Bodies of Light is brutally precise in its portrayal of the enduring consequences of a traumatic childhood.
- Distinguished Professor Emerita of Creative Practice, Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra
The five shortlisted novels share various threads concern – childhood stories, themes of migration and male violence – but are infused with a sense of play and measured optimism.
The poems in The Honey of Man may cast a harsh light on human cruelties and stupidities, but they avoid hopelessness or helplessness.
In Cold Enough for Snow, the award-winning author’s careful attention to detail, precise language and sympathetic sensibility animate a reflection on intimacy and intergenerational tensions.
On December 31 2019, the small NSW town of Cobargo was devastated by fires. Community arts projects are helping in the recovery.
Author Hannah Kent’s new novel is a beautifully crafted look at the 19th century Old Lutherans who migrated from Prussia to the colony of South Australia.
Amanda Lohrey’s novel about a woman who isolates herself yet finds connection has won the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Each of this year’s shortlisted books shimmer with energy, tenderness and threads of optimism — and even occasionally joy.
In this instalment of our fantasy art travel series, Jen Webb yearns to revisit London, a special aunt and a very big arachnid.
These two prize-winning books speak volumes about how we face trying times, might recognise the beauty in brokenness and maybe find ways to repair the wounds of the past.
The Inspector Morse prequel series reveals a less certain younger detective, finding his feet but not yet set in his ways.
It may seem counter-intuitive to turn to Leonard Cohen’s ‘depressing’ songs during times of grief and uncertainty. But he shows there is always a reason to keep on keeping on.
The winner of the 2020 Miles Franklin award is a powerful and deeply moving book, unstinting in its depiction of sociopolitical disasters.
This year’s six shortlisted novels shimmer with relevance.
If you were in charge of the new parliamentary book club, what Australian book would you want your representative to read? Our experts weigh in.
This prize confirms Melissa Lucashenko’s status as one of Australia’s top writers of contemporary fiction.
Each novel in this list is profoundly empathetic, and deeply attuned to contemporary Australia.
Every character in The Life To Come is complex, frustratingly unfulfilled, marked by kindness, selfishness, or dumb selflessness. But they are always, entirely, convincing.
For many years, the Miles Franklin award was a bastion of monoculture. But this year’s stories are a diverse reflection of Australia.
English author Kazuo Ishiguro has won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature. For some weeks now, the bookies have been offering odds on the likely winner. Kenya’s Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was front runner earlier…
Josephine Wilson has won the 2017 Miles Franklin award for her novel Extinctions. Judging panel chair Richard Neville stated Wilson’s novel, “explores ageing, adoption, grief and remorse, empathy and self-centredness…
There is a surprising degree of compassion in the narrative voices of this year’s five shortlisted novels. They are a heart-warming selection.
Bob Dylan said songs are meant to be sung not read, and he has a point. Songs and poems obey different rules.
Over 40 years, author Helen Garner has delighted, infuriated, confused and charmed readers. A new account of her writing life is informative but avoids delving into the trickier aspects of her work.
Most people who have completed a cultural studies or sociology degree in recent decades will have come across the world of Pierre Bourdieu, one of that army of extraordinary scholars who filled the 20th…
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