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 — 3 Jul 2023
After the Funeral: Stories by Tessa Hadley
I mentioned to a writer friend that I was reading this collection and she reminded me that I’d recommended Tessa Hadley’s novel Late in the Day to her some years…
Review — 30 Jun 2023
Southern Aurora by Mark Brandi
Jimmy likes to take his little brother Sam down to the railway cutting to watch the trains. If the time is right, they’ll see the silver cars of the Southern…
Blog post — 8 Jun 2023
Mark's Say, June 2023
We’ve moved our offices to West Melbourne and now that my bike commute is a little longer, I’ve taken to listening to podcasts, many of them produced by Readings. I…
Review — 24 May 2023
This Book Thinks Ya Deadly! by Corey Tutt
Corey Tutt is the founder of DeadlyScience, a not-for-profit organisation that provides STEM resources to regional and remote schools in Australia and facilitates mentoring of First Nations students by STEM…
Blog post — 3 May 2023
Mark's Say, May 2023
I’m pretty proud of the bookshops we’ve created over the years. With the help of some very talented architects, we’ve created some beautiful spaces, and our buyers and booksellers have…
Review — 24 Apr 2023
The Queen Is Dead by Stan Grant
When Queen Elizabeth II died, Stan Grant was asked by the ABC if he would present the coverage that evening. He said no: ‘I cannot mourn the White Queen.’ For…
Blog post — 9 Mar 2023
Mark's Say, March 2023
I first met Peter Browne when he was editing a magazine called Australian Society; associated with the Brotherhood of St Laurence, it was a progressive monthly magazine of news…
Review — 3 Mar 2023
Reclaim: Understanding Complex Trauma and Those Who Abuse by Dr Ahona Guha
In Reclaim, clinical and forensic psychologist Dr Ahona Guha examines the causes and impacts of trauma. Guha works both in private practice and as a forensic psychologist within the…
Review — 3 Mar 2023
Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith
Readers may remember Dominic Smith’s 2016 novel, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. In that novel, the sins of youth come back to haunt the present. It was…
Review — 2 Mar 2023
The Bell of the World by Gregory Day
When I started this book, I was reminded of my initial reaction to Peter Carey’s Illywhacker, still my favourite of his works – both are big and ambitious and…
