Our latest blog posts
Every song on Taylor Swift's 1989, ranked
Hello. I am a Taylor Swift fan and I spent last night listening to her new album. Now I am here to make some unscientific, non-expert snap judgements about her music. (To be fair and equal, I am only considering those songs that appear on both the standard and deluxe edition of the album).
Here is every song on 1989, ranked in order from best to worst:
Wildest Dreams: I may be alone in my love for this…
Only The Animals by Ceridwen Dovey wins Readings New Australian Writing Award
Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey is the winner of the inaugural Readings New Australian Writing Award 2014! Dovey will receive $4000 in prize money.
Our judges said:
‘ Only the Animals is surely one of the boldest Australian short-story collections in recent years. Here is a rare beast – a work of fiction that is not only richly imaginative, but also intelligent, ambitious and universal in theme. Ceridwen Dovey has created a book that wears its literary antecedents –…
Ask Agatha: What's a book to scare my brother?
Our wise bookseller Agatha answers all your tricky questions. If you have a question for Agatha please email [email protected].
I want to read a prize winner from this year but don’t know which one! Help?
Well, well, well this question is perfectly timed! We just happen to be announcing the inaugural winner of our New Australian Writing Award this very evening. So, of course, the best place to start with prize winners is to read our winner (announced sometime…
NAW Reading Challenge: Which book should win?
Participants in our NAW Reading Challenge make a case for their favourite book to win!
To celebrate our inaugural New Australian Writing (NAW) Award shortlist, we’ve held a NAW Reading Challenge. As part of the challenge, participants have read either 3 or 6 of the shortlisted titles. Each week, we’ve shared some of their feedback on our blog. Congratulations to all our participants!
We’re announcing the winner at a special award ceremony tomorrow but first, to close the challenge…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
Amnesia by Peter Carey
Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s ‘Learned’ by Lena Dunham
Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (including film tie-in edition)
Trendyville: The Battle for Australia’s Inner Cities by Graeme Davison, Renate Howe & David Nicholls
Merciless Gods by Christos Tsiolkas
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My Story by…
What we're reading: Don Watson, Simon Hanselmann and Women in Clothes
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 Megahex by Simon Hanselmann
I’d been a fan of Hanselmann’s since I came across his tumblr a while back, which followed two unemployed stoners, a witch called Meg, her familiar Mogg a black cat, and their housemate Owl, a kind of playboy loser.
There’s a lot to work with…
NAW Reading Challenge: Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke
To celebrate our inaugural New Australian Writing (NAW) Award shortlist, we’re running a NAW Reading Challenge.
This week our participants have read Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke. Here are our favourite responses from them to the book. (Ed. note: may contain spoilers!)
Jill says:
After the first story, ‘David’, I wondered if I could simply write “Wow!” about this collection and leave it at that. This powerful piece intertwines two stories, the young woman in Australia…
Winners of the 2014 Inky Awards
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Inky Awards!
The First Third by Will Kostakis is the winner of the Gold Inky Award.
All the Truth That’s in Me by Julie Berry is the winner of the Silver Inky Award. (Read our review of the book here.)
The Inky Awards recognise high-quality young adult literature, with the longlist and shortlist selected by young adults, and the winners voted for online by the teen readers. The Gold Inky Award is…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s ‘Learned’ by Lena Dunham
Amnesia by Peter Carey
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (including film tie-in edition)
Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
My Story by Julia Gillard
The Bush: Travels in the Heart of Australia by Don Watson
The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb
Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín
After being…
Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2014 Shortlist
The 2014 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlists have been announced! Established in 2008, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards are Australia’s richest literary prize with a total prize pool of $600,000 to winners and shortlisted authors across the six categories.
The following books were shortlisted in each award category:
Fiction
A World of Other People by Steven Carroll (HarperCollins)
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (Vintage Australia)
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane (Penguin: Hamish Hamilton)
Coal…
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