Mark Rubbo
Mark Rubbo is chairman of Readings. He is a past president of the Australian Booksellers Association and was founding chair of the Melbourne Writers Festival. In 2006 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.
Review — 25 May 2015
The Mothers by Rod Jones
I vividly remember Rod Jones’ 1986 novel Julia Paradise, the story of a Scottish psychoanalyst and his eponymous patient set in pre-war China. It quite justifiably caused a sensation…
Blog post — 3 Feb 2015
Mark's Say, February 2015
I am writing this column from Jaipur Literature Festival; it’s early days yet but yesterday I was privileged to hear one of my favourite authors, Paul Theroux, speak about his…
Review — 23 Feb 2015
One of Us by Asne Seierstad
This is an horrific and tragic book; it is an account of one the most devastating mass shootings in recent history. In July, 2011, Anders Breivik detonated a home made…
Review — 25 Nov 2014
Charlie's Country
Charlie (David Gulpilil) lives in a small community in Arnhem Land. A sequence of events, funny yet sadly moving, drive him to eschew the community and go bush. But even…
Blog post — 30 Nov 2014
Mark's Say: Favourite reads of 2014 and the Readings Foundation
It’s the time of year when The Readings Foundation allocates its grants for the following year. The Foundation raises money from 10% of Readings’ profits, individual donations and our customers…
Blog post — 2 Nov 2014
Mark's Say: Popular Penguins
This month marks the retirement of Peter Blake, the Sales Director of Penguin Books Australia. Peter’s name may not mean much to you but he’s probably touched your life in…
Review — 30 Jan 2013
The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond
At a large airport, people might mingle, join queues and follow instructions peacefully, and it’s most likely that they won’t know anyone else around. In traditional societies, those kinds of…
Blog post — 28 Sep 2014
Mark's Say: Minecraft and the vitality of the printed book
If you are the parent or grandparent of boys aged between five to 12, chances are you are familiar with Minecraft, a computer game. Minecraft has spawned a range…
Blog post — 27 Aug 2014
Mark's Say: Readings New Australian Writing Award 2014 Shortlist
A few years ago our events manager, Christine Gordon, some friends of Readings and I went to the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). For lots of reasons it was the best…
Blog post — 3 Aug 2014
Mark’s Say: Melbourne Writers Festival and Colm Tóibín
On my recent holidays I had the great pleasure of reading an advance of the new Colm Tóibín novel, Nora Webster (due for release in October). I have to confess…