by Akina Hansen | Mar 18, 2019 | Uncategorized
The Indies are considered the forerunners of all major Australian book awards. Since the Awards inception in 2008, the Indies have a well-deserved reputation for picking the best of the best in Australian writing. Past Book of the Year winners have gone on to win...
by Akina Hansen | Mar 10, 2019 | Uncategorized
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s classic 1990 fantasy novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch has long been considered unadaptable. ‘It probably was impossible,’ admits Gaiman. ‘Pratchett and I could both picture this thing. We went...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 27, 2019 | Uncategorized
The explosive book that highlighted cases of alleged abuse and cover-ups by Cardinal George Pell has returned to shelves in Victoria today after the suppression order surrounding Pell’s trial was lifted. Along with the flood of reportage about the Cardinal’s trial in...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 18, 2019 | Uncategorized
Jeremy N Smith was watching his daughter play at a local park when he recognised one of the other parents – he had met her years before at Harvard when they were both students. As their kids played together, Jeremy told the woman about his job as a writer and the...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 12, 2019 | Uncategorized
Some readers might relish boozy debates about whether Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch is actually any good or the moral implications of Christos Tsiolkas’s The Slap. Others just up to book club just for the cheese and bikkies. But if you’re after a more tranquil...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 11, 2019 | Uncategorized
The influence of Australian horror novel Wake in Fright has become so ubiquitous that it’s become something of a meme, says biographer and book editor Jacqueline Kent. ‘People say things like, “Oh, it’s pure Wake in Fright!”, which means someone’s stranded in a very...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 8, 2019 | Uncategorized
Sara Holland’s YA fantasy novel Everless and its sequel, Evermore, skyrocketed to the top of bestsellers lists last year and is currently in development for TV. But the YA author has barely paused for breath, recently announcing her highly anticipated new book...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 7, 2019 | Uncategorized
In 1994, a 19-year-old author from Sydney named Matthew Reilly was down in the dumps. His debut thriller, Contest, had been rejected by multiple publishers. He decided to self-publish instead, and sold 1000 copies into Sydney bookstores himself in the hopes of finding...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 6, 2019 | Uncategorized
Ten years ago today, Australia’s deadliest firestorm tore across Victoria. In The Arsonist: A mind on fire, Chloe Hooper retells the story of Black Saturday bushfires from all angles and investigates the trial of firebug Brendan Sokaluk. Emma Harvey reviews the...
by Akina Hansen | Feb 4, 2019 | Uncategorized
During the 2019 Super Bowl, Hulu dropped a teaser trailer for the forthcoming season of its critically acclaimed series The Handmaid’s Tale. The series, based on Magaret Atwood’s bestselling dystopian novel of the same name, is in its third season, and...
