Congratulations to Australian author Helen Garner who has won a US $150,000 Windham-Campbell Prize for her outstanding contribution to world literature. The nine award winners were announced in a ceremony at Yale University, USA earlier this week, and covered fiction, nonfiction and drama. In awarding the prize the judges said: “Helen Garner brings acute observations and ...
2016 Stella Prize Longlist Announced
The Stella Prize, which celebrates the contribution to literature made by Australian women, has announced its 2016 Stella Prize longlist. The prize was awarded for the first time three years ago and has now become a highly anticipated and much-loved literary award. The prize is worth $50,000 and includes both fiction and nonfiction books. This year there ...
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
I don't think I have been so moved by a book in a long time. Would highly recommend this but it comes with the warning that it is heart-wrenching. Lisa Genova has done an incredible amount of research and should be applauded for bringing early onset Alzheimers disease to the general public. As the story ...
West Australian Premier’s Book Awards Announced
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has announced Richard Flanagan as the winner of the Premier’s Prize at the Premier’s Book Awards for his novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Mount Lawley-based novelist Yvette Walker received the Western Australian Emerging Writers Award for her first book,Letters to the End of Love. Mr Barnett said 11 of Australia’s ...
Man Booker Shortlist 2014 announced
A huge congratulations to Australia's Richard Flanagan who has made the Man Booker shortlist for 2014 with his novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Shame that I bought my friend a copy for his birthday and didn't buy one for myself at the time. The reading pile keeps growing! The shortlist of six, taken ...
Man Booker Longlist 2014 announced
Today the longlist was announced for this year's Man Booker Prize for Fiction. It is the first time the prize has been open to English novels from around the world. Previously it was for only British and Commonwealth authors. A shame that Richard Flanagan is the only Australian but I wish him well for the ...
Red Dirt Talking by Jacqueline Wright
Red Dirt Talking won the T.A.G. Hungerford Award and was long-listed for the Miles Franklin. These awards are well-deserved. I didn't find this an easy book to read. The sense of place is spot on given that the book is set through the build-up in the north-west of Western Australia. I live in the space and ...
2014 Stella Prize longlist announced
The 2014 Stella Prize longlist has been announced today. Congratulations to all the authors and their publishers. On the list: Letter to George Clooney by Debra Adelaide Moving Among Strangers by Gabrielle Carey Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Night Games by Anna Krien Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane Boy, Lost by Kristina Olsson The Misogyny Factor by Anne Summers Madeleine by ...
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
So often award-winning books fail to deliver the wow factor. So it was with some trepidation that I chose the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson for our “mainly men” book club. Just for the record, these boys are hard to please. I chose the book primarily because of its setting: the ...
2012 Miles Franklin shortlist announced
Congratulations to the shortlisted authors announced today. The winner will be announced on 20 June. Tony Birch – Blood Anna Funder – All That I Am Gillian Mears – Foal’s Bread Frank Moorhouse – Cold Light Favel Parrett – Past the Shallows
Miles Franklin 2012 long-list announced
At the end of March, the 2012 Miles Franklin long-list was announced with 13 novels vying for the coveted $50,000 prize. This year’s list includes seven women and some wonderful Australian authors amongst the mix. The winner will be announced on 20 June 2012. Tony Birch Blood ...