Bon and Lesley by Shaun Prescott

Bon and Lesley by Shaun Prescott Author Interview at Paperbark Words “You’d be surprised how many places elude maps, you can fairly easily stray from the known world entirely. And you’re not paying attention if you think it’s untrue, but you must know it anyway because you got off the train. You always thought these […]

Tiger Daughter by rececca Lim

Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim (Allen & Unwin) Book review by Joy Lawn When young teen Wen Zhou is stalked by two men at night, in Tiger Daughter by author and lawyer Rebecca Lim, she is caught between fear and rage. She is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and has been given a boy’s name because “it’s bad […]

Fleur Ferris and Seven Days

Fleur Ferris, Seven Days & other books “It blows my mind to think what we do today matters – not just to us, but to those who come after us, to those who aren’t even born yet. It can impact someone one hundred years from now.” (Seven Days) All of Fleur Ferris’ novels (published Penguin […]

Jessica Au & Cold Enough for Snow

Jessica Au wins the 2023 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction. Cold Enough for Snow (Giramondo Publishing) wins another literary prize. Congratulations! Read my interview with Jessica Au and other panellists at Brisbane Writers Festival 2023. Jessica Au, Susan Johnson, Anne Casey-Hardy & Ianto Ware at BWF 2023 It was great to be moderating sessions […]

LIMBERLOST by Robbie Arnott

Robbie Arnott is an exciting Australian author (see my review of The Rain Heron for the Weekend Australian and Flames. His novel Limberlost continues to win accolades so here is my omnibus review for the Weekend Australian, accompanied by Carol Lefevre’s The Tower and The Sun Walks Down. (I’ve reproduced it because it is otherwise […]

Snap! by Anna Walker

Snap! by Anna Walker Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2023 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2023 Notable Books Snap! By Anna Walker (published Scribble Kids’ Books) Snap! is an exuberant gem of a picture book for young readers and will also be relished by those who share it with them. It is the dramatic tale […]

inside the cbca 2023 shortlist

INSIDE THE CBCA 2023 SHORTLIST The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Shortlisted Books for 2023 has been announced. Follow the links to those books I have already reviewed, or interviewed the author or illustrator, on the blog. I will add to this list until the winners are announced in August. Also see the 2023 […]

Sensitive by Allayne L. Webster & IBBY

Book award season has begun! IBBY Australia congratulates Allayne L Webster and Asphyxia whose respective books Sensitive and Future Girl have been selected for the 2023 IBBY international catalogue of outstanding books for young people with disabilities. These books were selected from the following Australian nominations. The ten titles nominated by IBBY Australia are: The […]

INSIDE THE 2023 CBCA NOTABLE BOOKS

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Notable Books for 2023 have been announced. Follow the links to those books I have already reviewed or interviewed the author or illustrator at PaperbarkWords blog. NB I will add reviews and interviews here and on the Inside the 2023 Shortlist page on the blog (once the shortlist is announced) until the winners […]

100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze

100 REMARKABLE FEATS OF XANDER MAZE by Clayton Zane Comber (HarperCollins) The 2022 Prime Minister’s Literary awards shortlisted books were announced this week. As a judge in prior years I appreciate how much work and expertise is required by the judges, and work and liaison by coordinators and those submitting books for awards. Congratulations to […]