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JACINTA DI MASE MANAGEMENT
Newsletter February 2025 |
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Jacinta di Mase and Danielle Binks vibing in New York, 2022 |
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Jacinta di Mase Management celebrates its 21st Birthday
February and March 2025 are overflowing with new books, new authors, forthcoming titles and industry news. But it's also a BIG year for Jacinta Dimase Management as we celebrate our 21st year. I count my blessing every day and still love my role as much, if not more, than ever.
Early agency successes include,
With Nan by Tania Cox and Karen Blair (her first picture book), and
Tea and Sugar Christmas by Jane Jolly and Robert Ingpen both winning cbca Honour awards. At the time I thought my agenting dreams had come true, until more recently
Iceberg by Jess Racklyeft,
Gymnastica Fantastica by Briony Stewart, and
Grace Notes by Karen Comer (her debut) all won cbca Book of the Year!
An absolute agency turning point was the publication of Professor Clare Wright's
The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka in 2013, the first book in what would become her ground-breaking Democracy Trilogy. Clare won the prestigious Stella Prize in 2014 which was a game-changer for her career and we thank the dedicated group of publishing professionals who founded the Stella organisation in 2012.
Other agency highlights include inviting Danielle Binks to join the agency in 2016, working with Clementine Ford on her incendiary best seller,
Fight Like a Girl, advocating for authors as president of the Australian Literary Agents' Association (ALAA), four wonderful years working closely with Wenona Byrne and Karen Le Roy on the Creative Australia Visiting International Publishers Program (VIPs) committee, travelling to the London and Shanghai Book Fairs in 2018, and to New York as a Creative Australia delegate in 2022. However, my most quirky memory is having been "manifested" by author Tess Woods (more on that soon)!
I know I shouldn't have favourites, but I vividly remember the thrill of excitement the first time I read
What The Raven Saw by Samantha Ellen Bound,
The Lucky Galah by Tracy Sorensen,
The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart,
The Helpline by Katherine Collette,
Eventually Everything Connects by Sarah Firth,
The Mother by Jane Caro,
The Catch - Australia's Love Affair With Fishing by Associate Professor Anna Clark, and forthcoming novels,
By Her Hand by Marion Taffe, and
We Won't Be Here Long by Ilka Tampke.
When you know, you know as they say in the biz ;)
There's a long list of creators, colleagues, and friends who have made my role so enjoyable and the JdM agency so successful, but special thanks for their support and love goes to my family: partner Antony DiMase, and my children Tom, Amelia, and Sebastian who were
literally by my side during the first ten years of the agency as I worked at the kitchen table!
There are many more wonderful stories from the past 21 years that I'm planning to share each month throughout 2025. Stay tuned
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'To Stir With Love' shortlisted in the Indie Book Awards 2025
Congratulations to author Kate Mildenhall, and illustrator Jess Racklyeft for their Indie Book Awards shortlisting of
To Stir With Love (Simon & Schuster Australia) in the Children’s category!
‘It’s my everything cake,’ Grandma says. ‘My grandmother’s grandmother gave it to her, and my grandmother gave it to me.’
This heartfelt collaboration combines food and family to celebrate the magic of grandmothers (and their secret recipes).
We also want to congratulate Briony Stewart for their title
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Tooth Fairy (And Some Things You Didn’t) for being longlisted in the awards.
The category winners and the overall Book of the Year winner will be announced at a virtual awards event on Monday 24 March 2025.
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Sarah Firth winner of Gold Ledger Comic Arts Awards of Australia
Sarah Firth’s debut graphic novel
Eventually Everything Connects: Eight Essays on Uncertainty (Joan Press, Allen & Unwin imprint) has been honoured with the highest comic arts award in Australia; the Gold Ledger!
The Comic Arts Awards of Australia have been organised to acknowledge excellence in Australian comic art and publishing.
Congratulations Sarah! Read more about the awards here
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Megan Herbert - 2024 Political Cartoonist of the Year
JdM’s own Megan Herbert has been named 2024 Political Cartoonist of the Year!
As part of her win, Herbert is being exhibited in Canberra’s annual
Behind the Lines exhibition, that celebrates the talent of this country’s best cartoonists, presenting a unique time capsule of the year in Australian politics. You can watch a video of Megan touring her exhibit, and read a fabulous write-up of her career to date in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Read more here.
