A couple of years back I had the honour of judging the Commonwealth Book Prize for a best first book. When it came to final deliberations, it was an almost unbearable choice between two of the regional winners: Lisa O’Donnell’s terrific The Death of Bees, and Nayomi Munaweera’s wondrous Island of a Thousand Mirrors. O’Donnell got the gong, as it turned out, but I’m ever so glad to see that Munaweera, formerly published only in Sri Lanka, is…

Read more ›

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.

Kara Nicholson is reading This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein

I’ve just started reading Naomi Klein’s latest book. If the no-nonsense front cover and title are anything to go by, I’m in for a serious and thought-provoking read. Klein’s last book, The Shock Doctrine, was a sobering and…

Read more ›

Given the sizeable number of new releases that arrive in store each month, it’s easy to miss some hidden gems. We’ve compiled a short list of books you might have missed this September.

Shark by Will Self

Will Self’s follow-up to Umbrella (which was shortlisted for the Man Booker in 2012) is described by the Guardian as ‘a remorselessly daring tale of unorthodox psychiatry and apex predators’. In this book, Self turns upon an actual incident in WWII, when the…

Read more ›

With all the wonderful international film festivals in town, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of one’s roots. In celebration of our local talent, we have a selection of Australian films on offer for less than $20 each.

Take home memorable classics such as Picnic at Hanging Rock and Monkey Grip, and cult flicks such as Love Serenade and Bad Boy Bubby.

Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to own a cut of Australian film history. Available…

Read more ›

Our resident foodie Chris Gordon chats with chef Adam Liaw about being a workaholic, and his recommended cooking plans for a variety of evening plans.

First, congratulations of your new book! Second… are you a workaholic?

Haha I think I am! Honestly, writing cookbooks is an all-consuming process. When I’m working on a book I’m thinking about it around the clock for months – eating potential recipes from the book at every meal, trying to find ways to make it…

Read more ›

To celebrate our inaugural New Australian Writing (NAW) Award shortlist, we’re running a NAW Reading Challenge.

This week our participants have read The Tribe by Michael Mohammed Ahmad. Here are their responses to the novel (Ed. note: may contain spoilers!).

Alice says:

We are born, we procreate, we die. Birth, death and marriages are ceremonialised in all human societies. They are an integral part of what makes us humans the social animals we are. In The Tribe…

Read more ›

We interview Julia Gillard about her autobiography, My Story. You can watch the interview in the below video.

We have limited signed copies of My Story available from all five of our shops but hurry! Our stock is limited.

Read more ›

Anaïs Lellouche is the curator of the world-first exhibition, Victor Hugo: Les Misérables – From Page to Stage, now showing at the State Library of Victoria until Thursday 9 November. Here she talks on what it was like to prepare for the exhibition.

This exhibition began with a research trip to Paris, London and to Hugo’s incredible museum, Hauteville house in Guernsey. Well, my co-curator Tim Fisher and I had to view the material to ensure we brought the…

Read more ›

Our crime specialist Fiona Hardy talks with Nadia Dalbuono about her writing process, Italy and her debut crime novel.

You’ve spent the past fifteen years travelling the world as a documentarian for various companies in the UK. Were you scribbling story ideas in your downtime while on location, or has writing fiction been a recent creative pursuit for you?

I wasn’t exactly scribbling ideas but I did get some inspiration from my travels. I have always wanted to write but…

Read more ›

Events Manager Chris Gordon shares some highlights from our October program of events.

Roll up roll up… Our October events program is full to the brim with goodness. We are covering all the bases this month…

Do you have a passion for dance?

In anticipation of Sea of Rhythm – a brand new festival of rhythm, music and dance set over three days in November – we’re hosting a Q&A with festival performers about the history of jazz music and…

Read more ›