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I’ve noticed recently that there seems to be an increasing trend to attach giveaways and merchandise to picture books. Harvey the Boy who Couldn’t Fart (Walker Books) came with it’s very own fart machine and I have seen books sold with stuffed toys, jewellery and other paraphernalia. From a marketing point of view, this probably [...]

Who’s a lucky girl, then?! The postman has been kind to me; my purse – eh, not so much. I have 3 more books to whet your appetite for later posts…I honestly don’t know how I’m going to choose their order on the to-be-read list…*sigh* Life sure is hard. Kylie Chan’s Hell to Heaven is [...]

I’ve always been fascinated by two authors co-writing a book, and I’ve seriously considered it from time to time, sharing the workload with another author. But it isn’t as simple as just dividing the work and completing it, and Hazel Edwards, author of over 200 books for children, young adults and adults, has swung by [...]

I figure 2011 will be the year for science fiction. Right now, I’m still in a fantasy/historical fiction mood and I anticipate that I’ll feel this way until at least February! I do have some Sci Fi lined up though, so all you fanatics don’t fret! I intend to cater to your whims at SOME [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #11 – Puberty Blues by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey 29.0% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for Puberty Blues by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle [...]

I’ve already attested to the brilliance of Susanne Gervay’s Always Jack, so I thought, to spare you another post of flowing praise, I’d invite Susanne around to talk about her ten-year journey to complete the trilogy of Jack books. The first book in the series, I Am Jack, spawned a successful stage adaptation by MonkeyBaa, [...]

Call me crazy, but my 2010 Young Adult fiction obsession is with wolves. Ever since I read Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, I’ve been on the lookout for YA books with shapeshifter wolf or werewolf protagonists with those gorgeously discomforting yellow eyes. I STILL haven’t read Martin Millar’s Lonely Werewolf Girl series, which is apparently brilliant [...]

Today I’ve got something a bit different — a guest book review. Kate Forsyth’s The Wildkin’s Curse, reviewed by Charlotte Callander, a recent creative writing graduate. Take it away Charlotte… Review of Kate Forsyth’s The Wildkin’s Curse Charlotte Callander A story that illuminates the power of stories is quite a pleasant irony. Although I have [...]

Watching SBS a few nights ago, I had to switch the channel because I couldn’t stomach the programme. Usually this would mean the show was something uber-creepy, and most likely involving possessed children or clowns. Instead, this was part two in a three part series on witches: the myths, and the history. Being female myself [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #12 – A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey 28.3% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey A Fortunate Life [...]

Last week I blogged on how to buy gifts for people who think they don’t love to get books for Christmas. The corrective action suggested was not strapping them to a chair and brain-washing them in the manner of Clockwork Orange but ditching the idea of getting them a big book for Christmas. Some people [...]

I was immediately drawn to Samuel’s Kisses and it wasn’t just because I have a son called Sam. The title and the vibrant cover illustration by Serena Geddes told me that this was going to be a happy book – something that celebrated life and captured a child’s optimism. When I opened the cover, I [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #13 – Cloudstreet by Tim Winton 27.7% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for Cloudstreet by Tim Winton Cloudstreet is a novel by Australian writer [...]

In my family, there’s only (and happily) one type of Christmas gift: a book. I look forward to the book I’ll receive each year with relish. And, of course, with relish towards the books that everyone else will receive that I might be able to poach. The sleep countdown until the all-too-fast-approaching Christmas got me [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #14 – Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner 27.7% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner Seven Little Australians [...]

Scribe Publications is the first publisher to acquire English-language rights to Inside WikiLeaks: my time at the world’s most dangerous website by WikiLeaks defector Daniel Domscheit-Berg. Scribe has arranged for the book to be translated from German into English, and expects to publish Inside WikiLeaks in Australia and New Zealand in April 2011. The book will be [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #15 – April Fool’s Day by Bryce Courtenay 27.0% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for April Fool’s Day by Bryce Courtenay April Fool’s Day [...]

Today I continue my interview with Sue Bursztynski — author of numerous non-fiction books for kids and the new YA werewolf novel, Wolfborn. Who is your favourite character in Wolfborn and why? I have a lot of affection for Armand, the hero’s best friend. It’s not easy being a sidekick, especially when the hero drags [...]

  Christmas is just around the corner, and we thought, what better way to celebrate than with a giveaway? When it came to selecting a book for the competition, we hit a bit of a snag – how do we pick one book that people would want, no matter what their gender or interests? Then, we [...]

