The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced the shortlist for the 2024 Barbara Jefferis Award, worth $50,000. Judges Hannah Kent, Jennifer Mills and Melanie Saward said of the shortlist: ‘We found all six books deeply affecting, and many highly memorable for their unswerving demands for social justice and reclamations of power.’

Salonika Burning by Gail Jones

Macedonia, 1917. The great city of Salonika is engulfed by fire as all of Europe is ravaged by war.

Amid the destruction are…

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The winners of the 2024 Wainwright Prize have been announced!

The Wainwright Prize is awarded annually to books which most successfully inspire readers to embrace nature and the outdoors, and develop a respect for the environment. This year’s winning books highlight the exploration of nature on a global scale through journeys of migration, finding beauty in the everyday, and celebrating the deep connections between humanity and nature through powerful storytelling.

🌳 Nature Writing

Late Light by Michael Malay

Late Light…

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Make the most of your school holidays with a stack of great books! Here are recommendations across a slew of genres, so you can do a deep dive into a particular niche or dip your toe into everything.

If Romantasy has you in a chokehold

There's no shortage of great romance-fantasy books at the moment, but The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow is a great place to start! Blending Chinese mythology with an action-packed adventure, it's a fun…

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The team at our Emporium shop is full of lovers of translated fiction. You can get great recommendations by visiting the shop and asking our lovely booksellers, but in the meantime here's a curated guide to some of the their favourite translated titles! With everything from heart-wrenching explorations of grief, to a cosy story about finding the perfect book at the library, to a classic crime series, there's something for every reader.

Baz recommends:

All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg…

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The longlists for the 2024 National Book Awards have been announced! Discover the longlists for Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry below.

Established in 1950, the National Book Awards is an American literary prize, administered by the National Book Foundation. Previous winners include American literary icons such as William Faulkner, Philip Roth, John Updike, Toni Morrison, Flannery O’Connor, Alice Walker, Jesmyn Ward, and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

While other categories have been recognized in the past, the Awards currently honour the best Fiction, Nonfiction…

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A great range of incredible family dramas have come out recently, so if you're ready to dive into compelling conflict, distract yourself from your own drama or live vicariously through the dysfunction of others, these books will fit the bill!

Together We Fall Apart by Sophie Matthiesson

For the past seven years, Clare has been living in London. She works for a judge on child protection cases. Her partner, Miriam, is devoted to raising their young son, Rupert; their days…

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The shortlist for the 2024 Booker Prize has been announced! The shortlist includes five women authors, the largest number in the Booker's 55-year history. The shortlist also includes the first Dutch writer to be shortlisted, and Charlotte Wood, the first Australian to be shortlisted in 10 years.

The Booker Prize is open to works of long-form fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK and/or Ireland; the shortlist was selected from 156 books published…

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We love dogs here at Readings! We are always delighted whenever a dog walks through our shop doors. If you follow us on Instagram, you're sure to have seen many photos of wagging tails between the shelves!

If you love dogs as much as we do, then this blog is for you! whether you're young or old, whether you read fiction or nonfiction or just want to be closer with your four-legged friend, there's something for every dog lover.

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Discover the crime books that have been read and reviewed by our excellent booksellers this month – all in one place!

The Death of Dora Black: A Petticoat Police Mystery by Lainie Anderson

Reviewed by Kate McIntosh, manager of Readings Emporium

In 1915, Australia’s first female police officers were appointed. In Adelaide, Kate Cocks became the first policewoman in the entire British empire to be paid the same as her male counterparts. Before this, women had worked for the…

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Join the Readings Ripper Sally Rippin Scavenger Hunt for your chance to win a visit from Sally Rippin to your primary school*! The hunt starts on September 20th.

To join the hunt:

From the 20th of September onwards, head to one of our shops (except Readings Carlton) to pick up a map.

Find the Sally Rippin character picture hidden around the shop.

Once you've found the hidden picture, take your map up to the counter to get your stamp.

Head…

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