Cate Blanchett and Quentin Bryce reflect on the profound impact of being judges on the Brotherhood of St Laurence's first literary prize.

Fiction

I was pleased but not ecstatic about Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize in Literature last month.

Literary news and events in Canberra.

Writing her latest novel has changed the way Jodi Picoult sees the world

One of the mysterious, successful writers in the world, Elena Ferrante tells her publisher how some of her novels have disgusted her.

This month marks two big events in language – the first you can't avoid, the second you probably missed. Yet the occasions are cousins despite their differences. They share a messy history, both born of vox-pops, hatched in the gutter. One talks big and makes empty promises; the other cousin mumbles and pops egos with a pin.

Matthew Reilly's latest action-packed thriller has gone straight to top spot of the bestselling books in Australia.

Mark Edmundson reminds us that writers often get better as they age.

Charlotte has had an accident and things aren't quite how she remembered. And that's just the start ...

"The Heart of Henry Quantum" is a reader-accessible American Ulysses, in a way, with a one-day time frame and a one-city setting.

Louise Gray discovers where our meat comes from and shows what ethical eating might mean.

The future of humanity in the digital age is explored to devastating effect.

Catherine de Saint Phalle's reveals her parents' flaws and foibles without judgment and is infused with humour and pathos.

Steve Cannane reveals that Australia is used by Scientology as a latter-day penal colony for cult members who have transgressed.

These three well-designed books are an auspicious, and welcome, debut for this new publisher.

Change management fails because, most of the time, it pays no heed to how people think.

It is the eve of Anzac Day, 1918. The Germans have taken the French town of Villers-Bretonneux, and now threaten the key British supply centre of Amiens. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Great War may hang in the balance.

In his new book, acclaimed Australian author Tom Keneally tackles the Catholic Church and the abuse scandal engulfing it. Here, he writes exclusively for Fairfax Media on the man behind his main character.

Jodi Picoult knew that writing in the voice of Anfrican-American nurse would present problems and she addresses them in an author's note.

That's so Melbourne.

The question that Frantumaglia raises is this: if "Elena Ferrante" is so determined to remain anonymous, why has she given interviews at all?

Shaun Carney, a big-city journalist with admirable contacts, was a shy boy from the suburbs. His memoir reveals the truth about his family life.

The problem with really hardcore bad writers is that they don't want to learn. They think they know it all.