Culture
Books
Tony Birch wins Book of the Year for timely novel about one of Australia’s great challenges
Birch says that while his book wasn’t written “with that issue in mind”, it had become timely given the crucial discussions under way.
- by Jason Steger
Latest
The 13 must-see events at this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival
With the Melbourne Writers Festival kicking off today, here are some of the events that should not be missed.
- by Jason Steger
Exclusive
Literature
The Weirdo books once had a ‘prettiest girls list’. Now, they are re-recording the audiobooks
The best-selling children’s book author is revising his Weirdo audiobooks to remove a “prettiest girls” list. “I was ranked low on a list and it affected me for years,” he says.
- by Kerrie O'Brien and Marika Dobbin-Thomas
How pop music met its Waterloo in ABBA
What is it about ABBA’s songs that generate angst and ardour? English music writer Giles Smith tries to find out.
- by Michael Dwyer
Our safe, white scene has rules if you want to be a ‘multicultural’ writer
Spare a thought for the authors who don’t look like their publishers in the middle-class literary world.
- by Amra Pajalic
Death threats are an occupational hazard: Geoffrey Robertson
The leading human rights lawyer will grapple with state of the world in a new live show.
- by Kylie Northover
Opinion
WordPlay
My recent crossword sparked beef. Was my food clue a trifle fishy?
With words always gaining new meanings, setting crosswords is no piece of cake.
- by David Astle
A glorious debut novel with shades of Zadie Smith and George Saunders
After winning the 2016 Vogel’s Literary Award with a collection of short stories, Murray Middleton spent eight years on his first novel.
- by Helen Elliott
The letters between two great writers revealing their hidden stories
Years of correspondence between Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower reveal much about their unusual friendship.
- by Gail Jones
This book takes you on the run across colonial NSW. Danger lurks at every corner
In the sequel to her novel Benevolence, Julie Janson has produced a gothic historical novel that does justice both to the sorrow and the story of what Aboriginal Australia suffered in the 19th century.
- by Eddie Hampson
Alexis Wright wins Stella Prize with ‘perhaps the great Australian novel’
The Indigenous writer has won the $60,000 award for her acclaimed novel, Praiseworthy, making her the first to win the prize twice.
- by Jason Steger