AGP Executive Report

King’s Birthday Honours 2026: 949 Australians have been recognised, with top awards going to Natasha Stott Despoja, Will Hodgman and mathematician Terence Tao, plus major community and arts recipients across the country. Medical Science Loss: Pioneering melanoma pathologist Richard Scolyer has died aged 59 after a long fight with aggressive brain cancer, leaving a legacy of immunotherapy approaches he helped advance. Arts & Craft Recognition: An 86-year-old Sydney sugar artist has received an OAM for decades of cake decorating and teaching, while embroiderer Yvette Stanton was also honoured for preserving and sharing traditional craft. Publishing & Media Platforms: BizWest has launched on Apple News, expanding its business coverage reach in Australia and beyond. World Cup Culture: FIFA says it will collect items after every match at the 2026 World Cup to build a long-term museum record of the tournament. Community Reading Spotlight: A Kyiv literary festival, Kyiv Book Arsenal, went ahead amid war-time disruptions and repeated evacuations.

Bookshops under pressure: Australia has lost more than half its bookshops since 2013, with closures like Perth’s Boffins Books (37 years) and Melbourne’s Thesaurus Booksellers (nearly 50), raising the question: who will rescue independent stores? Publishing & policy fight: Meta is pushing back hard against Australia’s plan to make tech giants pay publishers for news, arguing the proposal is unfair while Labor holds its line. Community-led author events: At Moruya Library, regenerative farmer and educator Jade Miles drew a full house with a more conversational, participatory author talk style. Health & storytelling: Sam Mac shares an interview with his uncle about his MND diagnosis, tying personal narrative to fundraising and awareness. Digital culture debate: A new pushback against social media “enshittification” highlights how ads and broken moderation can drown out real connection. Global literary reach: Jaipur Literature Festival expands with a debut Los Angeles edition, bringing South Asian voices into wider international dialogue.

Publishing & Books (Australia): A new Australian book title spotlighted this week includes Jane Harper’s Last One Out, with the author pointing to the “loss” and “breakdown of community” behind her small-town settings. Book Culture: Joanna Cannon shares her go-to book club picks, mixing literary fiction and sharp social questions. Media & Publishing Policy: Meta again pushes back on Australia’s proposed news funding levy, arguing it breaches trade rules and unfairly targets platforms. Reading & Tech: A Queensland Sunday Mail podcast episode revisits Frances Whiting’s late-blooming writing life, from motherhood in her 40s to her first novel at 46. Books & Industry Watch: A broader debate continues over whether government should step in as Australia’s bookshops close at alarming rates. International Book/Publishing Angle: A Singapore anthology project shows how gaming culture is finding a literary home, with submissions drawn from across the region.

Australian publishing & culture: UNSW Galleries is hosting Jordan Gogos’s Parádeisos, with Time Machine (2024) spotlighting salvaged textiles and diaspora memory through fashion-as-art. Books & ideas: Poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra turns 80, reflecting on a life translating and writing across cultures. Literary conversation: A ghostwriter on why “outsourcing” writing to AI misses the point of inhabiting a voice. Media & discovery: Google’s search shift is pushing brands to be “grounded” for AI systems, not just ranked for humans. Industry & policy: Meta again attacks Australia’s proposed news bargaining tax as “grossly unfair,” arguing it breaches trade rules. Local reading lists: Best Australian books for June spotlights a buzzy novel, gripping nonfiction and an unusual debut. Community & access: OUTinPerth marks its 2002 start as it continues as a digital-first queer media platform.

Publishing & Books: Sharon Kernot’s Night Swimming (Text) leads a new wave of Australian fiction and suspense, while Allen & Unwin’s Wormhole and Simon & Schuster’s How to Love the World add nonfiction and survival-minded literary fiction to June reading lists. Literary Awards: Australian cartoonist Lee Lai’s graphic novel Cannon has won the $60,000 Stella Prize, a first for the award’s 14-year history. Media & AI in Academia: Former Monash chancellor Alan Finkel says universities should set minimum standards for AI use and require independent checks so academic work is “human-authored.” Government & Procurement: Australia is reviewing KPMG contracts after a whistleblower-driven data misuse scandal; Greens are calling for KPMG to be banned from government work as regulators investigate. Tech & Print: Epson and other suppliers keep pushing new hardware and workflows, while RoyalDTF markets 24-hour DTF transfer production with fast DHL Express delivery. Industry Watch: Meta attacks Australia’s proposed news bargaining tax as “grossly unfair,” arguing it breaches trade commitments.

Publishing & Media Deals: Coca-Cola has kicked off a global media review, with WPP Open X and Publicis Groupe in the running, while Australia Post has appointed Accenture Song as its media agency of record after a pitch. Books & Culture: A new Creative Australia survey says arts participation is at its highest since 2009, with 98% of Australians engaging in some way and live attendance climbing to 74% in 2025. Tech & Retail: Amazon has launched free same-day delivery in Canberra for Prime members, including books and everyday essentials. Mining & Resources: Legacy Minerals begins drilling at its Harden gold project in NSW, and Great Divide Mining reports strong gold, silver and antimony assays at the Coonambula JV in central Queensland. Sports Media: Netflix is rolling out a free FIFA World Cup game with daily updates during the tournament. Community & Bookselling: Canberra’s Lifeline Bookfair returns for the King’s Birthday long weekend, with proceeds supporting mental health crisis services.