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'Borderland' by Graham Akhurst Audible Best Listens of 2024
Thrilled to learn that the audiobook adaptation of Graham Akhurst’s debut young adult novel
Borderland has been selected as one of the Best Listens of 2024 in Australia by Audible! The Audible Editorial team reviewed countless listens released this year and
Borderland rose to the top.
Read more about Borderland and the selection here
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Staying informed on issues affecting our industry |
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Text Publishing acquired by Penguin Random House
Following the news that PRH is acquiring Text Publishing, Jacinta di Mase spoke with
The Guardian to discuss the impact that this acquisition will have on the publishing industry:
"Contraction of the market is never good for writers, and in the long run it will be dire for Australian readers. Independent publishers have always been able to take risks and successfully publish books that the multi-national companies could not (or would not) publish. This risk-taking approach has created an incredibly diverse, responsive, radical, and innovative publishing ecosystem that reaches the broadest possible readership.
One ironic example of market contraction was the merger of Penguin Books and Random House in 2013, which left agents and creators with far fewer avenues to publication.
However, at that time there were many smaller (or not so small) independent publishers such as Allen & Unwin, Hardie Grant Books, Scribe Publications, Affirm Press, and of course Text Publishing, all of whom benefited as mergers of the big companies provided the perfect environment for creators to take a chance with a new independent publisher.
The loss of Text Publishing and other smaller independent publishers, is upsetting, but not surprising in the current market with production and logistics costs constantly rising combined with cost of living pressures, and changes in buyer behaviour as readers embrace online shopping. Many book buyers bemoan the cost of a book and purchase from Amazon where books are "cheaper", not realising they're supporting a company that avoids paying tax in Australia.
On a slightly positive note, the acquisition by Penguin Random House makes sense. Text titles have been distributed by Text publishing since the beginning, and Text authors have benefited from the PRH reach into the Australian market. In some ways, this sale mirrors that of the McPhee Gribble merger with Penguin Books back in the 1980s, and as Diana Gribble was the visionary behind Text Publishing, it makes a romantic end to a great publishing story. And for now at least, the Text imprint will live on, hopefully for longer than that of McPhee Gribble.
Read the full interview here |
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Danielle joins Substack!
Here's what Danielle had to say on Instagram about making the transition to Substack in this time of uncertain social media platforms and the place of creative's within them:
"I’m not going to leave Meta etc. just yet. But, hey, if this place gets worse no thanks to tech oligarchs then I’ll nope outta here and I wanted someplace else to go;
I don’t yet know what this will be, but I’ve scheduled 3 posts already. One is a riff on an explainer I refresh at the beginning of each semester when I teach at RMIT - a look back at the publishing year just gone, and what might require our focus in this new year.
Another will be running through forthcoming @jacintadimase titles that I had a hand in pitching and selling (and giving some ‘behind the scenes’ background to them)
And finally a post that I hope will be a recurring series of very basic ‘What Am I Reading/Watching/Listening/ Wearing/Going.’ 🤷♀️
I don’t intend to ever monetise this #Substack either. It’s just gonna be a place where I can dive deeper on Books/Publishing/Culture/Me (and let’s be honest, everything from musicals to politics too, probably).
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#SaveOurArts Campaign
In a federal election year now is the time to focus our efforts and lobby our local and national MPs on issues that effect the book industry.
The #SaveOurArts Campaign seeks to protect Australian arts & culture from AI theft, promote our content nationally and globally through local content quotas and levies, for govt to fund talented Australian artists, and to invest in arts infrastructure through seven asks.
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Aurelne Thian joins JdM!
Danielle Binks has signed emerging young adult romance author, Aurelne Thian.
Think Jenny Han meets Alice Oseman, Aurelne's work in progress is
Dear Campus Cupid is a heartwarming tale of love letters, second chances, and finding one’s true path
Read more here
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Allison Rocca joins JdM!
We are thrilled to welcome Allison Rocca to the agency.
Allison is a primary school teacher who has taught in classrooms from the ‘burbs of Australia, to remote villages in Asia and Hogwarts-like academies in Oxford. She is a descendant of Wakka Wakka and Kaanju people and her upbringing was rich in storytelling. Allison likes to draw on the stories passed down by her highly respected Elder grandparents to write fiction for children and young adults. She lives and writes on Yuggera/Turrbal country, Brisbane.
Read more about Alison here
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How to Make a Bedtime
Jess Racklyeft
Affirm Press
From the best-selling creator of CBCA Shortlisted
Australia: Country of Colour comes a new board book celebrating Australia and introducing first concepts for babies and toddlers.
