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The 17th storey: Maxine Beneba Clarke’s tribute to Matt Richell

Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Robert Watkins has baked a coffee and cardamom cake. He is Hachette Australia’s commissioning editor. He says the marketing director is likely coming. The publishing director is already there. “Our...

On tour: Meet the author Rachael Herron

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
US-NZ author Rachael Herron is attending the Australian Romance Readers Convention in Sydney in August. Her latest novel is Pack Up the Moon (Bantam). The next instalment in her ‘Cypress...

After the games: Catherine Harris on ‘The Family Men’

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
The Family Men (Black Inc., September) explores the fallout from an AFL football team’s post-season celebration. ‘[It’s] a nuanced indictment of a sporting culture that forgives appalling behaviour in our...

Expect the unexpected: J M Donellan on ‘Killing Adonis’

Tuesday, 15 July 2014
‘Farcical plotlines, secrets, surreal moments and eccentric characters populate the pages’ of J M Donellan’s novel Killing Adonis (Pantera Press, October), which will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson’s films,...

Mission—Impossible Quest: Kate Forsyth on ‘Escape from Wolfhaven Castle’

Thursday, 3 July 2014
Kate Forsyth’s Escape from Wolfhaven Castle is the first book in the ‘Impossible Quest’ fantasy series that blends old-fashioned storytelling with online games and competitions. Sarah Coull spoke to the...

The fun of the fair: Angela Crocombe visits BookExpo America

Thursday, 3 July 2014
Readings bookseller Angela Crocombe visited this year’s BookExpo America courtesy of the Readings Scholarship. She writes that realistic teen fiction, a new US school curriculum and digital subscription models were...

The growth of regional literary festivals in Australia

Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Today there are close to 100 literary festivals around Australia, many of them in regional and rural areas, writes Andrew Nette in an article for the Wheeler Centre. He explores...

Words from the west: Deb Fitzpatrick on ‘The Break’

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Deb Fitzpatrick’s first novel for adults explores human drama in the ‘picturesque setting of Margaret River’. ‘The Break [Fremantle Press, September] will resonate with fans of Tim Winton, as Fitzpatrick...

Into the Wood: Danielle Wood on ‘Mothers Grimm’

Thursday, 19 June 2014
Danielle Wood’s Mothers Grimm (A&U, September) explores the stereotypes of the ‘good’ and ‘wicked’ mother in her contemporary retelling of four Grimm’s fairytales. Bec Kavanagh spoke to the author.Do you...

Gabe McGrath on the benefits of the Pay-What-You-Want ebook bundle

Wednesday, 18 June 2014
What would you do to increase your sales and get your book in front of new fans? Would you let the readers decide what they’d pay for your book? Introducing...

A family affair: Kate McCaffrey on ‘Crashing Down’

Thursday, 29 May 2014
In Kate McCaffrey’s Crashing Down (Fremantle Press, August), 17-year-old star student Lucy discovers she’s pregnant right after her boyfriend is severely injured in a car crash. Reviewer Meg Whelan writes...

Living and grieving: Brooke Davis on ‘Lost and Found’

Thursday, 15 May 2014
Brooke Davis’ debut novel Lost & Found (Hachette, July) weaves together the stories of seven-year-old Mille and eccentric octogenarians Agatha Pantha and Karl the Touch Typist. ‘It is full of...

Undercurrents: Jessie Cole on ‘Deeper Water’

Thursday, 15 May 2014
Jessie Cole inverts the ‘stranger comes to town’ narrative in her second novel Deeper Water (Fourth Estate). She spoke to reviewer Portia Lindsay.Deeper Water begins in a similar way to...

On tour: Meet the author Vikram Chandra

Monday, 12 May 2014
Indian-American author Vikram Chandra is visiting Australia in May for the Sydney Writers’ Festival. His latest book is Geek Sublime: Writing Fiction, Coding Software (Faber). What would you put on...

SWF picks: David Gaunt, co-owner of festival bookseller Gleebooks

Monday, 12 May 2014
With the Sydney Writers’ Festival approaching (19-25 May), we asked David Gaunt, co-owner of festival bookseller Gleebooks, to tell us what sessions he’s looking forward to and which authors are...

Getting the word out: Angela Meyer on the debut author experience

Wednesday, 30 April 2014
My first work of fiction, a petite collection of tiny (but hopefully powerful) stories, commonly referred to as ‘flash fictions’, is out in May with Inkerman & Blunt. Inkerman &...

Soldier on: Rachael Craw on ‘Spark’

Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Rachael Craw’s debut YA novel Spark (Walker Books, July) is about Evie, a 17-year-old super-soldier from a government experiment gone wrong. Dani Solomon spoke to the author.I loved the character...

On tour: Meet the author Irvine Welsh

Thursday, 17 April 2014
Scottish author Irvine Welsh is visiting Australia in May. His latest book The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins (Jonathan Cape) is published in May. What would you put on a...

Struggle street: Justin Heazlewood on ‘Funemployed’

Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Justin Heazlewood—aka The Bedroom Philosopher—is the author of Funemployed (Affirm Press, June), a memoir-guidebook about working in the Australian arts industry. You can read a review of the book here....

Nicky Stevens: Real issues in book retailing

Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Nicky Stevens, owner of Manning Valley Books in NSW, says her bookshop is in danger of closing this year. She believes the Australian publishing industry ‘is on self-destruct’, citing department store discounting and poor...

On tour: Meet the author Dav Pilkey

Monday, 31 March 2014
US author and illustrator Dav Pilkey has written numerous children’s books, including the ‘Captain Underpants’ series for young readers (Scholastic). He is visiting Australia in May.What are you reading right...

Introducing Eli: Eli Glasman on ‘The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Proper Jew’

Monday, 31 March 2014
Eli Glasman is the author of The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Proper Jew (Sleepers, July), a YA novel about growing up gay in Melbourne’s Orthodox Jewish community. He...

Made for Mum: Mother’s Day 2014 titles

Monday, 31 March 2014
According to booksellers, ‘familiar’ and ‘safe’ titles work well for Mother’s Day. Publishers have responded with inspirational memoirs, stylish coffee-table books and rural romances. Brad Jefferies reports.Inspirational A number of inspirational...