Media & Publishing Policy: Meta has escalated its fight with Australia over the proposed News Bargaining Incentive, calling the 2.25% levy on big platforms “grossly unfair” and claiming it breaches the Australia–US free trade deal. Rights & Broadcasting: NRL broadcast talks are heating up for New Zealand, with TVNZ and Sky expected to go head-to-head for next-cycle rights as Sky’s HBO exit frees up cash. Literary Culture & Books: A posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, The Nobody Girl, revisits Jeffrey Epstein-era questions and says some names were withheld amid legal and safety concerns. Arts & Media: Prime Video’s Off Campus is renewed for Season 2, shifting focus to new central couples. Industry Loss: Aviation journalist Geoffrey Thomas has died aged 74, leaving behind decades of reporting and multiple books. Books & Readers: A new The Soccer 100 extract spotlights Lionel Messi ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Media Policy: Meta has launched a furious pushback against Australia’s draft “news bargaining” laws, calling them a “grossly unfair” and discriminatory levy that would force Meta, Google and TikTok to pay publishers (2.25% of Australian revenue) unless content deals are struck first. Publishing & Culture: Stan (Nine) will launch an ad-supported tier, “Basic with Ads”, at A$9.99/month, positioning it as a way to fund Australian storytelling across Nine’s platforms. Literary Awards: The ACT Literary Awards shortlist is out, with children’s, fiction, nonfiction and poetry nominees plus the Marion Halligan Award to be announced July 2. Books & Readers: Two Cairns brothers have turned their comic-book obsession into the “Poo-Heads” graphic novel series aimed at reluctant readers (6–12). Tech & Books: Amazon has expanded free same-day delivery in Canberra to eligible Prime orders over $49, including books. Health & Imaging: Optiscan says it’s halfway through its first in-human breast cancer imaging study at Royal Melbourne Hospital, supporting future FDA submissions.

Tariff Shock for Trade Talks: The US is proposing new at-least-10% tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners, including Australia, citing forced-labour concerns—an effort to rebuild the “tariff wall” after earlier legal setbacks. Media & Universities: Sydney’s Morning Herald removed an opinion piece after it emerged the author used generative AI, while Western Sydney University says its pro-AI stance involved “sophisticated and appropriate” use. Secrecy Laws Under Fire: A Senate inquiry heard warnings that proposed secrecy-law changes still leave journalists exposed, including for receiving and publishing leaked material. Local Publishing & Community: A new Australian death-notice platform, My Tributes, expands digital and print obituary access nationwide. Book Events: Words on the Waves festival programming spotlights new releases from local authors, including memoir and short-story collections. Sports-Culture Crossover: Netflix greenlit adult animated comedy Dealies, adding to the streamers’ push for bookish/pop-culture-friendly entertainment.

BBL Business: Cricket Victoria is moving to sell the Melbourne Renegades licence to a private investor and merge the Stars and Renegades into one entity, with the “financial necessity” rationale front and centre. AI & Integrity: A Sydney academic’s SMH opinion piece was flagged after it was found to be AI-written using her own material, sparking fresh debate about “cutting corners” and disclosure. Media & Streaming: Nine will launch advertising on Stan with a new $9.99 Basic with Ads tier, aiming to broaden access while keeping ad-free options. Publishing & Music: Concord Music Publishing ANZ acquired an interest in Julian Hamilton’s catalogue (The Presets) and signed him for future works. Tech & Audio: Australia’s Bolinda is creating AI voice clones for audiobooks, while Spotify rolls out tools for self-published AI narration—raising new piracy and ethics questions. Policy & Secrecy: Secrecy-law reforms face a Senate hurdle as proposals would give the attorney-general veto power over journalist prosecutions. Scams & Families: A Western Sydney guide warns AI-powered scams are getting harder to spot, with losses rising even as reporting falls. Defence Industry: Aurora Labs won a $1m Defence Industry Development Grant to scale production of micro gas turbine propulsion systems.

Publishing & Books: A local WA debut novel, Nock Loose, is back in print after strong demand, with Patrick Malborough’s alternative Western Australia story of revenge and absurd post-modern energy finding new readers. Literary Awards: The 2026 Locus Awards crowned Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author (science fiction) and Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification (nonfiction), with reader-voted winners and a Bay Area Book Festival partnership. Book Culture in Australia: Moruya Library hosted author-podcaster-regenerative farmer Jade Miles, drawing a full house for a community-led talk on landscape literacy and connection. Media & Reading Habits: Netflix is rolling out a “Watch Your Favourite Books” hub aimed at BookTok fans, while Amazon’s Prime Day is set for June 23–26. Kids & Teens Online: Malaysia begins enforcing bans on social media accounts for children under 16, joining Australia and others in tightening age rules. Games & Publishing Adjacent: Atari will acquire Melbourne mobile studio Hipster Whale (Crossy Road), a reminder of how quickly mobile hits are reshaping creative industries.

