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The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards finalists have been announced.

The voice Walker creates is attractive and authentic and her story is enriched by hard-won psychological and emotional insight. – Sydney Morning Herald review for ‘Sex, Lies & Bonsai’

What if you live in the midst of the intense surfing culture of the NSW North coast with a father who is a legendary surfing champion but you are too scared to even go in the water? And you were just dropped by your dream boyfriend by text? And if you start writing erotic fiction but have a massive fear of being found out by the close knit community? These are the sorts of dilemmas Lisa Walker seeks to explore in this funny and charming story about coming out of your shell and letting the world see your rich inner life even when it makes you nearly crazy with embarrassment.

PRAISE FOR SEX, LIES & BONSAI

‘… Reaches out beyond romance to social commentary.  …  Much to enjoy.’ – Sun Herald

‘A must read. … A tender and witty tale about finding yourself and falling in love.’ – Queensland Times

‘It’s the whole package: great characters, depth, intelligence, originality, fun and a bloody good laugh.’ – Northern Rivers Echo

‘The inspiration for Edie’s story came from a few different places,’ Lisa says. ‘One of these was seeing the way that surfing was so much a part of life on the north coast, I wondered what it would be like to be an outsider – a girl who is scared of the water. The other inspiration is that feeling of living in a small town. Darling Head, where the novel is set, is a town of five thousand people where it is impossible to be anonymous. Edie has spent her whole life feeling like the odd one out. I wanted to see what would happen if she just let it all hang out.’  LISA WALKER

Buy the book here…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa lives on the NSW North Coast with her husband and two teenage sons where she surfs, writes and works as a community relations manager for National Parks and Wildlife. She has held a myriad of different jobs including once being employed as an illustrator of crab larvae! She has a degree in zoology, a master’s in natural resource management and a graduate diploma in outdoor education. Lisa is an award winning short story writer; her play Baddest Backpackers aired on ABC RN in 2008 and her first novel Liar Bird was published in 2012. Sex, Lies &Bonsai is her second novel.  www.lisawalker.com.au

1. Ok, admit it…you’ve left your shopping until the last minute, haven’t you? And now you need to buy something quick smart!  Boomerang Books Gift Vouchers are the answer.  Guaranteed to arrive before Christmas morning via email.

2.  Ever had to force a smile when presented with a gift that you don’t really want at Christmas?  No fear with our Gift Vouchers!  Everyone loves books and your gift recipient can choose what they want from our extensive range of titles.  Let them have the fun of choosing, rather than making the wrong choice on their behalf.

3.  Could you really be bothered battling the crowds at your local shopping centre on Monday 24th December?  No thank you.

4.  If you buy a Boomerang Books Gift Voucher by midnight on Christmas Eve, we will give you a bonus amount of 10% on top of the voucher denomination — buy a $50 voucher, get $55.

5.  Buy a Boomerang Books Gift Voucher and you could win a copy of The Hobbit film tie-in edition – we have three copies to giveaway to people who purchase gift vouchers!

6.  Our Gift Vouchers are sent via email, so we guarantee that your Gift Voucher will be delivered to you or directly to your gift recipient by Christmas morning (as long as you order by midnight Christmas Eve)

7.  You can take the ‘green’ approach and save on postage and packaging by sending your Gift Voucher directly to the recipient via email.  They’ll receive it via their email address, and you’ll get a ‘drop copy’ as proof of delivery.

8.  Alternatively, you can opt to have the Gift Voucher sent to your own email address, and then you can print off the voucher and present it to your gift recipient in person on Christmas Day.

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10.  Boomerang Books Gift Vouchers are valid for 12 months from purchase, so your gift recipient has plenty of time to redeem their voucher.

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12.  When you buy Boomerang Books Gift Vouchers, you’re helping the environment as our books are carbon neutral — we pay to offset the carbon cost of the production and fulfilment of all our books.

Buy a Boomerang Books Gift Voucher right now…

Blending the epic storytelling tradition of Bryce Courtney with the meticulous accuracy of Philippa Gregory … award-winning historian and bestselling novelist, Deborah Challinor delivers a convict story like no other – four feisty females bound for Botany Bay.

