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Stand in the kids’ section of any library and you’ll soon discover what under 10 year old readers gravitate towards; pacey, riveting chapter books, starring jump-off-the-page characters with the odd quirky picture thrown in to keep it all real. This is precisely what New Frontier Publishing is delivering with their dynamite Little Rocket Series. Like [...]

One of my greatest gripes about being vegan (or vegetarian—the same rules apply) is also a rather politically incorrect one. That is, that it’s assumed I thrive on the smell of incense, that I have musty-smelling dreadlocks, and that I wear tie-dyed clothes. I’m not that kind of vegan, and the mis-lumping irks me no [...]

How far would you go to obtain a book? it seems, is actually more than a hypothetical. I waited for months in breathless, is-it-here-yet anticipation for a rerelease of The Magnificent Chicken: Portraits of the Fairest Fowl, a book about chickens (hereafter referred to as ‘chookens’). Those who know me know I have a bit [...]

There are few books more suited to the Ones I Wish I’d Written category than Jeffrey Brown’s Darth Vader and Son. A pint-sized picture book, it’s brilliantly as much a book for big kids as small ones. In fact, I suspect many a new parent who grew up with Star Wars will be buying it [...]

Want to know who I like to curl up in bed with after a long day behind the flat screen? Curious to know how I spend the midnight hours? Well I can reveal that at least three of those listed below are amongst the many who keep me occupied into the wee hours of the [...]

Alongside To Kill A Mockingbird, Animal Farm would have to be up there as one of the most-loved books we were required (forced) to read at school. While I struggled with Shakespeare (though the waffle is clever, my small brain still found it waffle), Brave New World (the book’s extremely dated) and anything poetry-related, Animal [...]

There were three books in Scott Westerfeld’s awesome YA steampunk series — Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath. I loved these books and was very sorry to see the story end. So there was much joy when I discovered The Manual of Aeronautics. Let me start off by saying that what I loved most about the Leviathan [...]

A book. A book by Indira Naidoo. A book by Indira Naidoo about growing vegies on your inner-city balcony. Could there be any trifecta much more exciting than that? The Edible Balcony tackles the problem most of us environmentally conscious city folk struggle with: How to grow edible goodies we shouldn’t—but do—go to the supermarket [...]

Each year, Melbourne plays host to a speculative fiction / pop culture convention called Continuum. This year’s convention, Conintuum 9, will take place on 7–10 June at the Ether conference venue in the Melbourne CBD. You should all come along! Let me tell you why. Continuum is rather unique. There’s nothing else quite like it [...]

It’s not that I’m not fond of paranormal spec-fiction; it’s just a genre that happens to feature much further down on my reading list – picture books dance all over them in fact. But when Queensland author, Paul Weston announced the release of her first YA novel, I was simultaneously intrigued and fascinated and then, [...]

I’ve blogged a bunch about Matthew ‘Oatmeal’ Inman’s genius blogs*. Now I get to blog about his just-released book, The Dog Paradox, which is built on his comic by roughly the same title. If you haven’t had the pleasure and pain of laughing so hard you think your ribcage might combust, then being struck by [...]

I’ve been reading and hearing about an award-winning transmedia app created by former McSweeney’s managing editor Eli Horowitz. Suffice to say, I was both intrigued enough to want to download this app, but wary enough that it might be so hipster I’d want to avoid it. I gave it a whirl after finding out The [...]

Going vegan while hampered by a gammy knee and while trying to conquer a PhD is arguably not one of my smarter moves. The knee injury was unavoidable. (I was mown down by an opposition player.) The veganism is, arguably, unavoidable too. It’s always where I’ve been heading—some 23 years of vegetarianism were really aspiring [...]

Have you ever wandered down your street and wondered who shares it with you? Do you like to let your curiosity conjure up interesting occupants based entirely on the external appearance of a dwelling? I do. I’m not sure if young children do this as consciously as us more questioning grown up types but Katrina [...]

Every writer goes through a patch where they stumble upon books they could have written. Said books send them into an I-should-have-written-that, I’m-never-going-to-make-it tailspin (cue diva-like facepalms and internal wailing). Me? I’ve found two books (three if you count the just-released sequel to one). The first (with its related second) is Weird Things Customers Say [...]

This New York Times article just won a Pulitzer. Frankly, I’m not one bit surprised it did. Snowfall documents, through a six-part, transmedia tale that incorporates text, images, video interviews, video footage, simulations, and interactive maps, an avalanche that occurred at Tunnel Creek in the US. Snowfall is exquisite and haunting in terms of both [...]

The New Yorker’s style has always been double consonant-inclined, although even they aren’t entirely sure why this is the case: The style book gives no reason for this spelling choice. What would be the point? Nothing makes the eyes glaze over so totally as the effort to codify the rules for doubling consonants when adding [...]

Fitting in with your flock is important. Occasionally though, our sense of self is questioned, buried beneath the need to conform. Mixing like with like is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s safe, secure and reassuring. Bea, however, is a bird who favours being true to yourself in preference to self-preservation. She dares to be [...]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — I read it quite a number of years ago. So it’s been really interesting revisiting it, along with the other books in the series. But this time I also got to see it through the eyes of my ten-year-old daughter. Last year, I started to read the [...]

On the eve of ANZAC Day it seemed fitting to touch on the significance of the day. Young people are often faced with a barrage of ANZAC Day information whether they are involved in commemorative services and lessons at school or simply viewing a dawn parade on the day. Explaining the whys and how of [...]

The first time I met the acquaintance of Mr Darcy, I was much enamoured by his unassuming good looks, impeccable manners and sophisticated demeanour. If his reserved gentility left both Lizzy and me a little wanting and him rather lonely in the beginning, then it was only a question of time and persistence on behalf [...]

