Our latest blog posts
Why you should celebrate Halloween this year
Every year when Halloween draws closer and the supermarkets start to place their chocolate displays a little nearer to the registers, the same debate seems to make the rounds in Australia: Is Halloween even relevant to our nation? Isn’t it a bit crass to celebrate ‘horror’? It’s all just a commercial gimmick, isn’t it?
Three booksellers tell us why all these doubts are moot, and you should go right ahead and celebrate this spooky, creative, un-American holiday.
Holly Harper says…
Stephanie Bishop wins The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction
Stephanie Bishop has been named the winner of The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2015 for her second novel, The Other Side of the World. Bishop will receive $4,000 in prize money.
Chair of judges and the editor of Readings Monthly Elke Power described The Other Side of the World as unforgettable. She says, “Stephanie Bishop’s affinity for landscape is profound; her prose is elegant and viscerally evocative. Bishop has a rare gift for capturing the intangible –…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
Keating (special edition) by Kerry O'Brien
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
ST Gill & His Audiences by Sasha Grishin
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Reckoning: A Memoir by Magda Szubanski
M Train by Patti Smith
Island Home: A Landscape Memoir by Tim Winton
The Crossing by Michael Connelly
The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
Our bestseller for last week is Kerry…
Our children's and YA top ten bestsellers of the week
The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan
Girl Online: On Tour by Zoe Sugg
The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers
The 65-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey
What Do You Wish for? by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker
Top of the Class (Nearly) by Liz Pichon
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Illustrated edition) by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay
…
How the Readings Prize carves its own space in Australian literature
by Veronica SullivanVeronica Sullivan reflects on the six shortlisted books for this year’s Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, and considers how this relatively new Prize fits within the literary prize landscape of Australia.
On the eve of the announcement of the winner of The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction, it seems fitting to cast an eye over the six books on this year’s shortlist and consider what impact winning this particular prize can have on a writer’s life. The $4000…
What we're reading: Miles Allinson, Heidi Swanson and Robert Galbraith
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.
Fiona Hardy is reading Fever of Animals by Miles Allinson
I’m currently losing all sense of time and place as I read Miles Allinson’s book, Fever of Animals. This is a story set across Melbourne, London, Berlin, Venice – and it’s a story about about grief and relationships, about searching for meaning…
A recap of our #LoveOzYA Heroes panel
On Monday I had the privilege of chairing our second #LoveOzYA panel of the year. This time we narrowed the discussion slightly to the topic of Heroes.
Panellists included authors Nicole Hayes (One True Thing and The Whole of My World) and David Burton (How To Be Happy), and teenagers Chris (former Inky Awards judge and teen panellist extraordinaire) and Chami (booktuber at Reads Like Wild Fire).
We talked at first about defining heroes, and…
A quick chat with Christine Manfield
A Personal Guide to India and Bhutan really does seem like the perfect book for lovers of spice and travel. Is that how you would describe yourself?
I am a travel addict and a lover of spicy food, so I seek out those places that inspire me. Travel is always a revelation and this guide book is a wealth of information that I wanted to share with other curious travellers – a comprehensive list of the best places to eat…
Books we're excited to share with our children
Staff share the books they’re excited to share with their children in the future (real, or imagined).
Chris Gordon, Events Manager:
When we hosted an event with Germaine Greer I was starstruck, but I did manage to make the author laugh a little with my stories of being a mother to a whirlwind of a daughter. Later, as Greer was signing a copy of The Female Eunuch for said daughter, I asked when I should give it to her. Greer…
Meet our new Grants Officer for the Readings Foundation
We’ve just appointed a new Grants Officer for The Readings Foundation, and we’re pleased to report that she is a delight. Meet Leanne Hall…
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an author/bookseller, and now also The Readings Foundation Grants Officer. That’s a three-part slashie! I worked for many years as a Children’s and YA specialist at Readings Carlton (hello to all the kids I recommended books to – you’re probably all grown up and driving cars now)…
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