Behind the Sun turns the convict story on its head. Through the eyes of four fiercely feisty young women who guard their secrets and dreams as closely as their money and trinkets from home, Deborah Challinor explores the gritty, raucous, bittersweet life of female criminals bound for Botany Bay.

The four unlikely friends must join forces and overcome the perils on the journey of their lives, safeguarding everything they hold dear to them. Tough and irreverent street prostitute Friday Woolfe and the clever thief Sarah Morgan team with naïve young Rachel Winter and the highly capable seamstress Harriet Clark.

On the voyage to New South Wales their friendship becomes an unbreakable bond — but there are others on board who will change their lives forever. Friday makes an implacable enemy of Bella Jackson, a vicious woman whose power seems undiminished by her arrest and transportation, while Harriet is taken under the wing of an idealistic doctor, James Downey. Rachel catches the eye of a sinister passenger whose brutal assault leaves her life hanging in the balance.

When they finally arrive on the other side of the world, they are confined to the grim and overcrowded Parramatta Female Factory. But worse is to come as the threat of separation looms. In the land behind the sun, the only thing they have is each other.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deborah Challinor is the author of several bestselling novels including the widely praised Band of Gold. She is also an historian and has written a number of non-fiction titles.

Her compelling research for ‘Behind the Sun’, particularly the infamous Parramatta Female Factory  reveals much about the shocking conditions there and the extraordinary fact that  20% of Australians are descended from the women who went through those Factory gates. Her ancestors including a First Fleet sailor and a long line of convicts were part of the inspiration for this brilliant new series.

‘Thanks for rattling your chains ladies and gentlemen, both supernatural and the ones the law put on you.’ pg 448

Deb and her husband have recently moved to Newcastle.

Who better to introduce modern tweens to the minefields that are love and romance than Jane Austen’s little sister, Jenna Austen?

From an award-winning Australian children’s author writing under the pseudonym ‘Jenna Austen’ comes the perfect series for girls aged 9+ who have moved on from Harry Potter but aren’t quite ready for Twilight yet.

Parents will love the fact this series introduces their daughters to the works of Jane Austen; tween girls will love the diary format, great characters and sweet romance.

Protagonist Ruby is worried that her friends keep making the same mistakes when it comes to romance. Then she develops a theory: most girls go for either a ‘Jane Austen’ guy (funny, sweet, caring) or a ‘Jane Eyre’ guy (dark, brooding, serious) – when really they should be dating the exact opposite!

But when Ruby puts her theory practice, the results don’t exactly go to plan … And if she’s so smart about love, how come she can’t figure out who’s been sending her all the flirty emails and flowers?

About the author

‘Jenna Austen’ (aka award-winning author Sophie Masson) loves reading and writing. Especially the kinds of stories that end with happily-ever-afters. And she adores a good romance – she’s read EVERY Jane Austen novel ever written. She thinks Ms Austen is One of Greatest Writers To Have Ever Lived and used to wish that she was related to her. (She’s not – she checked!) But she doesn’t mind at all if people want to call her ‘Jane Austen’s Little Sister’…

‘I love the way Freddy loves Rugby League. Look we all know that he sees the world a little differently and when it comes to talking footy that’s a good thing!’ Andrew Johns

 Following on from the success of The Fittler Files comes The Fittler Files 2, a review of the 2012 rugby league season from round one through to the grand final, covering all the big events both on and off the field. Not simply a rehash of the regular, NRL-sanctioned press conferences and news, this is a genuine inside look at rugby league from a trusted and well-connected team. Written with Brad’s brand of honesty and humour, and including over 100 photographs, The Fittler Files 2012 is the perfect gift for the footy fan this Christmas.

Brad ‘Freddy’ Fittler in his own words ‘played a bit of footy’ (40 Tests and World Cup matched, 31 Origin games for NSW and 336 first grade games – Penrith and Sydney Roosters), coached for a while (Sydney Roosters) – and enjoyed it all enormously. Now, as a keen photographer, commentator (Channel 9) and occasional coach (City team) he continues to relish his involvement in the game that gave him his chance in life. This is book is largely the product of weekly conversations and thoughts shared through season 2011 over coffee in a Sydney Harbourside park – just ‘talking football’. It was as good as life gets, Freddy reckons of his season spent chasing the game.

