Our latest blog posts
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
Lost & Found by Brooke Davis
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
All the Birds Singing by Evie Wyld
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Chasing the Ace by Nicholas J. Johnson
Dragon’s Tail: The Lucky Country After the China Boom by Andrew Charlton (Quarterly Essay 54)
Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
The Book of Paul: The Wit and Wisdom of Paul Keating by Russell Marks
Eyrie by Tim Winton
The Age Good Cafe Guide 2014 by Matt Holden
…
Inflatable boobs and other awkward moments in young adult fiction
by Chris MilesYoung adult author Chris Miles tells us why you should be embarrassed to read young adult – but not in the way you think…
Cringe comedy has become a TV staple courtesy of sitcoms like The Larry Sanders Show, The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm. But it’s been a staple of young adult fiction since at least as far back as the 1970s, when Judy Blume published Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. Awkward moments abound…
Winner of the 2014 Miles Franklin Literary Award
Wyld’s novel was judged as being ‘of the highest literary merit’ and presenting ‘Australian life in any of its phases’ in accordance with Miles Franklin’s guidelines for the award. Wyld wins $60,000 in prize money.
The judges said of the winning novel: ‘All the Birds, Singing draws the reader into its rhythm and mystery, through wonderfully and beautifully crafted prose, whose deceptive sparseness combines powerfully with an ingenious structure to create a compelling narrative of…
Mark's say: Hachette vs. Amazon
Last month the US publishing industry’s annual get-together, the BookExpo America (BEA), was held in the giant Javits Center in midtown Manhattan on the banks of the Hudson River. It’s an event I’ve been to most years; this time I was joined by my colleague, Angela Crocombe, a recipient of the Readings Scholarship – a program designed to give Readings staff the opportunity to explore bookselling and publishing trends in other markets. There was a buoyant mood on the floor…
What we're reading
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.
Nina is reading What Came Before by Anna George
In a recent Q&A (read it here), author Anna George said: ‘I wasn’t conscious of whether I was writing a psychological thriller or a literary novel. The book is framed around a crime but I don’t see it as a crime novel…
Q&A with Anna George
Jason Austin talks with Anna George about her new novel,
What Came Before begins with David’s confession that he’s killed his wife Elle. As the story progresses, we learn not only what came before that event, but what came before the couple met and how their once passionate relationship fell apart. David, in particular is a very charming, yet very troubled character. Was it hard getting into the mind a person capable of committing domestic violence and how did you…
The story of my book: My Year Without Matches
by Claire DunnAt the start of 2011 I had a great idea.
I’d just left a primitive thatched hut after a year of wilderness survival skills and introspection. It was an archetypal story – a-woman-on-a-mission-of-self-discovery-in-the-wilds. There were ecstatic heights and existential lows, dangers and challenges, love affairs and conflict.
I’d write a book.
I did some research. According to Stephen King, if I pounded out 1000 words a day, in three months I’d have a draft. A friend from uni concurred, completing…
Belle Place's top picks for July
Your regular columnist, Martin Shaw, was holidaying in Germany last month, young family and reading material in tow, which leaves me the pleasure of reporting on bookish news from the southern hemisphere for July.
Far removed from the European continent, two Australian debut novels are released this month that find their setting in our west coast. The rights to Brooke Davis’ Lost & Found have already been sold widely overseas. This much-anticipated release follows three characters, each searching for something…
Our top ten bestsellers of the week
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
My Story by Julia Gillard (pre-order available only)
The Age Good Cafe Guide 2014 by Matt Holden
Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
Piranesi’s Grandest Tour: From Europe to Australia by Colin Holden
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear…
Winner of the Readings Children's Book Prize
The winner of the first ever Readings Children’s Book Prize is… Tasmanian author Julie Hunt with her fantasy adventure Song For A Scarlet Runner!
Julie receives prize money of $4,000 and will be appearing at an event in July. In the meantime, she answers questions about her book, which the Readings’ judges loved unanimously.
Tell us about your writing career so far.
I’ve been writing for a long time but Song for a Scarlet Runner is my first novel…
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