Publishing & Books on Screen: Netflix launches “Watch Your Favourite Books”, a new hub for BookTok-style discovery of adaptations, organised by reader “personalities” (plot twists, fantasy worlds, romance, history and more). Media & Advertising Tech: Yahoo DSP and SBS link up via Yahoo Backstage, bringing SBS’s premium video inventory into programmatic buying for Australia’s multicultural and First Nations audiences. Print Industry Moves: Mimaki Australia adds Nick Crinis (Victoria) and Pat Cybulski (Queensland) to its sales team, while CMYKhub ramps up after Fespa Barcelona with new Canon, Mutoh and Summa equipment for DTF and signage demand. Health & Care Policy: A national “Ask 1800MEDICARE” campaign rolls out, offering 24/7 nurse-led advice without a Medicare card. Workplace Equity: A push for Medicare funding for counselling and psychotherapy highlights that 78% of counsellors are women and still excluded. Education Data Breach: Stolen NAPLAN test materials leave about 70 Melbourne primary students exposed, with families offered support and re-sits.

Publishing & Books (Australia): A new children’s book project is spotlighted for helping families of female first responders talk about PTSD and mental health injuries, adding to the week’s focus on reading as support and learning. Community & Pride: Bayside Council marks Pride Month with a public art project of original flagpole artworks by Gary Bigeni, plus a free author talk at Eastgardens Library with journalist/author Shannon Molloy. Media & Industry: Universal Music Publishing Group confirms Andrew Jenkins will depart as President for Australia and the Asia Pacific Region on July 1, ending nearly two decades overseeing regional publishing and key digital licensing deals. Business & Finance (local): NAB and Indigenous Business Australia launch a corporate guarantee scheme to help First Nations businesses access loans up to $1m, with IBA guaranteeing up to 50% to overcome property security barriers. Tech & Payments: Spondula opens an invite-only beta for global payments using simple “S-Handle” usernames instead of bank details. Digital Safety: Malaysia moves to block social media accounts for under-16s, requiring age verification for major platforms.

Independent Bookstores Boom: The American Booksellers Association says independent stores are expanding again, with membership up 500+ year-on-year to the highest level since the late 1990s—proof the “bookshop is dying” story is outdated. New Australian Arts Media: The Fourth Wall launches in Australia, aiming to cover theatre, live music and performing arts with an Australian lens, plus reviews, profiles and plans for print and events. Ereaders & Deals: Amazon’s Kindle Colorsoft drops under AU$300 in the Mid-Year Sale, making the colour Kindle a more tempting buy for Australians shopping for a new ereader. Student Debt Pressure: HECS debt rises 2.8% from Monday, adding about $770 to the average balance; independent MP Monique Ryan argues the indexation timing creates a “broken system” and pushes debt spirals. Publishing & IP in Court: Shein and Kmart deny copying claims from Queensland label Sabo Skirt in a federal court intellectual property dispute. Tech in Travel: RateGain consolidates its commercial team across APAC, Middle East and Africa after a Sojern acquisition, betting on AI-led hotel growth. Aid Budget Watch: Australia’s ODA increases in nominal terms, but analysis suggests real spending falls as multilateral funding is reduced or reshaped toward bilateral and regional programs.

Publishing & Books (Perth): Upswell’s How to Dress for Old Age is the June pick for Perth’s Queer Book Club, with David Carlin and Peta Murray’s story set in an inner-city Melbourne aged-care facility. Local Publishing & Community: A Melbourne town-hall heritage fight is spotlighted as the City of Yarra tries to reclaim underused Victorian-era spaces, including Fitzroy Town Hall, from long neglect. Books & Culture (Australia): A roundup-style piece urges “easy” summer reading with author picks and quick ways to buy, leaning into the season’s browsing habits. Global Security & Tech (AUKUS): The US, Australia and the UK plan unmanned undersea vehicles under AUKUS to protect seabed cables from sabotage—an issue that will shape how publishers and media think about connectivity. Currency & Modernisation (India): India’s Reserve Bank is revisiting a polymer banknote pilot, aiming to cut replacement costs and extend note life. Rare Collectibles (Auctions): Donington Auctions sets a new Australian record with a 1933 Brough Superior SS 100 selling for $338,000.

Canberra Crime: A 36-year-old woman from Wamboin has been charged after ACT Police allege she tried to print child exploitation images at a Belconnen photo-printing store, with the files reportedly failing to print due to a machine malfunction before staff spotted them and alerted police. Publishing & Culture: Sydney Writers’ Festival coverage continues to spark debate after a session featuring “silenced” writers, while a separate piece highlights author David Szalay’s Booker Prize press run and the ongoing pull of major literary prizes. Sports & Streaming (Australia-facing): Multiple free-to-air/streaming guides keep rolling for big events, including the Champions League Final (PSG vs Arsenal) via 9Now and RTE, plus Giro d’Italia Women coverage with SBS listed as free in Australia. Local Books: Jamestown author TJ Buck says he’s seeing a surge in international reviews, especially from India, driven by Amazon’s global reach.