Adam Thomson began work with the Australian Radio Network in both production and on air roles across their 3 Sydney stations, Mix 106.5, WSFM and the Edge 96.1. After four years Adam made the move to television with the Ten Network as a sports reporter and producer focussing mainly on rugby league and combat sports.

Buy the book here…

It’s all about fishing in the Top End … sort of.

Come on a fishing trip with ABC Darwin’s Rob Smith, Tim Moore and Mario ‘McFadge’ Faggion as they chart the croc-filled waters of the Top End, doing what they do best — telling tall tales, drinking beer, and crapping on. As one keen fan put it in a warm recommendation, ‘The crap you blokes talk on air is the exact crap spoken on my boat.’

And this book is full of it — stuffed full of anecdotes about the colourful characters and  wild, vibrant landscape of the Top End, but more than that, it’s a book about mateship, fish, and the elaborate and exaggerated fishing claims that two guys who have been drinking beer all morning might make.

Soaked through with irreverent humour, fishy fables, Top End folklore, jokes at other people’s expense, fake adverts and satirical cartoons, this will make a great gift for Dad this Christmas.

And did we mention the fish? There’s a lot of them. And a lot of arguing about them.

Rob Smith and colleague Tim Moore present Tales from the Tinny every Saturday morning out of Darwin, where they both live. Rob is a radio producer with previous journalism experience and has written a number of humorous articles on the subject of fishing for newspapers and magazines.

Buy the book here…

Ode to the mullet

I love thee with raging desire so keen,

Cold buckets of water shall nay dull it.

You are my mate, my bait,

And as I stick a hook up thy date,

I thank the almighty for you –

Faithfull mullet.

-          Rob Smith

Australia’s queen of fantasy returns to the world of her epic bestseller Myrren’s Gift.

Fiona McIntosh is one of Australia’s most exciting and prolific authors of popular fantasy. Locally, reviewers have compared her to masters of the genre, including Raymond Feist, Jean M Auel, David Gemmell and Guy Gavriel Kay; internationally, she is also a sensation. Myrren’s Gift, for instance, was Britain’s highest-selling debut for 2005, and it has now been published in all English-speaking markets around the world and translated into several languages.

In fact, it was while swamped with French fans clutching translation copies of these novels during a recent trip to the Paris Book Fair that Fiona decided it was time to finally give in to their pleas that she set another novel in France; and so the seed for THE SCRIVENER’S TALE was sown.

Set in the landscape of Morgravia (a world already familiar to her readers) and inspired by rainy afternoons spent walking the streets of Paris and hours spent rummaging through Shakespeare & Co (one of the city’s most famous bookshops and a mecca for its English-speaking literati), THE SCRIVENER’S TALE is just the kind of gripping, expertly-crafted narrative that fans and critics alike have come to expect from McIntosh.

Despite her skyrocketing writing career, Fiona leads a relatively normal life, dividing her time between Adelaide and Tasmania’s Huon Valley with the occasional research trip to Europe thrown in. A mother of twin sons, she is also a prolific baker and chocolate addict, baking all manner of cakes, brownies and biscuits into the early hours of the morning as her family sleeps. Says Fiona, “I’m sure in the haze of measuring and stirring I’m percolating my complex fantasy tale with a cast of thousands somewhere in the back of my brain!”

Buy the book here…

PRAISE FOR FIONA MCINTOSH:

“Two words on the cover – ‘Fiona McIntosh’ – always let me know I’m in for a good read” ROBIN HOBB

“Fiona McIntosh is a seductress. I have not moved from the sofa in three days” THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

“Fiona McIntosh keeps getting better and better” ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

“Relentless, twisty plotting… compulsively readable” KIRKUS REVIEWS

BLANCHE d’ALPUGET’s first novel in twenty years will be published in September 2013.

The Young Lion is the gripping first installment in a trilogy set in the Middle Ages, and marks the return to the world of fiction of one of Australia’s finest writers.

