Goodreading Magazine - News

Good News For Books

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Guardian has reported that for the first time the number of books available as iPhone apps on itunes now exceeds the number of games. Read on ...

The Help to be Filmed

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett will be adapted to film by Dreamworks. Tate Taylor, who was a childhood friend of Stickett's, adapted the novel into a screenplay after acquiring the rights. He also will direct the film.

Barbara Jefferis Award Shortlist

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Australian Society of Authors has announced the shortlist for the 2010 Barbara Jefferis Award.
The Barbara Jefferis Award is offered annually for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society”.
Barbara Jefferis (pictured) was a feminist, a founding member of the Australian Society of Authors, its first woman President and, in the words of Thomas Keneally, “a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted. She was a professional and internationally published writer long before most of us dreamed of such things”.
The shortlist is as follows:
Steven Carroll The Lost Life
Enza Gandolfo Swimming
Cate Kennedy The World Beneath
Kristina Olsson: The China Garden
Susan Varga Headlong

The Dark Fields to be filmed

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Robert De Niro has signed up to star alongside Bradley Cooper in the film adaptation of Alan Glynn's novel, The Dark Fields. Filming is due to start in May this year.

Australians Love Poetry!

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Australian has reported that a major survey of how the Australian nation engages with the arts has revealed 85 per cent of Australians are avid readers of poetry and literature!
Read on ...

Penguin Ready for Apple Tablet

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

As publishers continue to prepare for increased e-book demand, Penguin is working to be ahead of the game. Take a peek at these first-look demos of forthcoming books from iPad’s iBook Store, presented by Penguin Books’ CEO John Makinson in London. It will give you an idea how publishers are ready for Apple’s new tablet, especially in the realm of non-fiction.
Read on ...

Grisham to Write Books for Children

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Rumour has it that bestselling author of over 250 million books, John Grisham, will be turning his hand to children's books. The books will become the 'Boone' series, following the story of 13 year old Theodore Boone, who 'knows more about law than most lawyers'.

Pen Faulkner Award Finalists

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The shortlist for the Pen Faulkner Awards have been announced. The list includes, Sherman Alexie for War Dances, Barbara Kingsolver for The Lacuna, Colson Whitehead for Sag Harbor, Lorrie Moore's for Gate at the Stairs and Lorraine N Lopez for Homicide Survivors Picnic and Other Stories.
The winner will be announced 23 March.

Browsing Bookshops the Way to Go

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Searching real shelves is the most satisfying way to find literary treasures – but can it survive the rise of Amazon and ebooks? Read on in the Guardian...

The Woman in the Fifth to be Filmed

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Variety has reported that Douglas Kennedy's The Woman in the Fifth is to be made into a film starring Ethan Hawke (pictured) and Kristin Scott Thomas. Filming is to start in March in Paris.

NT Book of the Year Winner

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Every Secret Thing by Marie Munkara has won the 2010 Northern Territory Book of the Year Award.
The novel, which has already won the David Unaipon award for unpublished works by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders in 2008, was published last September.

Blake Dawson Shortlist Announced

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The titles shortlisted for the Australian 2009 Blake Dawson Prize for Business Literature have been announced.
The shortlisted titles are:
Gordon Barton: Australia's Maverick Entrepreneur by Sam Everingham
Wired Brown Land? Telstra's Battle for Broadband by Paul Fletcher
The Big Fella: The Rise and Rise of BHP Billiton by Robert Macklin & Peter Thompson
Firepower: The Most Spectacular Fraud in Australian History by Gerard Ryle.
The winner of the $30,000 prize will be announced at a special presentation dinner on Wednesday 27 April.

Koontz Frankenstein for the Big Screen

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The film rights to Dean Koontz's 'Frankenstein' series have been sold. Variety has reported that the 'project places the doctor - a socially prominent and successful businessman - and his super-human original creation Deucalion in modern-day New Orleans'. Three titles in the Koontz series - Prodigal Son, City of Night and Dead and Alive - have already been published with a fourth, Lost Souls, to be released this year.
The story centers on a pair of street-smart detectives who encounter Deucalion while investigating a murder, leading them to a bizarre array of 'engineered' humans.

