Unlikely heroes: R W R McDonald on ‘The Nancys’ Archive
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
R W R McDonald’s debut novel The Nancys (A&U in June) was highly commended in the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards unpublished manuscript prize. Reviewer Fiona Hardy spoke to the author...
Generational exchange: Melanie Cheng on ‘Room for a Stranger’ Archive
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Melanie Cheng’s debut novel Room for a Stranger (Text, May) follows the unlikely friendship between an elderly Australian woman and an international student from Hong Kong. Reviewer Carody Culver spoke...
No place like home: Kelly and Kennedy on ‘Wilam: A Birrarung Story’ Archive
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Aunty Joy Murphy, Andrew Kelly and Lisa Kennedy’s picture book Wilam: A Birrarung Story (Black Dog, April) follows Bunjil (wedge-tailed eagle) as he travels along Birrarung (Yarra River) to the...
How it feels to write: Helena Fox on ‘How it Feels to Float’ Archive
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Helena Fox’s YA debut How it Feels to Float (Pan, May) is a ‘perfect, surreal exploration of mental illness and grief’, writes reviewer Bec Kavanagh. She spoke to the author....
Written in the stars: Minnie Darke on ‘Star-crossed’ Archive
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Minnie Darke’s Star-crossed (Michael Joseph, March) follows an aspiring journalist who begins to tinker with her paper’s astrology section after learning that her crush consults his horoscope whenever he’s faced with making...
Bound together: Kate Richards on ‘Fusion’ Archive
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Kate Richards’ Fusion (Hamish Hamilton, February 2019) tells the story of conjoined twins, their carer, and an injured stranger who is brought into their isolated bush home. Reviewer Jacqui Davies described...
Gift of the Blab: An interview with Aaron Blabey Archive
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Aaron Blabey is the creator of the ‘Pig the Pug’ and ‘The Bad Guys’ series. Kelsey Oldham asks the author about his success. You’re known for your prolific output, which...
A right royal romance: Emma Grey on ‘Tilly Maguire and the Royal Wedding Mess’ Archive
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Emma Grey’s Tilly Maguire and the Royal Wedding Mess (HarperCollins, December) follows an 18-year-old aspiring writer who wins a six-week internship at a top London PR firm, and somehow gets wrapped...
Stretching the truth: Jack Heath on ‘The Truth App’ Archive
Thursday, 30 August 2018
The Truth App (Scholastic, September) is the first book in YA author Jack Heath’s five-book junior-fiction series 'Liars', described by reviewer Heath Graham as a ‘non-stop action-adventure ride’ for readers who want ‘techno-thrillers...
Telling tales: Moreno Giovannoni on ‘The Fireflies of Autumn’ Archive
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Moreno Giovannoni’s The Fireflies of Autumn (Black Inc., July) is a collection of loosely connected short stories, describing life in the Tuscan village of San Ginese. ‘[It] reads like top-notch...
World class: Jeremy Lachlan on ‘Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds’ Archive
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Jeremy Lachlan’s middle-grade adventure Jane Doe and the Cradle of All Worlds (Hardie Grant Egmont, August) is ‘a thrilling story set in a universe made up of multiple worlds’ that features...
Kaleidoscopic views: Emily Gale on ‘I Am Out with Lanterns’ Archive
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Emily Gale’s I Am Out with Lanterns (Random House, August) intertwines the points of view of several teenagers to create a story that is ‘nuanced, complex and thoroughly devourable’, writes Jordi...
In somebody else’s shoes: Australian Children’s Laureate Morris Gleitzman’s plans for his term Archive
Thursday, 19 April 2018
Prolific children’s author Morris Gleitzman has been chosen as the Australian Children’s Laureate. He spoke with Sarah Farquharson about his plans for his two-year term as laureate. What are you...
Memory trick: Margot McGovern on ‘Neverland’ Archive
Friday, 13 April 2018
Debut author Margot McGovern was inspired by her favourite childhood reads to create Neverland (Random House, April), ‘a dark and compelling examination of memory, self-determination and the dangers of romanticising...
Clued up: Jacqueline Harvey on ‘Breaking News: Kensy and Max Book One’ Archive
Thursday, 1 March 2018
‘Alice-Miranda’ and ‘Clementine Rose’ author Jacqueline Harvey assembles a world of espionage and mystery in Breaking News: Kensy and Max Book One (Random House, March), which reviewer Natalie Crawford says...
