In 2018, the Readings Foundation is supporting the Banksia Gardens Community Services in delivering their Aiming High VCE Support Program. Here, our Grants Officer Gabrielle Williams shares some insight into this incredible project and who it supports.

The banksia plant is a bold, beautiful native of Australia with over 170 different species falling under its banner. The banksia plant is highl…

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Sometimes a wave of fantastic picture books will arrive, reminding me how good they can be. Not only for kids, picture books can be objects of art, deeply philosophical, poetic in their use of language, or just downright silly and joyous. Here are six picture books that have made me smile this month. Puddle Hunters by Kirsty Murray & Karen Blair

Puddle Hunters follows siblings Ruby and Ban…

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Congratulations to the six authors shortlisted for The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2018. Now in its fifth year, the prize recognises exceptional new contributions to local literature.

Over the past twelve months, the judging panel considered more than ninety books which made for some difficult decisions. The six books listed here represent the most daring new voices in Australian l…

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We’ve announced the shortlist for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2018. Here, we introduce the six shortlisted authors. Find more information about this year’s shortlisted books (including the judges' report) here. Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is a writer based in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. He has self-released several small books of fiction, and was editor of Cr…

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The 104-Storey Treehouse (Book 8) by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo Cicada by Shaun Tan Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different by Ben Brooks & Quinton Winter Shout Out to the Girls by various High Five to the Boys by various Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly How Did I Get Here? by Philip B…

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No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani (translated by Omid Tofighian) Dark Emu (New edition) by Bruce Pascoe Family by Hetty McKinnon Clock Dance by Anne Tyler Less by Andrew Sean Greer The Biographer’s Lover by Ruby J Murray Scrublands by Chris Hammer Warlight by Michael Ondaatje The Football Solution by George Megalogenis The Barefoot Investor (2018 updated edition) by Scott Pape

Ku…

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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. Lian Hingee is reading We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson is one of those writers that everyone tells you that you must read. A master of American Gothic, she was reclusive, agoraphobic and obsessed with witchcraft. She’s pro…

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The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced their Book of the Year Awards winners for 2018. These Awards celebrate the best Australian books for readers in early childhood up to young adult readers.

Here are the winners for each category.

Older Readers Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell & Fiona Wood

Take Three Girls is a collaboration between three beloved …

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We regularly get asked for funny book recommendations so here is a list of recent comedic releases. These picks range from the charming and heartwarming, to the razor-sharp and delightfully snarky. For something charming and affectionate… Less by Andrew Sean Greer

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2018 introduces Arthur Less, a failed novelist on the brink of fifty. When a weddi…

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On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach is a masterful short novel from Ian McEwan. It is July 1962. Edward and Florence, young innocents married that morning, arrive at a hotel on the Dorset coast. At dinner in their rooms they struggle to suppress their private fears of the wedding night to come and, unbeknownst to them both, the events of the evening will haunt them for the rest of th…

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