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The Ned Kelly Awards longlists 2018

The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2018 longlists for the Ned Kelly Awards for the best in Australian crime writing.

Here are the books longlisted for each category:

Best Fiction

Marlborough Man by Alan Carter

Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher

Redemption Point by Candice Fox

The Lone Child by Anna George

Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill

Class Act by Ged Gillmore

Pachyderm by Hugh McGinlay

Big Red Rock by David Owen

The Secrets She

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The Davitt Awards shortlists 2018

Sisters in Crime has announced a shortlist of 27 books for its 18th Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women – six adult novels, three YA novels, four children’s novels, four non-fiction books and 10 debut books.

Here are the shortlisted books in each category:

Adult novels

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

The Hidden Hours by Sara Foster

Crimson Lake by Candice Fox

Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

And Fire

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What we're reading: Sara Varon, Sally Rooney & Julie C. Dao

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films and TV shows we’re watching, and the music we’re listening to.

Bianca Looney is reading New Shoes by Sara Varon

Sara Varon’s earlier book, Robot Dreams, is already one of my favourite graphic novels for younger readers and I know I’m not alone. A mother of a child in prep recently told me how after reading the story, her son created his own comic about…

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The Wainwright Golden Beer Prize shortlist 2018

The Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize is awarded annually to the book which most successfully reflects the ethos of renowned nature writer Alfred Wainwright’s work, to inspire readers to explore the outdoors and to nurture a respect for the natural world. Congratulations to the authors shortlisted in 2018!

Here is the full 2018 shortlist:

The Last Wilderness by Neil Ansell

Hidden Nature by Alys Fowler

Outskirts by John Grindrod

The Dun Cow Rib by John Lister-Kaye

The Lost Words by…

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Everything YA in July

July is a cold wintry month, so it’s appropriate that there’s a plethora of YA thrillers, dystopias, and dark subject matter currently on our shelves.

You can find some of our best kids reads of the month here.

YA BOOK OF THE MONTH

Hive by A.J. Betts

Zac and Mia author Betts follows up her bestselling work with the atmospheric and intimate dystopia, Hive.

Nature-loving innocent Hayley works contentedly as a beekeeper in the strictly regulated, constrained and…

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July reads for kids

by Leanne Hall

There’s a balanced diet of kids books this month. We’ve got the new Shaun Tan picture book, naughty nanas, crime-fighting pigeons and some heartfelt and thought-provoking middle grade fiction.

You can find some of our best teen reads of the month here.

KIDS BOOK OF THE MONTH

Cicada by Shaun Tan

Office worker Cicada trudges through a grim existence in a drab grey building, unappreciated and mocked by his colleagues and superiors. For 17 years he toils, before retiring…

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The best new crime reads of the month

CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH

The Nowhere Child by Christian White

One rainy Melbourne evening, photography teacher Kim Leamy is approached in the cafeteria by a man who has news that will knock Kim right out of her orbit: he believes that she is not Kim Leamy, but in fact Sammy Went, who disappeared twenty-eight years earlier from her home in Manson, Kentucky. Two-year-old Sammy’s disappearance caused a rift within not only her own family, but through the town itself…

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Five tempting new cookbooks in July

by Chris Gordon

This month, our food and gardening columnist Chris Gordon recommends two cookbooks that celebrate the versatility of cauliflower and nachos, as well as a gorgeous new edition of a classic.

The Margaret Fulton Cookbook: 50th Anniversary Edition by Margaret Fulton

Our Margaret once said that she thought her recipes were so popular because ‘part of the thing that women liked about my recipes was that I would get them doing the maddest things’. Join me in celebrating the wonderful work…

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A spotlight on Between Us by Clare Atkins

Between Us is one of the six books shortlisted for this year’s Readings Young Adult Book Prize.

I lift my right foot off the ground, and place it on the lowest step of the bus. My nerves are an electric lightning storm inside me, fraught and fiery. The officer waves for me to get on. Her voice cracks with impatience. ‘Hurry up!’

– Clare Atkins, Between Us

Here’s what the judges said…

‘Jono is depressed, missing his absent mother…

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