Author, Neridah McMullin aspires to write stories that matter; some are little known, some are long forgotten, but all are created to capture and inspire a child’s imagination. Neridah’s new book, Side by Side – In the Beginning is a story of hope and passion – about a young nation finding its feet – about [...]

Read first part of review… Other software features and annoyances Other than the unique features above, the Google eBooks platform is missing some ebook reader features that some readers may consider standard. It does allow the user to choose the font, size, line spacing and justification of text, and includes a day/night mode (black text [...]

After much anticipation, Google eBooks (formerly Google Editions) launched this week in the US. Claiming to have over 3 million books available (most of which will be free out-of-copyright titles), Google is likely to be the first ebook store to compete with Amazon in terms of range and availability. And the best part? They are [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #16 – The Harp in the South by Ruth Park 27.0% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for The Harp in the South by Ruth [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #17 – My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin 26.3% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin The heroine, Sybylla [...]

There’s something simultaneously (and in equal parts) amusing and horrifying about the following video. It’s an experience we’ve all lived as the advisor and also hope that at some stage we haven’t been the completely delusional advisee. Advisee is probably the wrong name for the wannabe novelist, who isn’t listening and isn’t accepting advice. He [...]

I love finding books under my Christmas tree but not everyone agrees. It is the sad fact of Christmas shopping even the most ardent bibliophile is occasionally forced to confront. Despite our extensive research into the best books and our loving efforts at picking out the perfect text, not everyone wants a book. In fact, [...]

After reading Confessions of A Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God, it’s easy to understand why Bill Condon’s novel won the YA section of this year’s Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. It has a distinctly Australian flavour, historical setting, believable characters and great dialogue. It’s 1967 and 16 year-old Neil Bridges has more than his fair [...]

‘An amazing tale of real adventure and genuine exploration in the modern era – unexplored regions, fearless animals, no support crew, disaster, excitement – the lot!’ Dick Smith In 2005, Australians Chris Bray (then 21 years old) and Clark Carter (20) dreamed of embarking on an adventure — one that would be completely different to [...]

Culinary genius Peter Gilmore is one of the top 50 chefs in the world. Quay‘s stunning design and photography perfectly echoes Peter’s nature-based philosophy and the organic presentation that is synonymous with the fine dining experience at Quay. Peter’s recipes, including the famous snow egg and his signature iridescent sea pearls, will take you on [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #18 – Jessica by Bryce Courtenay 25.1% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for Jessica by Bryce Courtenay Jessica is a historical novel based on [...]

In my last post I reviewed Wolfborn, the new YA werewolf novel by Sue Bursztynski. This time, Sue joins us at Literary Clutter to answer a few questions about her book. Can you tell us how you first came across the medieval story that was to inspire Wolfborn? I found it in a book on [...]

Are you obsessed with the fashion of the award-winning TV series Mad Men? Then this is the book for you (I’m not kidding. It sucks the characters’ fashions dry and then devours their suddenly-lifeless body shells. In the best way possible of course)! The fashion of TV is something that is of great interest to [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #19 – My Place by Sally Morgan 24.9% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for My Place by Sally Morgan My Place is an autobiography [...]

The following is the second part of a talk I gave at the APA’s Don’t Stet: Thinking About Tomorrow panel session on the future of the editor. You can find the first part here. So, things are changing. But there are a lot of things we as editors can do to prepare ourselves. We need [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #20 – For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke 22.8% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for For the Term of His [...]

There are some authors at whose sheer, unrivalled way with words you marvel. Then there are some at whose ability to both craft works of art with words while accomplishing other, on-their-own-incredible feats. Debut author Karen Hitchcock falls into the latter camp, having not only wowed us with her collection of short stories published in [...]

We surveyed our customers to discover the Most Popular Aussie Novels of all time – we’re counting down the Top 24 Novels between now and Christmas Eve… At #21 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 22.7% of all respondents have read this book Synopsis for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak It is 1939. Nazi [...]

The following is the first part of a talk I gave at the APA’s Don’t Stet: Thinking About Tomorrow panel session on the future of the editor. In a room full of editors I thought it would be appropriate to take the approach of a structural edit for this talk. You know the one: open [...]

Werewolves — humans that have been cursed to change into wolves whenever there is a full moon; they go around biting other humans, destined to pass on the curse. It’s been done countless times in books and films. While I was looking forward to reading Sue Bursztynski’s new YA werewolf novel, Wolfborn, because I like [...]