by Akina Hansen | Jan 25, 2023 | Uncategorized
You are most likely familiar with Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction, but did you know she wrote the lyrics to a song called Frankenstein Monster? In 2001 the band One Ring Zero began performing at the publishing house, McSweeney’s. They went on to collaborate...
by Akina Hansen | Jan 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the nominations for the 2023 Edgar Allan Poe Award. The Edgar Awards were established in 1946 and recognises and celebrates the best work in mystery fiction, non-fiction, and television. The winners will be announced at...
by Akina Hansen | Jan 19, 2023 | Uncategorized
Australian independent booksellers have announced the shortlist for the 2023 Indie Book Awards. The Indie Book Awards celebrate the best in Australian writing and cover the best Australian books across six categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Debut Fiction, Illustrated...
by Akina Hansen | Jan 18, 2023 | Uncategorized
Anthony Joseph has won the TS Eliot prize for his collection Sonnets for Albert. The prize is £25,000 (A$43,850) and is viewed as the most important British poetry prize. Joseph won from a shortlist of 10. According to judge Jean Sprackland, ‘Each of the 10 books on...
by Akina Hansen | Jan 16, 2023 | Uncategorized
The official film trailer for Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has been released. The film is based on Judy Blume’s beloved novel of the same name, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret which was published in 1970. The novel follows 11-year-old,...
by Akina Hansen | Jan 9, 2023 | Uncategorized
An Italian electrical scientist may have inspired Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein. In the novel, Frankenstein, Dr. Victor Frankenstein devotes himself to bringing dead bodies back to life through electricity. Interestingly, in the 18th century, electrical...
by Akina Hansen | Jan 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
A single volume of the manga One Piece is being labelled as the longest book in existence. The book is 21,450 pages and is physically impossible to read – as attempting to do so will crack the spine. It is therefore being treated as an art installation or sculpture to...
by Akina Hansen | Jan 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
The oldest known surviving letter by Jane Austen, which was sent to her sister, Cassandra, is being shown for the first time at the author’s home. The letter, which was written by a 20-year-old Austen in 1796, describes her excitement over an upcoming ball and the...
by Akina Hansen | Dec 19, 2022 | Uncategorized
Published in 1908, Mr. Toad was a character in Kenneth Grahame’s novel The Wind in the Willows and was inspired by a prevailing stereotype of the time that wealthy drivers were reckless. The beginning of the 1900s saw manufacturers sell thousands of cars to upper...
by Akina Hansen | Dec 13, 2022 | Uncategorized
Back in 3rd century BCE, the Greeks wrote their text without punctuation (because it didn’t exist yet) and even without spaces between words, sowordsjustrantogtherlikethis. Awful, right? Then came the first punctuation, thanks to librarian Aristophanes, who proposed...
