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What we're reading: Lauren Groff, Debra Adelaide and Colin Barrett

Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on or the music we’re loving.

Ann Le Lievre is reading Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life by Jonathan Bate

This is an insightful, engaging book. It was happily residing in the middle of a pile of fabulous new October releases, but when I saw it had been shortlisted for the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize, it made a sudden…

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Nominees for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2016

by Holly Harper

The nominees for the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award have been announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Over two hundred authors, illustrators and storytellers from fifty nine countries are in the running to win the world’s largest children’s literature prize.

Candidates from Australia and New Zealand are:

Joy Cowley

Lynley Dodd

Ursula Dubosarsky

Libby Gleeson

Morris Gleitzman

Alison Lester

Melina Marchetta

Markus Zusak

Click here for a full list of nominees.

Australian authors Sonya Hartnett and Shaun Tan took home…

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Best new cookbooks in October

by Chris Gordon

The Moroccan Soup Bar by Hana Assafiri (available 26 October)

Over the last 17 years the Moroccan Soup Bar has become a much-loved Melbourne institution. It’s a unique dining experience with Hana, head chef and owner, telling you what’s what on the menu. She says: ‘At the Moroccan Soup Bar we strive to rectify the imbalance where women in all societies and religions are among the most vulnerable and marginalised. Modern cooking is underpinned by the innovation and creativity of…

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Marlon James wins the Man Booker Prize 2015

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James is the winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2015!

In A Brief History of Seven Killings, James combines brilliant storytelling with his unrivaled skills of characterization and meticulous eye for detail to forge an enthralling novel of dazzling ambition and scope. Set across three decades, the novel uses the true story of the attempt on the life of reggae star Marley to explore the turbulent world of Jamaican…

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Best new crime in October

by Fiona Hardy

CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH:

The Dark Inside by Rod Reynolds

As someone who’s never been to America’s south, I only know what I read in books: lots of diners, folks who don’t like the look of you, and dirt tracks where any manner of thing can go wrong. And I love it, that southern tale: the heat, the secrets, something about the writing that is sweet and sour like ripe old candy. It surprised me to realise that Reynolds…

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Five beautiful picture books (that are also for adults)

by Holly Harper

The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan is a firm favourite amongst booksellers and customers alike, and his star has only continued to rise after The Lost Thing was turned into an Oscar-winning short film in 2010. When a new one of his books graces our shelves, it’s usually the adults lining up at the counter, clutching a copy to their chests with an enthusiastic gleam in their eyes. The Singing Bones is no exception. This collection of Tan’s…

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Winners of the Inky Awards 2015

The winners for this year’s Inky Awards have been announced by the Centre for Youth Literature!

The Inky Awards recognise high-quality young adult literature, with the shortlist selected by young adults, and the winners voted for online by teens. There are two awards: the Gold Inky Award for an Australian book, and the Silver Inky Award for an international book.

The winner of this year’s Gold Inky is The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer.

The winner of this year’s Silver Inky…

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Samuel Johnson Prize Shortlist 2015

Congratulations to the authors shortlisted for this year’s Samuel Johnson Prize.

Anne Applebaum, chair of judges, said: “We didn’t quite come to blows, but the shortlist meeting was truly contentious; it’s hard to imagine how five people sitting in a room on a weekday morning could have disagreed more strongly. Nevertheless I am delighted to say that our list includes some exceptional books, which capture – among other things – the politics of troubled countries, the relationship of life to…

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