Bookends

Friday, April 12, 2013

The Stella Prize

The Stella Prize is a new award which celebrates, promotes and rewards Australian female writers. The winner will be announced on the 16 April. Read reviews of each book. Check out the judges. Follow udpates on twitter or facebook.

These are the books on the inaugural longlist:

The burial by Courtney Collins

Questions of travel by Michelle de Kretser

The sunlit zone by Lisa Jacobson

Like a house on fire by Cate Kennedy

Sea hearts by Margo Lanagan

Mateship with birds by Carrie Tiffany

Monday, April 8, 2013

Miles Franklin Award

This year the Miles Franklin award has been flooded with female writers. This year they will be supporting a reading challenge (Miles of reading) where you can join the forum, talk with other readers or post a review and enter the competition to win!

Follow them on twitter for more updates. The winner will be announced on the 19 June. There is plenty of time to read them all!

Here is the current long list and the shortlist will be announced on 30 April. Who do you hope will win?

Floundering by Romy Ash

Lola Bensky by Lily Brett

Street to street by Brian Castro

Questions of travel by Michelle de Kretser

The beloved by Annah Faulkner

The daughters of Mars by Tom Keneally

The mountain by Drusilla Modjeska

The light between oceans by M.L. Stedman

Mateship with birds by Carrie Tiffany

Red dirt talking by Jacqueline Wright

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Beyond George R. R. Martin

Winter is coming and so is the next book in the Song of Fire and Ice series but while you wait for GRRM to write it try these:

Similar authors

Joe Abercrombie

Scott R Bakker
Jacqueline Carey

Dorothy Dunnett
Kate Elliott

Raymond E Feist

Jennifer Fallon
Diana Gabaldon
Barbara Hambly

Robin Hobb

Robert Jordan

Greg Keyes
Mark Lawrence
Scott Lynch
Juliet Marillier

Naomi Novik
Patrick Rothfuss

J. R. R. Tolkien

Tad Williams

Similar Series

Sarah Ash - Alcymist's legacy
Daniel Abraham - The dagger and the coin and The long price quartet.
Steven Erikson - The Malazan book of the fallen

Dune series - various authors

Robin Hobb - Farseer trilogy

Joel Shepherd - Trial of blood and steel

Brent Weeks - Lightbringer

Monday, March 25, 2013

Nigerian author Chinua Achebe dies

Chinua Achebe died at age 82 on Friday. He is often referred to as the grandfather of African literature. His first novel, and his most famous, Things fall apart was first published in 1958. It is a deeply intriguing novel as it is set in pre-colonial Africa and depicts tribal life before colonisation. Chinua was an outspoken critic of colonialism and Western representations of Africa and Africans. He has inspired generations of other African writers and paved the way for novelists like Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. He opposed corruption in his country after colonial rule and wrote passionately about Africa in essay, novels, and poems.

Check out his books through our catalogue or try reading Things fall apart as a great introduction to his work. The Guardian also has an article about him and his literature or read his critical essay on Conrad's Heart of Darkness here.