The Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards shortlists for 2021 have been revealed. Congratulations to all the shortlistees!

PRIZE FOR FICTION The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Richard Flanagan Our Shadows by Gail Jones The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay The Coconut Children by Vivian Pham

Highly commended:

Revenge by S.L. Lim Smart Ovens for Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan…

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Online bookseller Ellen Cregan shares her five favourite reads of the year – from vivid, fragmented memoir and elegant Gothic fiction, to a funny, smart queer anti-romance perfect for summer reading. The Adversary by Ronnie Scott

Each year I try to read plenty of Australian fiction, and 2020 was no different. This debut novel was a stand-out of this year’s cohort, and is one of the best ne…

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Sing Me the Summer by Alison Lester & Jane Godwin Bluey: Hooray, It’s Christmas! Code Name Bananas by David Walliams & Tony Ross Terry Denton’s Really Truly Amazing Guide to Everything by Terry Denton Explore Your World: Deep Dive into Deep Sea by Tim Flannery Bluey: Verandah Santa The Traitor (Wolf Girl, Book 4) by Anh Do The Cousins by Karen M. McManus Exploring the Elements by Sara Gillingham…

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Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart A Promised Land by Barack Obama A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough Loving Country by Bruce Pascoe & Vicky Shukuroglou The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Ottolenghi FLAVOUR by Yotam Ottolenghi & Ixta Belfrage The Survivors by Jane Harper All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton Quarterly Essay 80: The High Road by Laura Tingle What Is to Be Done by…

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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. Mark Rubbo is reading Olga by Bernhard Schlink (translated by Charlotte Collins)

I’m been reading Olga by Bernhard Schlink. This is the first book of Schlink’s I’ve read since The Reader in 2017, and I’m very much enjoying it. I particularly…

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve been compiling a host of gift guides to help you with your Christmas shopping. Jólabókaflóð (say it with us, yo-la-bok-a-flot) is the Icelandic tradition of exchanging books and chocolate with loved ones on Christmas Eve. It might be too hot for the blankets and fireplace snuggles of a Nordic Christmas here in Australia, but we’re very happy to embrace the gift of …

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Fed up with the relentless 24 hour news cycle? Dealing with a noisy family? Or maybe you have an extremely large pile of washing lurking in your peripheral vision… Whatever your predicament, sometimes you just need a great book to drown the world out. These 10 novels will help you take a well-deserved break from whatever minor chaos you’re facing. Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

Thirty-two-year-o…

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve been compiling a host of gift guides to help you with your Christmas shopping. Children’s non-fiction books have never been more fascinating and more stunning. Here are our recommendations for books that will thrill young and curious minds this festive season. The Big Book of Blooms by Yuval Zommer, Elisa Biondi, Scott Taylor & Barbara Taylor

This big and bea…

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Over the next few weeks, we’ll be compiling a host of gift guides to help you with your Christmas shopping. Are you trying to reduce your impact on the planet? Do mass-produced and overpackaged gifts fill you with dread? Or maybe you’d quite like to use your gift-giving as an excuse to clear out your overflowing stash of glass jars… Here are six books that will give you all the inspiration you …

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Code Name Bananas by David Walliams & Tony Ross Terry Denton’s Really Truly Amazing Guide to Everything by Terry Denton Bluey: Hooray, It’s Christmas! Sing Me the Summer by Alison Lester & Jane Godwin The Grandest Bookshop in the World by Amelia Mellor The 130-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals by Sami Bayly The Deep End (Diary of…

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