J K Back to Court

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Publishers could face legal action worldwide over claims that J K Rowling stole ideas for Harry Potter from a British author's book called The Adventures of Willy the Wizard the Guardian has reported. Read more

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Shortlist

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Internationally recognised for propelling authors into the literary spotlight, the shortlist for the regional winners from South East Asia and Pacific has been unveiled in the race to win the influential 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. The prize offers an opportunity for new writers to demonstrate their talent and for authors already on the literary scene to strengthen their reputation. Writers across the region are in pole position to compete with the best authors from, Africa, Caribbean and Canada and South Asia and Europe to win the coveted prizes of the Commonwealth’s Best Book and Best First Book.
The shortlisted writers for South East Asia and Pacific Best Book are:
Summertime by J M Coetzee (Australia)
A Good Land by Nada Awar Jarrar (Australia)
The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt (Samoa)
Singularity by Charlotte Grimshaw (New Zealand)
The People's Train by Thomas Keneally (Australia)
Parrot and Oliver in America by Peter Carey (Australia)
The shortlisted writers for South East Asia and Pacific Best First Book are:
The Ice Age by Kirsten Reed (Australia)
After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld (Australia)
Look Who's Morphing by Tom Cho (Australia)
Document Z by Andrew Croome (Australia)
Come Inside by Glenys Osborne (Australia)
Siddon Rock by Glenda Guest (Australia)

Avatar to Become a Book

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Seems director James Cameron has plans to write a novel to go with his blockbusting film Avatar. Producer Jon Landau told MTV News: 'Jim is going to write a novel himself ... Not a novelisation - and there is a distinction. A novelisation basically retells the story of the movie. Jim wants to write a novel that is a big, epic story that fills in a lot of things.'

Evie Wyld Up For Another Award

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Evie Wyld, winner of the 2009 John Llewellyn Rhys prize, has now been shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award.
The £2,500 prize is awarded to the most promising debut novel issued by a British publisher in the previous year.
The winner will be announced on 7th April.
The shortlist is as follows:
Choke Chain by Jason Donald
The Finest Type of English Womanhood by Rachel Heath
The Rescue Man by Anthony Quinn
Designs for a Happy Home by Matthew Reynolds
The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan
After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld

Dick Francis RIP

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Dick Francis has passed away at his Caribbean home in Grand Cayman. Francis had a wonderful career as a jockey, being a National Hunt rider, winning 345 races and claiming the title of Champion Jockey for the 1953/54 season.
He went on to use his experience to write his first book, his autobiography Sport of Queens and to work as a correspondent on racing for the Sunday Express.
He published his first thriller in 1962, Dead Cert, going on to publish 38 novels and a collection of short stories.
He was helped by his wife Mary, who became his researcher and collaborator, until her death in 2000 after 53 years of marriage.
Francis is survived by two sons, Felix and Merrick, as well as five grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Lord of the Rings Prequel

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Times Online has reported that 'A Lord of the Rings fan has spent all her savings filming a prequel to the blockbuster trilogy'.
'Kate Madison produced and starred in her hour-long film, Born of Hope, which took six years to make with a volunteer cast and crew of more than 400. Kate said: “I invested my own money after the Lord of the Rings films blew my mind. I was desperate to have a go at making an epic myself. But now it’s all done it’s an amazing feeling. We have created a film on a tiny budget which comes complete with battle scenes, orcs and even a giant hill troll.” Read more ...

Free February in Full Swing

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Did you know we have a facebook page? And this month is 'Free February'. That means that every day there is something to win. What are you waiting for? Check it out!

