke. Releasing in June 2023, It’s the Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for young people, is Clarke’s debut collection of poetry for children and teens. Aimed at upper primary through…

Moriarty, Dalton top Australian fiction, nonfiction charts YTD

Trent Dalton, whose 2018 debut Boy Swallows Universe remains in the top 10 Australian fiction bestsellers over three years after its publication, is at the top of Australian nonfiction charts for the year to date with his collection Love Stories, released in October last year. Love Stories is closely followed in the Australian nonfiction chart…

Stories to tell: Australian fiction on offer at LBF

Following on from recent deals for her work in the UK and US, multi-award-winning writer Alexis Wright is the ‘top author’ for publisher Giramondo at this year’s London Book Fair. ‘We’ll be focusing on her entire catalogue: Praiseworthy, Tracker, The Swan Book and Carpentaria,’ says Nick Tapper from Giramondo. From Fremantle Press, look out for…