BOUND TO BOUND
A timeline of Australian publishing news
The Authors Guild, alongside seventeen authors, files a class-action suit against OpenAI for copyright infringement. Among the plaintiffs were John Grisham, George R. R. Martin and Jodi Picoult, all of whom raised concern at the unauthorised use of published novels to train AI models. ➜
2024
MAY
Alexis Wright wins the 2024 Stella Prize for her novel, Praiseworthy, published by Giramondo Publishing. ➜
JUNE
The Audio Publishers Association of the US experience an increase in sales by 9%, continuing the annual trend of growth in audiobook listeners. ➜
JULY
Audible announces a new royalty model. The new calculations divide author income among all titles a member listens to over a month, regardless of whether the title was purchased with a subscription credit or part of the ‘all-you-can-listen’ Audible Plus catalogue. This receives a mixed response, with critics arguing that the new system punishes authors who opt-out of the Audible Plus program. ➜
AUGUST
Alexis Wright wins the 2024 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her novel, Praiseworthy, published by Giramondo Publishing. ➜
Booktopia is acquired by online electronics store, digiDirect on August 24th. The company had appointed administrators after acquiring an estimated $60 million debt. It is among a number of book suppliers and retailers purchased by digiDirect. ➜
Affirm Press is acquired by Simon & Schuster Australia on August 26th. This represents a period of international expansion for Simon & Schuster. ➜
SEPTEMBER
The Australian Society of Authors welcomes the Australian Government’s proposal of mandatory guardrails for AI use. Included in the APA’s response is the sentiment for the government to consider the European Union’s practice of enforcing transparency from AI developers regarding their use of copyrighted works. ➜
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) urges large businesses to prepare for upcoming mandatory climate reporting. The upcoming requirements are designed to ensure companies remain aware of their climate impact, but it is a change unlikely to affect much of publishers or printers. ➜
OCTOBER
Shawline Publishing Group and Readalot Magazine enter liquidation on October 3rd after acquiring a $840,000 debt. Over 400 authors are affected by the event, with many claiming losses between $5,000 and $8,000. ➜
Nielsen BookData and GfK Entertainment release their global sales report for 2024. Non-fiction sales predominantly decreased during the year, with fiction sales increasing. Fantasy and romance novels performed particularly well, demonstrating the rise of the ‘Romantasy’ genre. ➜
DECEMBER
2025
The Murdoch family settle a court case that determines Rupert Murdoch’s four children will share control of their father’s companies after his death. The catalyst of the lawsuit was Rupert’s attempt to amend the family trust, ensuring that after his passing News Corp and Fox Corp would be left to his eldest son, Lachlan, reportedly to ensure a politically conservative influence remained in charge. ➜
JANUARY
The Australian book market falls by 3% in value and 1.2% in sales volume during 2024. This is reported in Nielson BookScan’s annual snapshot. In total, 69 million books were sold and the average price was $18.69. ➜
Text Publishing is acquired by Penguin Random House Australia on January 22nd. Production is reportedly continuing as normal, now with additional financial backing. ➜
MARCH
Black Inc Books includes mandatory agreement to AI use in updated contracts for writers. The new contracts require permission to “reproduce or use, adapt and exploit” writing for the “training, testing, validation and the deployment” of an unnamed AI. ➜
Meta is revealed to have illegally used copyrighted work by Australian authors in the development of their AI model, including millions of national and international books and scientific papers. Find the full listl in Library Genesis, a database developed by The Atlantic. ➜
MAY
ABC Radio National announces the ‘Top 100 Books of the 21st Century’. The ranking is dictated by community vote and the listing will be announced live on the 18th and 19th of October. ➜
Audible announces future use of AI narration for audiobooks. The integration will allow for books to be translated and provide a variety of accents. Authors, translators and narrators have criticised the change for a variety of reasons, particularly for the devaluing of translation and narration as impactful crafts. ➜
Michelle de Kretser wins the 2025 Stella Prize for her novel, Theory & Practice, published by Text Publishing. ➜
JULY
Street Library Australia becomes a certified social enterprise. The organisation has facilitated the installation and maintenance of over 4000 free-to-access bookshelves for the public, with more to come. ➜
Microsoft researchers publish a list of the occupations most likely to be replaced by generative AI. Writers are ranked 5th most vulnerable, followed by journalists at 16th, proofreaders at 19th and editors at 21st. ➜
Siang Lu wins the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award for his novel, Ghost Cities, published by the University of Queensland Press. ➜
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) becomes carbon neutral. This is achieved through the implementation of carbon credits and office emission reduction. The organisation committed to achieving this target by 2030, succeeding ahead of schedule. ➜
AUGUST
The Australian Government’s Productivity Commission proposes an exemption to the Copyright Act 1968 to assist in the training of generative AI. The Society of Authors releases a statement condemning the proposal, saying that multinational tech companies will make billions at the expense of writers. ➜
Booktopia hosts Lifeline Book Fair in Sydney. The warehouse was opened to over 8000 readers with 50,000 books available and the fair raised $300,000 for charity. ➜
SEPTEMBER
Melbourne University Publishing announces that Meanjin will cease publication. After an 85 year history of publication, the magazine will end after the December 2025 issue. Melbourne University claims the decision was made for purely financial reasons, but there was considerable backlash from the Australian literary community. ➜
The Australian Government releases a National Climate Risk Assessment. The assessment is intended to provide a foundation from which to take informed action. Results show that climate hazards will worsen indefinitely, but that early action will reduce long-term loss. ➜
2023
MARCH
APRIL
The State Library of Victoria staff accuse management of censorship and discrimination after the postponing of writing events by three pro-Palestine writers; poet Omar Sakr, novelist Alison Evans and journalist Jinghua Qian. A letter from staff to the library’s board criticised management for ‘mistrusting the professionalism’ of the writers. ➜
Book Depository shuts down on April 26th after almost 20 years. The decision to close the online retailer was made by their parent company Amazon amid cutbacks and justified as ‘role elimination’. The news was received with disappointment, particularly from readers unable to easily access international books from their domestic bookstores. ➜
Sarah Holland-Batt wins the 2023 Stella Prize for her poetry book, The Jaguar, published by the University of Queensland Press. ➜
MAY
The Writers Guild of America enacts a strike on May 2nd that lasts until September 27th. This was a response to the rapidly changing media landscape and proposed changes to suit the increase in streaming services, among other industry shifts. Leaders of the strike negotiated increased health and pension rates, improved terms of employment for screenwriters, and security against the use of worker’s material to train AI models. ➜
JUNE
For the first time, authors and illustrators of e-books and audiobooks have received Public Lending Right (PLR) and Educational Lending Right (ELR) payments alongside their physical publishing counterparts. The Australian Government’s scheme will provide income for 18,000 creators and publishers, including 1,400 new claimants. ➜
The Australian Government announces new legislation to establish two new creative bodies; First Nations Arts and Writing Australia. The Creative Australia Bill 2024 is designed to support First Nations artists to sustainable creative careers and to promote the Australian literature sector. ➜
JULY
Shankari Chandran wins the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her novel, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, published by Ultimo Press. ➜
AUGUST
The Australian Publishers Association release the results from their 2024 Sustainability Survey. Alongside the data is a series of suggestions for the publishing, distribution and marketing of books. ➜
SEPTEMBER
US President Donald Trump sues Penguin Random House over the publication of Lucky Loser by Russ Buetter and Susanne Craig. The defamation lawsuit includes both PRH and the The New York Times for ‘disparagement’ and seeks a minimum of $15 billion USD in damages. ➜