April 22, 2020

Celebrating World Book and Copyright Day

23 April is a date when many prominent writers have both entered (Halldór Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov) and departed from (Cervantes, Shakespeare) the world. This makes it the perfect candidate for UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day: a global tribute to books and authors, their contributions to social and cultural progress, and of course the pleasure […]

March 9, 2020

Karen Wyld wins 2020 Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript

At the recent Perth Festival Literature and Ideas Weekend, the Copyright Agency’s Nicola Evans presented the 2020 Dorothy Hewett Award for an Unpublished Manuscript to author and Copyright Agency member Karen Wyld for her manuscript, Where the Fruit Falls. The prize includes $10,000 provided by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and a publishing contract with UWA […]

March 9, 2020

Classic Australian picture book turns 40

Hazel Edwards’ beloved children’s book There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2020. Drawn to life in 1980 by illustrator Deborah Niland, the lovable Hippo has starred in seven picture books, a junior chapter book, classroom play scripts, a musical and a short film. The books have also been […]

March 9, 2020

New Australian Children’s Laureate announced

The Board of the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation, comprising leading representatives from the children’s book industry, have appointed multi-award winning author Ursula Dubosarsky as the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2020–2021. The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund has supported the Australian Children’s Laureate program since 2011, providing a stipend to support each laureate for two years. Ursula […]

March 7, 2020

Bri Lee named New Writer-in-Residence

Bri Lee, author of the award-winning and bestselling memoir Eggshell Skull, has been announced as the 2020 Copyright Agency UTS New Writer-in-Residence. “The significance of this opportunity to me is clear,” she says. “I can focus on doing precisely and exclusively the writing I want to for the entire rest of the year.” Bri is […]

August 30, 2019

Estate planning for copyright owners

This story, first published last year, is reproduced by popular demand. Could it be possible that the Will had set things right at last, and that Richard and Ada were going to be rich? It seemed too good to be true. Alas, it was! “Mr Kenge,” said Allan, appearing enlightened all in a moment. “…Do […]

March 4, 2019

US Open Library is infringing Australian authors’ copyright

The Australian Society of Authors has joined with similar organisations in the UK and America to condemn the Internet Archive’s Open Library project, which aims to digitise and distribute books for free. A recent examination of the project by the ASA found that the site was hosting scanned copies of in-copyright books by Australian authors […]

January 11, 2019

New Indigenous literary award honours late Kimberley Elder Daisy Utemorrah

Magabala Books is delighted to partner with the State Government of Western Australia and the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund to announce The Daisy Utemorrah Award, a national award open to Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers. The Daisy Utemorrah Award is a new unpublished manuscript award for a work of junior and YA fiction, […]