Salinger Doco Heading for Cannes

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Entertainment Weekly has reported that 'screenwriter Shane Salerno (Shaft) had spent the past five years completing a documentary about the reclusive author, J D Salinger. Even more remarkable, Salerno was able to keep the film, which features over 150 interviews with people like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, and Gore Vidal, a secret. The movie contains interviews with people close to Salinger who have never spoken on camera and it looks at his writing process since 1965, when he stopped publishing. It also features footage of Salinger, materials belonging to him as well as more than 100 photographs of the rarely seen author.'
It is hoping that the film will be released in May at the Cannes Festival.

Crichton's Artwork to be Auctioned

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Michael Crichton, the late bestselling author of Jurassic Park, amongst many other bestselling books, will have his collection of art works go under the hammer at Christie's in New York in May. Crichton had a substantial and impressive collection, including works by Pablo Picasso, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Roy Lichtenstein.
Reuters reported that 'although the auctioneer did not give an estimate of the value of the collection to be sold, the four exhibited works alone are expected to fetch around 20 million pounds (US$32 million).'

What's with the Beard?

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

So why is Brad Pitt sporting a oversized goatie? Seems he's growing it to play the role of British explorer Percy Fawcett in the movie version of The Lost City of Z. His beard has caused the gossip pages to gossip even more with the knock on effect of sending the book up the bestselling charts in the US.

Lost Symbol Gets Ready for Screen

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Variety has reported that 'Columbia Pictures is moving forward with The Lost Symbol' - the third adaptation of the the 'Da Vinci Code' franchise. Apparently 'Tom Hanks, who played Langdon in The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, has not yet committed to reprise the role but is expected to. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard have signed on to produce.'

Gormenghast to Get a Finale

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Random House wil be publishing the fourth novel in Mervyn Peake's 'Gormenghast' trilogy, which was written by Maeve Gilmore, Peake's widow. The book will be titled Titus Awakes. The UK Bookseller reported that 'Gilmore wrote the book after Mervyn Peake's death in 1968, basing it on a page and a half of fragmented notes left by the author. The manuscript was recently unearthed from a box in the attic of Peake's granddaughter's home.
'The book continues the story of the Titus, the 77th Earl of Groan, following the events related in Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone. Peake's son Sebastian said his father had in fact intended to write a whole series of books charting his character's life from cradle to grave.'
Titus Awakes will be published mid 2011.

Moorhouse Boycotts China

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Australian Author Frank Moorhouse has cancelled his March writers' tour of China, as a protest against the imprisonment of Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo.
The tour was being funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Moorhouse wrote in an open letter to the Australian ambassador to China, 'The trip would give us opportunities to read our work, speak, and visit universities during "Australian Writers' Weeks" in the cities of Beijing and Chengdu and would also include participation in the international writers' festivals in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Having at first accepted I have now chosen to withdraw following the gaoling on Christmas Day 2009 of the Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo for eleven years and the disappearance around this time of Liu Di a supporter of Liu Xiaobo which confirms that the Chinese government, against international expectations, is not moving in the direction of freedom of expression as expressed in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.'

And the Word of the Year is ...?

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Macquarie Australian Word of the Year is:
shovel-ready
adjective (of a building or infrastructure project) capable of being initiated immediately as soon as funding is assured.
The People's Choice went to:
tweet
verb (i) 1. to post a message on the social network site Twitter.
–verb (t) 2. to post such a message to (someone).
–noun 3. such a message.
Honourable mentions went to:
heritage media (communications)
noun media, as print newspapers, television, etc., which, although strong and influential in the past, are thought to be losing viability in the face of changing methods of communication. Compare social media
petrichor (ecology)
noun a mixture of natural oils and terpenes released by eucalypts which, when washed by rain into watercourses, is a signal to fish, invertebrates, etc., that the season is sufficiently wet to support breeding. [Greek petros stone + ichor fluid; coined by Australian geochemists Richard
head-nodder (politics)
noun a supporter of a politician or other media figure who stands beside them in the frame of a television shot and nods his or her head in agreement with what the speaker is saying.
–head-nodding, noun
cyberbully (psychology)
noun (plural cyberbullies) 1. a person who bullies another using email, chat rooms, social network sites, etc.
–verb (t) (cyberbullied, cyberbullying) 2. to bully (another) in this way. Also, cyber bully, cyber-bully.
–cyberbullying, noun
roar factor (sport)
noun Sport the influence that a home crowd has on a referee or umpire in making adjudications. [from the roar of protest from the crowd at a perceived infringement by a player]

Anne Frank's Diary Removed

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Diary of Anne Frank, the definitive edition, has been removed from school libraries in Culpeper County, US. It seems someone complained due to the book, which is the unedited version of Ann's diary, havin too many sexual references.