Order here
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Australia: First Numbers
Jess Racklyeft
Affirm Press
Explore Australia in this first-concept board book about counting. From one wombat to ten sea creatures,
Australia First Numbers is an introduction to the wildlife of Australia for the littlest nature-lovers
Order
here
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How to Make a Bedtime
Meg McKinlay and Karen Blair
Candlewick Press
Meg McKinlay and Karen Blair celebrate the bonding rituals of bedtime with this delightful story. A sloshy bath, soft pyjamas, finding teddy, a song for singing, a huggily hug – and especially a story!
Order here
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All The Colours of the Rainbow
Rae White
Hachette
People are like rainbows – each colour is different, and you can choose to be any colour of the rainbow. A look at gender diversity and acceptance by non-binary transgender poet Rae White, with illustrations from Sha’an d’Anthes.
Order
here
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Our World of Wild Wonders
Jess Racklyeft
CSIRO Publishing
Earth's wildlife is nothing short of extraordinary. There are colour-changing chameleons in the forests of Madagascar and cliff-climbing goats in the European Alps. Our World of Wild Wonders explores the unique animal species that inhabit our planet. Shall we go explore?
Order here
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Last Shot
Emma Pignatiello
Penguin
An Australian romantic suspense full of witty banter, simmering tension and a larger-than-life family dynasty that will become your new obsession.
Order here
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Venetian Lessons in Love
Jenna Lo Bianco
Pan MacMillan
Venice's most desirable bachelorette, Lucia Trevisan, has just had the best kiss of her life. If only she knew with whom.
Order
here
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Unbury the Dead
Fiona Hardy
Affirm Press
Best mates Teddy and Alice are hired hands with flexible moral boundaries. Whatever the mess, they can be relied upon to fix it with no questions asked. But sometimes it's not as simple as cleaning up.
Preorder here
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By Her Hand
Marion Taffe
HarperCollins
The engrossing and propulsive historical fiction debut from a talented new writer, for readers of Geraldine Brooks'
Year of Wonders, Maggie O'Farrell's
Hamnet, Lauren Groff's
Matrix, Robyn Cadwallader's
The Anchoress, Pip Williams's
The Dictionary of Lost Words.
Preorder here
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This Stays Between Us
Margot McGovern
Penguin
Margot McGovern’s homage to 90s horror films and final girls will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Four girls share a cabin on their school retreat – in an abandoned town where the ghost of Smiling Jack is known to haunt the isolated campers.
Preorder here
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Little Bones
Sandy Bigna
UQP
A unique and lyrical verse novel for middle-grade readers that speaks to our childhood joy of collecting small, intriguing objects and creating connections in the most unlikely places. Since the death of her brother, eleven-year-old Bones spends her time drawing animal skeletons and scavenging for dead things to add to her collection.
Preorder here
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Spirit of The Crocodile
Aaron Fa'Aoso, Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White
A&U
An inspiring story of courage, resilience and hope, set in the Torres Strait Islands Saibai community as climate change threatens culture, tradition and connection to place. Co-written by Michelle Scott Tucker & proud Torres Strait Islander creator, actor, producer and director Aaron Fa'Aoso, with consultant editor Lyn White,
Books & Publishing calls this story, "mature and nuanced"
Preorder here
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Seven Wherewithal Way: Into the Fairy Realm
Samantha Ellen Bound
Affirm Press
Journey to the Realms of Seven Wherewithal Way one final time in this heart-stopping conclusion to Samantha-Ellen Bound's epic portal fantasy series.
Preorder here
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Stay tuned for exciting news once the ink is dry on new contracts! |
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RECENT INTERNATIONAL DEALS |
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Stay tuned for news from this year's London and Bologna Book Fairs from our co-agent
Nerrilee Weir - The Bold Type Agency.
Nerrilee represents JdM lead titles including forthcoming books from Jane Caro, Fiona Hardy, Marion Taffe, Emma Pignatiello, Jenna Lo Bianco, Rachel Ang, Margot McGovern, and Briar Rolfe.
On our stellar backlist, award winning books from, Danielle Binks, & Karen Comer.
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JACINTA
The Burrow - Melanie Cheng
Rapture - Emily Maguire
Prophet Song - Paul Lynch
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DANIELLE
The Bullet Swallower - Elizabeth Gonzalez James
The Coin - Yasmin Zaher |
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Illustration by Rachel Ang, from forthcoming
I Ate the Whole World to Find You
- Scribe |
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