Flight of fantasy: Tracy Sorensen on ‘The Lucky Galah’ Archive
Monday, 23 October 2017
Tracy Sorensen’s The Lucky Galah (Picador, March) recounts the lives of ordinary Australians from the 1960s until the 2000s, as narrated by a galah called Lucky. The conceit is handled...
From the heart: Shivaun Plozza on ‘Tin Heart’ Archive
Monday, 23 October 2017
In her second YA novel Tin Heart (Penguin, March), Shivaun Plozza tells the story of a teenage girl who undergoes an organ transplant. The book ‘cements Plozza as a writer with...
Off-course navigation: Claire Christian on ‘Beautiful Mess’ Archive
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
Claire Christian’s 2016 Text Prize winner Beautiful Mess (Text, September) is about two misfits who help each other through the raw pain of adolescence. Reviewer Angela Crocombe spoke to the...
The Fictional Dimension: Bram Presser on ‘The Book of Dirt’ Archive
Thursday, 29 June 2017
Bram Presser’s The Book of Dirt (Text, September) is ‘a remarkable tale of Holocaust survival, love and genealogical sleuthing by a grandson intent on finding the truth about his grandparents’...
Quiet Magic: Emily Rodda on ‘The Shop at Hoopers Bend’ Archive
Thursday, 11 May 2017
Emily Rodda’s latest novel The Shop at Hoopers Bend is a return to the author’s earlier books, where the magic is ‘about following your instincts’ rather than fantasy realms. Fay...
Crime teen investigation: Tristan Bancks on ‘The Fall’ Archive
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
In Tristan Bancks’ middle-grade novel The Fall, 12-year-old Sam Garner finds himself investigating a crime after witnessing a body falling from his apartment building. Bancks spoke to reviewer Braiden Asciak....
Heart to heart: Melanie Cheng on ‘Australia Day’ Archive
Thursday, 27 April 2017
Melanie Cheng’s Australia Day (Text, July) is a ‘bittersweet, beautifully crafted collection’ about the conflicts and realisations that occur when people of different backgrounds are brought together. She spoke to reviewer...
Untying the knots: Mark Brandi on ‘Wimmera’ Archive
Thursday, 27 April 2017
Mark Brandi’s debut crime novel Wimmera (Hachette, July) is a ‘languid and unsettling’ story about two boys growing up together in a small town in the 1980s. He spoke to reviewer...
System override: Elizabeth Tan on ‘Rubik’ Archive
Tuesday, 28 February 2017
Elizabeth Tan’s Rubik is a novel of interconnected short stories with plotlines that explore ‘a sprawling world of shady corporations, sentient memes and hackable bodies’. The result is ‘conceptually and structurally...
Movie mayhem: Alex Miles on ‘Mammoth Mistake’ Archive
Monday, 27 February 2017
Mammoth Mistake is the first book in Alex Miles’ new ‘Olive Black’ series, about a 10-year-old actress who juggles friendships, rivals and on-set hijinks. Reviewer Bec Kavanagh spoke to the...
Dead ringer: ‘The Turnkey’ by Allison Rushby Archive
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Allison Rushby’s middle-grade novel The Turnkey is a ‘page-turning mystery’ set in London’s Highgate Cemetery during the Blitz. Reviewer Maria H Alessandrino spoke to the author. Read her review here....
A life re-examined: Jeff Sparrow on ‘No Way But This: In Search of Paul Robeson’ Archive
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Jeff Sparrow’s book on African-American singer, actor and political activist Paul Robeson combines ‘essay, journalism, history and biography to produce something engaging, original and insightful’, writes reviewer Chris Saliba. He...
Second act: Richard Roxburgh on ‘Artie and the Grime Wave’ Archive
Friday, 8 July 2016
Artie and the Grime Wave (A&U, October), written and illustrated by Richard Roxburgh, is an ‘action-packed story’ for younger readers with ‘elements of [Roxburgh’s] famous wit’, writes reviewer Angela Crocombe....
Key change: Holly Throsby on ‘Goodwood’ Archive
Friday, 8 July 2016
Set around the disappearance of two people in the fictional small town of Goodwood, musician Holly Throsby’s debut novel ‘hits all the right notes’, writes reviewer Carody Culver. She spoke...
Shelf help: Cath Crowley on ‘Words in Deep Blue’ Archive
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
A love story set in a second-hand bookshop, Cath Crowley’s latest YA novel Words in Deep Blue is ‘a beautiful examination of grief, love and the power of words’. Reviewer...