Stolen! $240 000 worth of pop-up books

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

More than 12,000 copies of a pop-up book written by comedian Ricky Gervais disappeared while on route to an Indiana warehouse--$240,000 worth of books.

Flanimals Pop-Up was written by the star of the British television series, The Office and illustrated by Rob Steen.

The publisher sent along a statement from Gervais about the crime: "This is obviously a misguided Flanimal Rights Group or an organized gang of 8 year olds. Just like the books, the thieves will fold under questioning."

According to the company, the book hijacking has all the trappings of a heist movie: "The shipment of more than 12,000 copies was printed overseas and delivered by ship to a West Coast port in the United States. The books were then transported by train and were transferred to a trucker at the railhead as scheduled. While the trucker was en route to the warehouse he made a stop; when the trucker returned he discovered the container of Flanimals Pop-Up was missing."

Who will win the 1970 Booker?

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Organisers of the Man Booker Prize have announced a special one-off award for books published in 1970, which missed out the first time around. Booker Foundation archivist Peter Straus discovered books published in 1970 had never had the chance to compete when the prize was changed from being awarded retrospectively, to books published that year.

At the same time, the date on which the award was given moved from April to November. As a result, there was whole year's gap in which books were simply never considered for the prize. Authors such as Muriel Spark, J G Farrell, Melvyn Bragg and Patrick White are among the 22 who have been longlisted for the award.

A panel of three judges - all of whom were born in or around 1970 - has been appointed to select a shortlist of six novels from those books. They are journalist and critic, Rachel Cooke, ITN newsreader, Katie Derham and poet and novelist, Tobias Hill.

The shortlist will be announced in March but, as with the Best of the Booker in 2008, the international reading public will decide the winner by voting via the Man Booker Prize website. The overall winner will be announced in May.

Ion Trewin, literary director of the Man Booker Prizes, said: "Our longlist demonstrates that 1970 was a remarkable year for fiction written in English. Recognition for these novels and the eventual winner is long overdue."

1970 Booker Longlist

o Brian Aldiss, The Hand Reared Boy
o H.E.Bates, A Little Of What You Fancy?
o Nina Bawden, The Birds On The Trees
o Melvyn Bragg, A Place In England
o Christy Brown, Down All The Days
o Len Deighton, Bomber
o J.G.Farrell, Troubles
o Elaine Feinstein, The Circle
o Shirley Hazzard, The Bay Of Noon
o Reginald Hill, A Clubbable Woman
o Susan Hill, I'm The King Of The Castle o Francis King, A Domestic Animal
o Margaret Laurence, The Fire Dwellers
o David Lodge, Out Of The Shelter
o Iris Murdoch, A Fairly Honourable Defeat o Shiva Naipaul, Fireflies
o Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander
o Joe Orton, Head To Toe
o Mary Renault, Fire From Heaven
o Ruth Rendell, A Guilty Thing Surprised
o Muriel Spark, The Driver's Seat
o Patrick White, The Vivisector

Wow, the 100 millionth book!

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Lonely Planet has announced that the publication of the 15th edition of its Australia guide will officially be the publisher's 100 millionth guidebook in print.

J D Salinger Dies

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

J D Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye. The book was published in 1951 but continues to be a bestseller today.
Salinger always struggled with the attention his success brought him, finally becoming a recluse after his last interview in 1980.

