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. Mark Rubbo is reading Demi-Gods by Eliza Robertson

I just read Demi-Gods by Eliza Robertson. Eliza, a Canadian writer, won last year’s ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for her story ‘Pheidippides’, and this is her first novel. It’s a highly charged comin…

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The longlists for the 2018 Kibble and Dobbie Literary Awards have been announced.

The Kibble and Dobbie Literary Awards are open to Australian female writers who have published a book of fiction or non-fiction classifiable as ‘life writing’. The awards moved to a biennial format in 2016, making the 2018 awards open to any work published in the last two years.

The eight longlisted titles for the…

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There are certain stories that we keep coming back to time and again in many different incarnations. Traditional stories, folktales, fairytales, myths and legends – they’ve lasted this long because their enduring themes are as relevant today as they were hundreds, even thousands of years ago. Here are eight recent releases where classic stories have been re-interpreted for a contemporary new aud…

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The Australian Book Industry Awards Academy has announced the ABIA Book shortlists for 2018.

Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators, narrators, and publishers.

General fiction book of the year Force of Nature by Jane Harper The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham The Trip of a Life…

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Our staff tested out recipes for Anzac biscuit recipes to find the best one. Here’s what happened. Lian Hingee tried to replicate her Nana’s recipe

My Nana used to make Anzac biscuits, which she’d keep in a tin for when we came to visit. They were very crisp, very caramelised, and very very thin with lacy edges – almost more like a Florentine than an Anzac. She must have made them so many t…

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The shortlist for the 2018 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction has been announced.

The six shortlisted books are:

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan Sugar Money by Jane Harris Grace by Paul Lynch The Wardrobe Mistress by Patrick McGrath Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves by Rachel Malik The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers

The 2018 judges commented: ‘This year’s shortlist encompasses the rura…

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We recommend five books written by authors who draw on their personal experiences of living with disability to create characters or tell their own life story. You can also find further recommendations by browsing the collection at the bottom of the post. El Deafo by Cece Bell

This funny and sweet graphic memoir details the author’s early experiences with hearing aids, weaving together quir…

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We’re excited that Younger will be returning to our screens on June 5. This fun, addictive and yes, very unrealistic, show about working in a publishing house has affectionately satirised many real-life books and authors in previous episodes. Here are our guesses for what books and trends the show will skewer in the third season. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Instagram poets and YouTube stars…

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We chat with emerging children’s book illustrator Sophie Beer about her craft and inspirations. We love how bold and fizzing your art is. Can you tell us a little bit about your process and the materials you use?

I usually start off with a mood board of things that inspire me. Photos! Other illustrations! Cross-stitches! A soup recipe! Interpretive dance! Anything can be inspirational. I then…

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Andrew Sean Greer has been awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel, Less.

Arthur Less is a failed novelist about to turn 50. So when he’s invited to his ex-boyfriend’s wedding, he has no choice but to accept a series of other invitations to half-baked literary events around the world.

Throughout his travels, he will almost fall in love in Paris, almost fall to his death in Ber…

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