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A spotlight on translated fiction this month
This month we're reading fiction translated from Korean, French, German, Portuguese & Albanian.
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum (translated from Korean by Shanna Tan)
Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop.
In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and…
News from the Readings x Ubud Writers and Readers Festival trip
Recently our own Mark Rubbo and Chris Gordon accompanied a group of Melbourne readers to the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.
First, and most importantly Mark Rubbo and I were delighted to welcome new friends to the tour. What a joy to meet in a tropical (read: very hot) environment with people that love to talk, share, drink (gin and tonics being firm favourite bevvy of choice) and read! Our type of people.
On the first night of the tour…
A recipe from Rumi by Joseph Abboud
Rumi is a wonderful collection of over 60 recipes from chef and restaurant owner Joseph Abboud. Below, we're pleased to share a recipe from this heartfelt – and delicous – collection of recipes.
Freekeh, feta and pomegranate salad
Freekeh is wheat, picked green (young) and then toasted or smoked. It comes from the Arabic word farik, which refers to the rubbing of the grains to remove their husks. It’s highly nutritious and it seems the more you eat, the better…
The Gab Williams Prize inaugural winner
The Gab Williams Prize seeks to acknowledge the contribution of young adult author and immediate past manager of The Readings Prize, Gabrielle Williams, who passed away early in 2023.
Unlike the other prize winners, which are chosen by panels of Readings booksellers this prize has been chosen by teens themselves, all aged between 14 to 18, and all participants in The Readings Teen Advisory Board. The board read the shortlist for The Readings Young Adult Prize and came together to…
Decent people, a leering myna, and an unexpected inheritance
To celebrate the release of her new book, Corners of Melbourne, award-winning author Robyn Annear very kindly investigated the history of a street corner well known to Readings Carlton and Kids customers – Carlton’s Tyne Street. Here, Annear takes us back in time and along Tyne Street, revealing a healthy locale with a surprisingly colourful history.
If we’re talking street corners, Readings Carlton is ideally positioned. The two Lygon Street shops occupy facing corners of the west-running Tyne Street…
Debut fiction to read this month
Before we race headlong into November new releases and the end of the year, we're taking the time to spotlight some of the wonderful debut novels that you may have missed over the past couple of months.
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
Hera Stephen is clawing through her mid-twenties, working as an underpaid comment moderator in an overly air-conditioned newsroom by day and kicking around Sydney with her two best friends by night. Instead of money or stability, she has…
What we're reading and listening to: Mitski, Hobbs & McBride
Each week our amazing staff bring you a sample of the books or music they're immersed in.
Emma Davison is listening to The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We by Mitski
I have been a bit slow on the reading front this week but on a musical note, I have been loving Mitski’s album The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We which came out just last month, a great album for all the sad girls out there, and…
The 2023 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlist
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards acknowledge the contribution of Australian literature to the nation’s cultural and intellectual life.
643 entries were received across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, and Australian history. The winners and shortlisted authors will share in a tax-free prize pool of $600,000 – the highest literary prize in the nation. Each shortlisted entry will receive $5,000 with the winner of each category receiving $80,000. Expert judging panels have carefully considered entries…
Australian fiction to pick up this month
Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko
When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice.
Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Grannie Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past…
The Readings Prize 2023 winners
This year marks the 10th anniversary of The Readings Prize, a significant milestone in the Australian book industry for this veritable tastemaker of emerging talent.
From over 100 books that were considered this year, only six could be chosen for each shortlist. Just to be on the shortlist is an incredible achievement for an emerging author. Every single author whose book made it to one of our shortlists should feel extremely proud. It’s always difficult to choose a winner, and…
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