13th Aurealis Award Winners

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Congratulations to the winners of the 13th Aurealis Awards. The 2009 winners are:
best science fiction novel
Andrew McGahan, Wonders of a Godless World
best fantasy novel
Trudi Canavan, Magician's Apprentice
best horror novel
Honey Brown, Red Queen
best collection
Greg Egan, Oceanic
best illustated book/graphic novel
Nathan Jurevicius, Scarygirl
best young adult novel
Scott Westerfeld, 'Leviathan' trilogy: Book One
best children’s (8-12 years) novel
Gabrielle Wang, A Ghost in My Suitcase
best children’s (8-12 years)
short fiction/illustrated work/picture book
Pamela Freeman (author), Kim Gamble (illustrator), Victor's Challenge

Vote for our Favourite Fantasy Author

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Are you a fan of fantasy novels? Then why not vote in the David Gemmel Legend Award for fantasy?
Click here

Apple Unveils iPad

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Apple’s has finally unveiled the long-awaited iPad. The multimedia mobile computing device looks like an oversized iphone with a 24.6cm full colour touchscreen, weighing in at .68 kilos, about 3.8cm thick and has 16 to 64GB of storage. Wifi is available and some models will offer 3G access. The basic start price is US$499.
Book lovers of the world will be pleased to know that the iPad will support the ePub e-book standard. Apple has developed its own e-reader software, 'iBooks', and has plans to launch an iBookstore with e-book pricing around US$15 range.

Harry in 3D

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Hollywood Reporter has said that with Avatar still being a huge success it has prompted Warner Bros to consider releasing the upcoming two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 3D versions. Part one is scheduled for November this year with part two following mid 2011.

And the Costa Book of the Year Award goes to ...

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Costa Book of the Year prize has been won by Christopher Reid for his poetry collection, A Scattering. The author joins an elite group of only four poets who have won the prestigious award. The book, which has sold fewer than 1,000 copies, is now assured of more success.

Sony to Produce Sci-fi Series

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Sony Pictures has bought film rights to a series of sci-fi novels by Jeff Somers starting with his first book, The Electric Church.
Somers has so far written three books, all set in the future. Earth is run by a federation of nations and governed by a council. The main character is a bodyguard-assassin who, in 'Church', is forced by the governing police force to kill the founder of a church that converts people by transplanting their brains into pliant robotic bodies.

RIP Robert B Parker

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Robert B Parker has died of a heart attack, aged 77, at his home in Cambridge, Mass. Parker wrote over 60 books, with his latest, Split Image, being released this year. He also has another in the works which is a western titled Blue Eyed Devil.
Parker is best known for crime fiction, especially his Spenser novels, which feature a wise-cracking Boston P.I. and which was adapted in the 1980s as a TV series, Spencer for Hire. He was awarded Grand Master of the Edgar Awards in 2002.

RIP Erich Segal

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

New York born Erich Segal, the author of Love Story, has died from a heart attack at home in London aged 72. His daughter said that the author had suffered from Parkinson's disease for some time.
Love Story was adapted for film in 1970, and starred Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw. It was nominated for several Oscars, winning for best original score.
Erich Segal also wrote the screenplay for the Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine.

Authors to be Posted

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Six Australian novelists will have the rare honour of featuring on this year's Australia Day stamp series, to be released today. The authors featured are Peter Carey, Bryce Courtenay AM, Thomas Keneally AO, David Malouf AO, Colleen McCullough AO and Tim Winton.
The authors will be presented with the Australia Post Australian Legends Award for 2010 in recognition of the outstanding contribution they have made, through their novels, to Australia's social and cultural life.
Australia Post said this year's award celebrated the breadth of Australian writing, with these Legends representing the many other writers who have created the stories that have put Australia on the literary map. Between them, these internationally renowned authors have earned critical acclaim and numerous literary awards, as well as vast readerships around the world.' The Australia Post Legends Award honours living Australians who have made a lasting impression on our national identity and character.

