The winners of this year’s Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been announced. Together, they question, subvert and explore Australian identity.
- Adjunct Researcher, English and Writing, University of Tasmania
Life of M bleeds fact into fiction, but it requires much more of the reader than a simple guessing game of who’s who.
A distinctly rational, masculine curiosity is at play in David Walsh’s new, private library. And ditching the Dewey system for the digital brings surprises.
The Thornbacks features ‘weird sisters’ whose reaction to being unloved is to make themselves unlovable to almost everyone – except each other.
Lena Dunham’s searingly funny, shockingly honest memoir reveals how Hollywood culture allows pretty much anything, except human frailty.
Iconic 90s bass players Melissa Auf Der Maur (Hole) and Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) chronicle a time characterised by messy humanity, low-level trust and delicate egos.
Erin Vincent’s 14 Ways of Looking and Gemma Parker’s The Mother is Restless and She Doesn’t Know Why are powerful fragmented memoirs.
We asked 5 literary experts what they were reading in the 90s – and why their pick stayed with them.
A former rock journalist reviews memoirs by Lemonhead Evan Dando, teen Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe and feminist punk legend Kathleen Hanna.
New year’s reading resolutions are a fun way to take your reading seriously. Here are some ideas – from no phones before bed, to deep diving into one author’s work.
It’s not often that a screen adaptation manages to outdo a book – but in the case of Bunny Munro, the transformation is nothing short of merciful.
Patti Smith’s Just Kids was voted a best book of the 21st century. Her new memoir covers her whole life, charting deep love, unbearable loss and creative renewal.
Mandy Sayer’s charming, challenging musician father is central to her four memoirs – including her shimmering latest, No Dancing in the Lift.
Liz Evans went to Jarvis Cocker’s house party and was gifted shoes by Kim Gordon. Her review of music books by Kate Mossman and John Harris sits alongside her memories.
A vivid Torres Strait Islander story emphasising the tragedy of colonial rule and a slow-burning postwar tale of a white woman in Japan are engaging historical novels.
Andrea Goldsmith’s handling of the alignment between domestic abuse, coercive control, cults, brainwashing and terror is subtle, yet powerful.
Fame and success usually carry a cost, in a world that rewards performance and persona. Former rock journalist Liz Evans saw it up close – and in these new memoirs, too.
Your perfect summer read might be a paperback romance or crime book, a fat biography, or that classic you always meant to read. Our avid readers picked a wide range of books.
‘Girl’ thrillers may be gone … but true psychological thrillers, with their twists tied to deep characterisation, endure. New novels by Paula Hawkins, Jacqueline Bublitz and Inga Simpson pass the test.
Cristina Rivera Garza’s sister Liliana was killed by a jealous ex-boyfriend at the age of 20. Her book about this crime is both deeply personal and driven by a wider political purpose.
We were dismayed to see no Australians on the New York Times Best Books of the 21st Century – so, with the help of 50 experts, we created our own, all-Australian list. You can have your say, too!
The debut novels of two forceful, intelligent journalists are bold, brash stories of powerful women at the top of their game. One details a horrific sexual crime, the other ugliness in the art world.
A novel about first-wave feminists cleverly critiques the movement’s privilege. The first fiction from Nakkiah Lui’s imprint highlights uncomfortable truths. And a debut about teen girls is ‘too naive’.
What do professional readers choose to read on holiday? The answers include romance fiction, science-fiction classics, a French detective, Japanese assassins … and War and Peace.
Sad Bad Girl novels combine the haplessness of Bridget Jones with the despair of Sally Rooney. Liz Evans assesses a ‘buzzy’ debut within the genre and a #MeToo novel that refreshingly defies categories.
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