Writing a book was a very different proposition for the Irish comedian Jason Byrne. But he knuckled down to produce his memoir – and he didn't need any props.

Literary news and events.

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Friend and mate – both words are precious, yet one is more at home in Owen Stanley's mud.

For 11 years, Heather Rose struggled to craft her novel The Museum of Modern Love. Her determination paid off.

It would probably send a lot of other authors hopping mad.

Heidi Julavits' thought-provoking diary observations tend to be overshadowed by more gossipy and arbitrary entries that signify little.

Despite the pressures and privileges of his background, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, appears to be down to earth and decent.

A range of public figures from Jimmy Barnes to Radha Mitchell have contributed letters to their younger or older selves, their children, their parents or significant others in this special collection.

Through email conversations, the authors reflect on the geological history of the earth and humanity's understanding of it over the millennia.

Beth Underdown's novel set in 17th-century England is narrated by the fictional sister of the real-life Witchfinder General who gets caught up in his horrific business.

Much factual detail has been amplified in Goldie Goldbloom's Gwen and much is pure invention, but this is essentially a true story except in one respect ...

In its own mystifying and unsettling fashion, Fever Dream, this small and strange horror story, covers several large topics.

In his first novel, Rick Gekoski has created a singular and memorable character, the suitably named Dr Jonathan Darke.

Each age needs to recast these fundamentally abstract fables of the interaction between human beings and those remote, troubling beings called the gods in the dominant literary forms of the time.

Want to write science fiction, but feel you might need some help with the science. Don't worry, help is at hand.

The settings in Kyra Giorgi's debut collection of short stories are unusually varied in time and place.

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables has had many lives since publication but the author wouldn't have minded – ''I wrote it for everyone'' he said.

David Marr emphasises that race prejudice is the prime motivation, immigration is the goad, with One Nation's supporters.

A.N. Wilson is an astonishingly prolific author, addicted to writing and a man of surprising opinions.

The CSIRO Low-Carb Diet tops this week's Food & Drink bestsellers' chart.

Stephanie Owen Reeder explores the wonderful world of wordless picture books.

Literary news and events in Canberra.

To make her dark tale of an Australian backpacker held hostage by a seemingly charming Berliner, director Cate Shortland had to lock the nice away.

Jennifer Castles began making up stories because she couldn't read the ones in a picture book.