Apple Tablet is on the Way

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Apple has sent out an invitation to journalists for January 27 to 'come and see it's latest creation'. What will it be?
The New York Times says in response ...
'Unless you've been living on another, Internet-deprived planet for the last year or so, you've probably got a pretty good idea what this is likely to be: the unveiling of Apple's long-awaited, breathlessly hyped tablet computer. The device promises to hasten the extinction of paper, solidify Apple's advantages in the mobile computing market, cure hunger and finally broker a peace between Jay and Conan.'

Caldecott and Newbery Winners

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Caldecott and Newbery Medal winners have been announced.
The Caldecott Medal was awarded to Jerry Pinkney for his book The Lion and the Mouse. The award was named in honor of 19th-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
The Newbery Medal was awarded to Rebecca Stead for her YA novel When You Reach Me. The Newbery Medal was named for 18thth-century British bookseller John Newber and is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

T S Eliot Prize Winner

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Glamorgan University professor Philip Gross has won the 2009 T S Eliot Prize for poetry with his book The Water Table. The T S Eliot Prize for Poetry was inaugurated in 1993 to celebrate the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and honour its founding poet.

What to Expect When You're Expecting

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the non-fiction pregnancy guidebook series 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' is being made into a film. The series has been a worldwide hit, selling over 14 million copies and spending 440 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
Heather Hach will be writing the adaptation, and she has good credentials, being nine months pregnant. Apparently the film will 'follow the relationships of seven couples as they experience the thrills, terrors, surprises, aches and pains of preparing to embark on life's biggest journey, parenthood.

Zombies to Androids

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Quirk Books, the publishers who brought you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, are continuing to live up to their name. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tolstoy's death they are publishing Android Karenina. The new book places Anna Karenina in a steampunk-inspired world of robotic butlers and ultra-human cyborgs.
As in the original novel, the story follows two relationships: The tragic adulterous love affair of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the more hopeful marriage of Nikolai Levin and Princess Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These characters live in a steampunk-inspired world of robotic butlers, clumsy automatons, and rudimentary mechanical devices. But when these copper-plated machines begin to revolt against their human masters, our characters must fight back using state-of-the-art 19th-century technology - and a sleek new model of ultra-human cyborgs like nothing the world has ever seen.
Sounds like fun? The book will be released mid this year.

Don't Copy Me!

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The Guardian has reported that two 'a blistering row has reignited between leading French novelists Marie Darrieussecq and Camille Laurens over a two-year-old accusation of literary plagiarism.
The two writers both publish books this month drawing on the quarrel, which kicked off in 2007 after Laurens accused Darrieussecq of 'psychological plagiarism" in her novel Tom est mort (Tom is Dead). Darrieussecq's novel was about the accidental death of a four-year-old, related by his mother 10 years later; Laurens said it contained echoes of her 1995 memoir Phillippe, about the death of her own son. Read more...

McDermid Wins The Diamond

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Val McDermid has been awarded this year's Crime Writers Association (CWA) Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing.
Her latest novel is Fever of the Bone. Good Reading gave it 4.5 stars out of 5!

Vote for the 2009 Australian Word of the Year

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

The categories have been selected, the nominations are in, and now it’s time for you to decide!
book trailer, heist novel, poverty porn, Zimbabwe option, butterface, hyperlocal journalist, supervolcano, awareness bracelet, brandade, future food, mortgage stress, biomarket, slacktivism, brain fade ... which is your word of 2009?
Cast your vote for what you think is the most striking contribution to Australian English in 2009. The voting will determine the winner of the People's Choice Award.
The overall winning word will be selected by the Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year Committee chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Dr Michael Spence.
Voting closes at midnight on Friday 29th January!
Vote now

Happy 30th Spot!

2010-03-12T04:51:22+11:00

Spot is celebrating his 30th anniversary this year. Since the first lift-the-flap title by Eric Hill, Where’s Spot, was published in January 1980, Spot has sold over 50m copies worldwide.
Happy anniversary Spot!
You can check out Spot's website where you'll find lots of fun things to do.