Our latest blog posts
The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists for 2017
Four emerging Australian writers have been named The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists for 2017. Congratulations to Jennifer Down, Julie Koh, Josephine Rowe and Rajith Savanadasa!
Here are our reviews of their most recent works.
Our Magic Hour by Jennifer Down
‘Jennifer Down’s Our Magic Hour is a brilliant Australian debut. Intimate, raw and occasionally heartbreaking, this is a book that demands to be devoured quickly, but stayed with me long after I finished the final page.
The…
Winners of the Australian Book Industry Awards 2017
The winners of the 17th annual Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) were announced in Sydney last night.
Australian Publishers Association (APA) CEO, Michael Gordon Smith says: ‘The ABIAs recognise excellence across the book industry, uniting authors, publishers and retailers in celebration of our collective passion for sharing stories and ideas.’
We are thrilled and honoured to have won this year’s Independent Book Retailer of the Year award together with Sydney’s Potts Point Bookshop! In their joint speech, Readings’ Managing Director…
Mouthwatering food in fiction
Our digital marketing manager Lian Hingee shares some of her favourite novels that feature mouthwatering moments of food.
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
The protagonist at the centre of Nora Ephron’s semi-autobiographical novel Heartburn is Rachel Samstat – food writer, mother, and jilted wife. Food plays an important part in Rachel’s journey, whether it’s for comfort (mashed potato with slivers of cold butter added to each forkful), self-assurance (the perfect vinaigrette), memory (her mother’s recipe for lima beans and pears) or…
Eight emerging poets to see at EWF 2017
Here at Readings, we’re getting very excited for Emerging Writers’ Festival, which opens on Wednesday 14 June. Here are eight emerging poets featured on this year’s program that are sure to impress.
Alison Whittaker is a Gomeroi poet and law scholar living on Wangal lands. She is the author of the award-winning poetry collection Lemons in the Chicken Wire.
See her at:
Jesse Oliver is an up and coming trans slam poet from Perth…
Tackling social media in teen books
Gabrielle Williams is an an acclaimed author of young adult fiction. Her new novel, My Life as a Hashtag, is a funny, heartfelt read about rage, regret and the pitfalls of life in the digital age.
We recently asked Williams how she approached social media when writing for teenagers. Here is her response.
When I was at school, my friend’s boyfriend broke up with her via toilet paper. I imagine him sitting down one afternoon (hopefully with the lid…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
The Bad Guys Episode 5: Intergalactic Gas by Aaron Blabey
Little People, Big Dreams: Frida Kahlo by Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Gee Fan Eng
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
13 Reasons Why (film tie-in edition) by Jay Asher
Never Touch a Dinosaur by Rosie Greening
Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie by Isabel…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell by Louise Milligan
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
Depends What You Mean by Extremist by John Safran
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose
Light and Shadow by Mark Colvin
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
The Australian Bird Guide by various
Adults in the Room by Yanis Varoufakis
Cardinal is our bestselling book of last week. In…
My five favourite books about writers
1. Jo March
It’s no coincidence that my name is Jo. Okay, I’m not named after her, but I’ve always identified with Little Women’s tomboyish writer Jo March. The second-oldest of four sisters during the American Civil War, Jo is the driving force of the quartet: she writes plays for them all to act in; she invites the lonely boy in the mansion across the road, Laurie, to be their best friend; and when they’re running low on money, she…
What we're reading: Ariel Levy, M.R. Carey & Patrick Modiano
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.
Mike Shuttleworth is reading The Black Notebook by Patrick Modiano (translated by Mark Polizzotti)
Paris is a place that many of us think about – and some of us think about it a lot. But nobody thinks about Paris with the total obsession of Patrick Modiano, the 2014 Nobel Prize winner for Literature.
I’ve just…
The best new crime reads of the month
CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Cleaner by Elisabeth Herrmann
Espionage novels are like a long swim in stormy weather – by turns comforting, slightly terrifying, and a thorough workout. It is, of course, absolute heaven to sit there on your couch with a glass of pinot gris and read about agents double-crossing each other and people getting shot all over the place, while wondering if you can trust a single person who turns up – which is how everyone…