Frame’s delicious satire here is reminiscent of Jane Austen.
Felicity Plunkett on Janet Frame’s In the Memorial Room in the Sydney Review of Books.
How typeface influences the way we read and think (and why everyone hates Comic Sans MS).
I only know there are good and interesting books, and bad ones…But the problem is that most of the readers love bad books!
A fantastic interview with the great Michael Krüger, retiring publisher at German house Hanser Verlag.
To some of us, Romy Ash might be in familiar west coast territory with her first novel, Floundering, but her unsentimental, suspenseful and strangely elegant story is as powerful as its backdrop is instantly recognisable. Robert Drewe’s rave review for Floundering in the Guardian. Along with Friday Brown, Floundering was just shortlisted in the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.
In praise of itty-bitty books.
Zadie Smith, Jane Smiley and other authors take umbrage at Lauren Sandler’s suggestion that the secret to being both a successful writer and a mother is to have only one child.
Congratulations to Romy Ash and Vikki Wakefield, both shortlisted in the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards!
Romy Ash is on the shortlist for fiction for her debut novel, Floundering. Vikki Wakefield has been shortlisted in the young adult fiction category for Friday Brown.
Floundering is also in contention for the 2013 Miles Franklin Literary Award, which will be announced on Wednesday. Read Robert Drewe’s review of this ‘psychological thriller and love story’ here.
See the full shortlist for the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards here.
Famous authors' funniest inscriptions in their books.
25 signs you’re addicted to books. (#13 is a perennial problem for me.)
Jack Kerouac was a mummy’s boy, or, five authors who do not live up to their mythology.
The Seattle Public Library broke the world record for longest book domino chain. Watch the mesmerising video.
9 books that people will judge you for reading, and why they’re wrong. (Besides the fact that you should never judge someone for reading.*)
The 10 most disturbing sociopaths in literature.
Create three-dimensional characters. Say you’re writing about a hard-charging banker who’s having an extramarital affair. This is a good start, but to avoid turning him into a cliché, you need to fill him out in three dimensions. In every paragraph, tell the reader exactly how high, wide, and long he is. For instance: “Benjamin Waller, a hard-charging banker who stood six feet one, with a size-thirty-two waist and a chest girth of forty inches, was having an extramarital affair.” Also mention that he drives a flashy sports car. 8 rules for writing fiction.
10 unfortunate grammar and spelling mistakes, and 10 more.
The avant-garde art of book stacking in Japan.
10 literary restaurants for hungry book nerds.
Stunning book sculptures made by carving into stacks of discarded books.
*You can judge them for not reading, though.
Damien Echols talks to Salon about how death row prepared him for his new life.
Sales of George Orwell’s 1984 have skyrocketed following the NSA data collection scandal. Here, some more examples of current events influencing book sales.
‘Don’t confuse honours with achievement’ and other rules for writers by Zadie Smith.
Watch a short film based on Diego Marani’s The Last of the Vostyachs.
The Sydney Morning Herald says the author’s latest novel ‘shows his extraordinary skills and erudition’; Lisa Hill calls it ‘a work of comic genius’.
You can also watch an interview with Diego Marani at the Sydney Writers' Festival here, listen to him on ABC radio and read an interview with him at the NZ Listener.
Jennifer Miller, author of The Year of the Gadfly, offers a DIY guide to creative book marketing.
25 things to know about sexism and misogyny in writing and publishing.
Related: an infographic of the gender balance of UK literary culture.
Is having only one child the secret to success as a writer and mother?
Professor Chris Turney, author of 1912: The Year the World Discovered Antarctica, is leading an expedition of researchers to Antarctica to follow in the footsteps of Sir Douglas Mawson. Learn more about this exciting adventure here.
Ebook buyers are 21% more likely to be female, and other facts about digital entertainment.
It can be ghosts and fast cars and serial killers and Nazi Germany and one might even say that it operates best when it karate-slaps all your genre conventions in the face, when genres run and swirl together like paint and make new colors and form new ideas and change the way you think about stories. 25 things you should know about young adult fiction.
Star Wars as pulp fiction. Yes, they all have sexy Leia on the cover.
Charles Dicken’s life as recounted by the Smiths (or a pretty good approximation of them).
10 movie titles with bad grammar, and suggested fixes.
Love Reading, Hate Books: one-star reviews of literary classics.
What your favourite Shakespeare play says about you (aside from the fact that you’re a bit of a nerd).
