Chris Gordon interviews Sofija Stefanovic about her new short book

I thought

Thanks very much! It’s the first big thing I’ve had published, so it’s really nice to hear you say you liked it. And yeah, it’s sad, the world of romance scams. People fall in love and are punished for it very badly.

I know you met Bill, the main subject matter, when working in TV. What made you expand his story?

Bill and I have been friends for…

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MOVE 1.

Summer, St Kilda. Strolling Acland Street, you dispose of your empty frozen yoghurt cup and peel off into Readings Books. The store’s cool interior is a welcome respite from the cramming heat outside: perfect conditions for browsing. You clock the new releases, turn the latest Murakami over in your hands. It’s a lovely object, though not what you’re after today. You saunter around a bit in happy indecision, leafing through this, admiring that. Then something catches your eye…

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I am teaching a creative writing subject this semester about short fiction. I’ve tutored in this subject a few times over the years, and I love it. Lots of grist in the reader: Chekhov, Faulkner, Garner, Munro. I can keep coming back to these stories and finding new ways into them. And short fiction is good to teach: literary techniques jump right out at you, there’s nowhere for them to hide. In novels you tend to have to search for…

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A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity by Norman Doidge

The Story of A Prime Minister: Paul Keating by David Day

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi

Olive…

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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.

Chris Somerville is reading The Verificationist by Donald Antrim

Currently I’m reading Donald Antrim’s third novel, which is about twenty psychoanalysts meeting in a pancake restaurant. When the narrator, Tom, tries to instigate a food fight one of his dinner companions forces him into a bear hug, resulting in Tom leaving his body…

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I want to talk about why a Nick Cave song should never have featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and why never the twain should have met.

So first things first… How is it that Harry and Hermione are dancing in a barren landscape to ‘O’ Children’ by Nick Cave when:

a.) This section is not even in the book
b.) We know Harry doesn’t love Hermione
c.) We know Hermione doesn’t love Harry
d.) We…

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To celebrate #HarryPotterBookNight tonight we’ve written some Harry Potter themed blog posts.

Emily Gale talks about how her opinion of the Harry Potter series changed after reading them with her children. Read it here.

Chris Gordon explains why a Nick Cave song should never have featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Read it here.

Bronte Coates shares some of her best ideas for Harry Potter spin off novels, and who should write them. Read it…

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As a die-hard fan of both the boy wizard AND adaptations, interpretations, re-dos of all kinds, I’m looking forward to the inevitable Harry Potter spin off novels that someone will one day write. Here’s a sample of some I would gladly welcome into my arms.

Dumbledore’s off-screen adventures, as told by Kate Beaton

Beaton’s smart and funny, sometimes sexy, comics would no doubt capture the essence of a young Dumbledore – the world’s greatest ever wizard (sorry Gandalf). And can’t…

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As a species we’re impressed by the idea that loving someone the minute you clap your eyes on them is a sign of purity. Some sort of mystical superiority. This extends to art in the sense that we’re eager to declare ‘I’m your biggest fan’ or to insist that we loved an author long before the rest of the world caught on. I know I’m not immune to this, but one author I didn’t get straight away (one I scoffed…

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I am writing this column from Jaipur Literature Festival; it’s early days yet but yesterday I was privileged to hear one of my favourite authors, Paul Theroux, speak about his career as both a travel writer and novelist; having had three novels published and needing to make a living he thought travel writing was the way to go so he hopped on a train in London and travelled to India, Asia, Russia and back, which resulted in one of the…

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