Our latest blog posts

Meet two stars of the Readings Children's Book Prize Shortlist

One was ‘tall, gangly… sports loving and adventure seeking’ as a child, while the other was a ‘freckled, ballet-dancing red-head who loved reading’, but both grew up to be authors and after being widely published for their non-fiction, both are now shortlisted for the Readings Children’s Book Prize with their debut novels for children aged 7-12.

Meet Tony Wilson and A.L. Tait.

Find out what sparked the ideas for Tony Wilson’s Stuff Happens: Jack and A.L. Tait’s Race to the

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Why you should bake your own bread

Two of our staff members talk about why they bake their own bread.

Bronte Coates, Digital Content Coordinator:

While I’m not an entirely successful home baker (my success rate hovers around the 50% mark) I am an enthusiast one and bread is far and away my favourite thing to make at home. I love the science experiment aspect of it and I feel very impressive serving it to people. My housemate Maggie was the first person to teach me…

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Books to read while you wait for Go Set A Watchman

by Bronte Coates

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

The parallels between this memoir and To Kill A Mockingbird should be immediately apparent; social justice lawyer Bryan Stevenson has even been described as a ‘real-life’ Atticus Finch. Our reviewer writes that the book, ‘ presents a scathing exposé of the inequalities, racial bias and discrimination that has characterised the US justice system, most notably in the South’. It’s a sobering read for anyone who thinks we’ve moved past…

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Hayao Miyazaki's 50 recommended children's classics from all over the world

Japanese animation film studio, Studio Ghibli, has produced gems such as Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle (based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones), My Neighbour Totoro, Ponyo and Arrietty (based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton).

Studio Ghibli’s latest film, When Marnie Was There, from the 1967 novel of the same name by Joan M Robinson, will have limited release in cinemas from 14 May to 27 May.

Below is a list compiled by Japanese film…

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Emily Bitto wins the 2015 Stella Prize

The winner of the Stella Prize 2015 is The Strays by Emily Bitto! Inspired by aspects of the legacy of the renowned Heide group of artists and writer, the novel is an engrossing story of ambition, sacrifice and compromised loyalties.

Kerryn Goldsworthy, chair of the 2015 Stella Prize judging panel says:

“(The Strays) is both moving and sophisticated; both well researched and original; both intellectually engaging and emotionally gripping… In its subject matter, its characters, and its sombre…

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Murray Middleton wins the 2015 Vogel's Literary Award

Murray Middleton has been named the winner of the Vogel’s Literary Award 2015 for his short-story collection, When There’s Nowhere Else To Run.

The characters of Middleton’s 14 stories are all seeking refuge across the country, from the wheat belt of Western Australia to the limestone desert of South Australia, but they all discover that no matter how many thousands of kilometres they put between themselves and their transgressions, sometimes there’s nowhere else to run.

As the recipient of…

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Anthony Doerr wins the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

We’re delighted that Anthony Doerr has been awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel, All the Light We Cannot See, which was ten years in the writing!

The jury described the book as, ‘an imaginative and intricate novel inspired by the horrors of World War II and written in short, elegant chapters that explore human nature and the contradictory power of technology’. Our own reviewer writes, “…it’s impossible to do Doerr’s novel any justice with paltry…

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Getting to know our shortlisted authors: A. L. Tait

Over the next few weeks we’ll introduce you to the six shortlisted authors on the Readings Children’s Book Prize 2015. Who are they? Where do their ideas come from? What do they love to read? What do they love to snack on?

We hope you’ll share these mini interviews with your children.

MEET A.L. TAIT

A.L. Tait is the author of The Mapmaker Chronicles: Race to the End of the World and the newly released second book in…

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Interview with Emily Bitto

Emily Bitto has been named the winner of the 2015 Stella Prize for her debut novel, The Strays. Find out more here.

What does winning the Stella Prize mean to you?

Winning the Stella Prize is one of the most incredible, life-changing things that’s ever happened to me. I’m only just beginning to contemplate what it will mean in terms of my career as a writer, but even being on the shortlist has had a huge impact on…

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