It seems that Awards Season is upon us! Everywhere you look there are prizes and honours up for grabs in the writing world — from the individual state awards to Australia-wide honours; from the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards to the Speech Pathology Awards. There are way too many of them for me to list here, so [...]

Wickedly indulgent, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, decadent – these are not words that I usually associate with vegan food.  The words wholesome, nutritious and healthy are more likely to spring to my mind in association with this particular dietary regime – and don’t the latter descriptors actually preclude the former?  Read on, dear friend, because I might [...]

Fun, Fun, Fun! Delicious, unrestrained, dive-head-first into it FUN, was my first impression of Narelle Oliver’s scrumptious new picture book, DON’T let a Spoonbill in the kitchen! Well OK, but why, I bet you’re wondering. I was and couldn’t wait to devour this book to find out. My indulgence was delayed though first by the [...]

Dark Star, the third and final book in The Rosie Black Chronicles by Lara Morgan, came out last year. I read it then and have been avoiding the review ever since. I hate it when a book fails to meet my expectations, especially when it is still a good book. It leaves me floundering when [...]

Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites Tell us about your latest creation… My debut novel is called Burial Rites, and takes place in Iceland, in the early nineteenth century. It tells the story of Agnes, a servant woman who has been sentenced to death for her role in the brutal murder of two men. In the absence of [...]

In a recent article about women’s writing it was claimed that respect and a wide readership is more likely if the author adopts a male perspective. Kate Worsley’s book half fulfills this criterion by offering a male and a female perspective in alternating chapters, but it also subverts it. However, to explain just how Worsley [...]

Who hasn’t watched an African wildlife documentary and not been enthralled by the lives of the majestic beasts that roam within? I may be easily amused but their appearances and antics still impress me, as does Phil Cummings’ and Janine Dawson’s latest offering, Night Watch. Our African stars are Giraffe, Elephant, Hippo, and Baboon. They [...]

I tried to obtain a review copy of Caroline Hamilton’s One Man Zeitgeist: Dave Eggers, Publishing and Publicity when it was first released as a prohibitively expensive hardcover in 2010. And I was, I’ll admit, summarily miffed that the publisher wasn’t even polite enough to issue me a ‘nice try, but you can pay for [...]

Lady Jane Franklin, “a Victorian Lady Adventurer” as this book’s title proclaims, is best known for her unflagging support of her husband, the Arctic explorer Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin, who disappeared in 1847 on an expedition to chart and navigate the North West Passage. In all, Jane Franklin raised the funds for seven expeditions to [...]

April 23 is Talk Like Shakespeare Day! How to Talk Like Shakespeare: Instead of you, say thou or thee (and instead of y’all, say ye). Rhymed couplets are all the rage. Men are Sirrah, ladies are Mistress, and your friends are all called Cousin. Instead of cursing, try calling your tormenters jackanapes or canker-blossoms or poisonous [...]

The shortlists for this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards have been announced. The shortlisted titles in each of the categories are: Older Readers: The Ink Bridge (Neil Grant, A&U) Sea Hearts (Margo Lanagan, A&U) The Shiny Guys (Doug MacLeod, Penguin) Creepy & Maud (Dianne Touchell, Fremantle Press) Friday Brown (Vikki Wakefield, Text) The [...]

New novel by Tim Winton to be published by Hamish Hamilton in 2013 Ben Ball, Publishing Director, Penguin Books Australia has revealed a new novel by Tim Winton will be published on 14 October 2013. “I’m delighted to be able to announce that on October 14 this year we will be publishing a new novel [...]

Superheros, pop culture references and a fast-paced story combine to make an exciting and easy reading experience. What am I talking about? Goldrush — the first instalment in Steven Lochran’s Vanguard Prime series of teen novels. Sam Lee was an ordinary teenager until he suddenly developed super powers. Now he finds himself recruited by the [...]

I’m not normally a short story reader. Short stories often feel—to me, anyway—as though they’re trying too hard to give us some grand moral lesson in a short space of time. They feel deliberate and laboured. And then, just when I’ve given myself over to the tale, they end. Georgia Blain’s Secret Lives of Men [...]

Once upon a time, not long ago, unearthing quality crafted, self-published children’s books was like fossicking for gold. They were out there, but often buried under layers of fools’ gold. Grandpa’s Gold is one of the genuine gems. For me, one of the greatest rewards of being a parent is being able to share the [...]

I realise I’m coming to Argo about six months and a wallop of Academy Awards nominations later, but how good is that film?! My penchant is for non-fiction tales, so I’m particularly partial to films based on truth-is-stranger-than-fiction events. And there are few tales that could be any stranger than the one involving a fictional [...]

It’s with enormous wish-I’d-thought-of-this envy and even greater gratitude that I blog about this next website. It’s also with genuine stomach pain that well may be from a laughing-induced hernia. But first: some background to the website’s inspiration. We’re all familiar with Lorem Ipsum dummy text. That is, the suitably generic, repetitive, and non-distracting text [...]

At a time of year when there are more new children’s book releases than autumn leaves drifting about, it’s nice to grab a cuppa, sit back and remember that what makes a book brilliant is the genius behind its creation. Today we meet one of those geniuses, the quietly charismatic illustrator, Lucia Masciullo. Her story [...]

Lisa Forrest, author of Inheritance Tell us about your latest creation… My latest creation is a YA fantasy novel set in the circus called, INHERITANCE. I started my career as an author of YA fiction but my last book, BOYCOTT (a non-fiction account of the controversial months before the 1980 Moscow Games when PM Malcolm Fraser tried to stop [...]