The Locked Room by Adam Cece

The Locked Room by Adam Cece Published by Penguin Books Australia Adam, congratulations on your riveting new YA novel, The Locked Room, which is set in an escape room. It is a highly appealing concept and will hook in many readers, including those who may not read many books. Thank you for writing this interesting […]

The Foal in the Wire by Robbie Coburn

The Foal in the Wire by Robbie Coburn Hachette, Australia Finding a Wounded Foal by Robbie Coburn I have often read that the first novel an author writes is largely autobiographical; in our lives, we have arrived at a point where we can explore our history through the lens of our characters. I have been […]

Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James

Completely Normal (and Other Lies) by Biffy James (published Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing) Completely Normal (and Other Lies) is shortlisted in the CBCA 2023 Book of the Year Older Readers category. Inside the CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2023 CBCA Shortlist Inside the 2023 Notable Books “The jealousy I felt was familiar and comforting, so I […]

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong Author Interview ‘I’ll tell you another secret … about Simta. Everyone in this city wears a mask. They pretend they’re someone braver, smarter, more cunning: whatever mask best suits them. Wear it well and no one will see you – not the real you. They’ll only see what you want […]

The Snow Laundry by Mette Jakobsen

The Snow Laundry by Mette Jakobsen Mette Jakobsen is an excellent writer of literary fiction (The Wingmaker is a standout and I am keen to read her earlier novels) and now has branched into YA with The Snow Laundry, the first in her Tower series (published HarperCollins Australia). Mette begins her guest author post at […]

Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood

Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood Published by Text Publishing Author Interview “I briefly fantasise about walking into the room with a cute guy and letting them think I’ve just met him, or, no, that we know each other from uni maybe, and I’m taking him back to the house to hook up – there’s a […]

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 […]

The Edge of Limits by SJ Gervay

Guest Post about The Edge of Limits by Susanne Gervay for PaperbarkWords blog Susanne Gervay writes important, ground-breaking books. Her new YA novel The Edge of Limits is hard-hitting and enlightening about a number of issues, particularly that of consent. Timely indeed. The Edge of Limits cements Susanne’s position as one of our leading agitators […]

The Not So Chosen One Kate Emery

The Not So Chosen One by Kate Emery The Not So Chosen One is the debut young adult fantasy novel of Kate Emery, a Perth journalist and writer. It is about a Perth teenager who has to juggle an unexpected pregnancy with an even-more-unexpected introduction to the world of magical high-school. As the title of […]

How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood

How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood “Our word of the week is participation. More like ‘exclusion’ for me, not that anyone seems to care.” (How to Spell Catastrophe) Fiona Wood is one of Australia’s best contemporary writers of YA literature, evinced by the many awards her books have won. In fact, her three most […]