The Year We Escaped by Suzanne Leal, ARA Historical Prize Winner The Year We Escaped by Suzanne Leal (HarperCollins Australia) has just won the 2025 ARA Historical Prize – children’s/young adult book. This comparatively new award showcases historical novels where “most of the narrative takes place at least 50 years ago.” Mark Macleod, Chair of […]
Read More The Year We Escaped by Suzanne Leal, ARA Historical Prize WinnerNingaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder written by Tim Winton illustrated by Cindy Lane Fremantle Press Interview with Tim Winton about Ningaloo “For those who come after” (Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder) Thank you for speaking about Ningaloo, your clear and powerful non-fiction picture book, with Paperbark Words, Tim. Your book’s subtitle is Australia’s Wild Wonder, and you describe Ningaloo […]
Read More Tim Winton Interview about NingalooThe Peach King: A contemporary fable about the resilience of nature written by Inga Simpson, illustrated by Tannya Harricks Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia Interview with Inga Simpson & Tannya Harricks about The Peach King “When Little Peach Tree was just a sapling, not much more than a stick bending in the breeze, all they could […]
Read More The Peach King by Inga Simpson, ill. Tannya HarricksAnother Year Around the Sun by Katrina Germein, illustrated by Alice Lindstrom Affirm Press, Simon & Schuster Another Year Around the Sun – Creators’ Inspiration Katrina Germein In thinking about the inspiration for Another Year Around the Sun, I can’t pinpoint one moment; even revisiting my drafts doesn’t help. It’s just there. A story about […]
Read More Another Year Around the Sun by Katrina Germein, ill. Alice LindstromAdventures on the Dreaming Path by Paul Callaghan, illustrated by Dylan Finney Pantera Press Paul writes about the creation of his children’s book, Adventures of the Dreaming Path, a follow up to his ABIA Award winning and best-selling adult book, The Dreaming Path for PaperbarkWords blog: Introduction I belong to Worimi/Birpai Country – saltwater country, […]
Read More Adventures on the Dreaming Path by Paul CallaghanConfessions of a Minor Poet by Phil Brown (Transit Lounge) “I was transplanted from a school like the one in Goodbye, Mr. Chips to one more akin to Lord of the Flies. But while my outward life tended to be surfing, partying and reading Tracks magazine, I retained a rather bookish inner life. I was […]
Read More Confessions of a Minor Poet by Phil BrownWhen the Mountain Wakes by Matt Shanks Affirm Press, Simon & Schuster “Somewhere, towards the beginning of time … a mountain rose from the ocean and came to rest above the clouds. Life sang a lullaby, and the mountain slept for many millions of years. Until one day … ” (When the Mountain Wakes) When […]
Read More When the Mountain Wakes by Matt ShanksLegacy by Chris Hammer Allen & Unwin In Legacy, Chris Hammer is back to his Scrublands best. Martin Scarsdale returns in an explosive mystery adventure where he is under personal attack. The setting straddles the Queensland and NSW border and is an atmospheric highlight. Diverted floodwaters creeping south form a stark contrast to the searing […]
Read More Legacy by Chris HammerRun by Sarah Armstrong Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing When I was a kid, I used to dream of heading off into the wilderness and surviving by my wits. Sadly, the closest I ever came to that was building a treehouse up the back of our 13-acre block on the Central Coast of New South Wales […]
Read More Run by Sarah ArmstrongNo Dancing in the Lift: A Memoir by Mandy Sayer Published by Transit Lounge, 2025 An edited extract: Mandy Sayer on the enduring legacy of her father’s humour Dad was forever joking, even in the most inappropriate settings. Once, on the way to radiotherapy, he leaned heavily against the lift’s handrail, winked at me and […]
Read More No Dancing in the Lift: A Memoir by Mandy Sayer
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