Blanche’s earlier novels were all bestsellers. They include Turtle Beach, which won the Age Book of the Year and was made into a feature film starring Greta Scacchi and Jack Thompson; Monkeys in the Dark; Winter in Jerusalem and White Eye. Her non-fiction includes Mediator: A Biography of Sir Richard Kirby;Robert J. Hawke: A Biography; On Longing and Hawke: The Prime Minister. These works won a number of literary prizes, including the PEN Golden Jubilee Award and the Australasian Prize for Commonwealth Literature.

Blanche d’Alpuget says:

‘In my twenties I became fascinated with the 12th century when I began to realise it was the era that established much of what we celebrate and revile today: romantic love; war between Christianity and Islam; celibacy in the Church; the rule of law; oppression of women and their fight against it; trial by jury; academies in Oxford and Paris that grew into the West’s first universities. It was a time of upheaval. Personalities with great virtues and great flaws led it, among them the warrior, Henry, founder of England’s longest lasting dynasty, the Plantagenets; I’ve chosen to call him “The Young Lion”.’

Her publisher, Jeanne Ryckmans, says:

‘It’s a real honour to publish and work with Blanche. She is a brilliant novelist who writes with verve and energy. She tells the story of “The Young Lion” with wit and razor-sharp intelligence, as well as demonstrating a firm grasp of the geopolitics of Medieval Europe and a keen insight into the workings of the human heart.’

About The Young Lion

Geoffrey the Handsome is the virile and charming Duke of Normandy, who seduces Queen Eleanor of France to spy for him. Said to be the most beautiful woman in Europe, and very rich, Eleanor has not been able to give birth to an heir for France. Her liaison with Geoffrey could remedy that – or lead to her downfall and Geoffrey’s death. But what begins with cool calculation becomes a passionate affair. Despite his love for Eleanor, Geoffrey has larger plans: to help his warrior son, Henry, seize the English throne from the uncle who usurped it from its rightful heir, Henry’s mother. When Henry is forced to intervene to save the lives of his father and Eleanor, he falls foul of the French queen – and madly in love with her Byzantine maid. Should he become King of England, however, this dazzling foreign girl will never be acceptable as his queen.

These two relationships – both forbidden, both perilous – are at the centre of a tale of consuming ambition, family vengeance and political intrigue set in the glorious flowering of troubadour culture, mysticism and learning that is 12th-century France.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Blanche d’Alpuget is an acclaimed novelist, biographer and essayist. She has won numerous literary awards, among them the inaugural Australasian Prize for Commonwealth Literature in 1987. Her books include Mediator: A Biography of Sir Richard Kirby (1977); Monkeys in the Dark (1980); Turtle Beach (1981), which won the Age Book of the Year award in 1981; Robert J Hawke: A Biography (1982); Winter in Jerusalem (1986) and White Eye (1993). Turtle Beach became a feature film in 1992 starring Greta Scacchi and Jack Thompson, and all Blanche’s novels have been translated into other languages. Blanche lives in Sydney.

The First Tuesday Book Club has revealed their 10 Aussie Books to Read Before You Die, as voted by thousands of Australian readers.

The top ten is:

• Cloudstreet (1991) by Tim Winton
• The Book Thief (2006) by Markus Zusak
• A Fortunate Life (1981) by A.B. Facey
• The Power of One (1989) by Bryce Courtenay
• Harp in the South (1948) by Ruth Park
• Jasper Jones (2009) by Craig Silvey
• The Magic Pudding (1918) by Norman Lindsay
• The Slap (2008) by Christos Tsiolkas
• The Secret River (2005) by Kate Grenville
• Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967) by Joan Lindsay

Boomerang Books ran their own survey back in 2010 to reveal the Most Popular Aussie Novels of All Time

What do you think?  Leave a comment…

Estimates suggest over 2m Kindles have been sold in the UK over the last three years. The Kindle is now one of the most iconic consumer objects in our culture, changing the way we read books. 101 Uses of a Dead Kindle is a celebration of that status, taking a sideways look and what happens when, eventually, your beloved Kindle dies. With 101 beautiful and hilarious cartoons showing all the different ways you can recycle (or up-cycle) your Kindle, no matter how weird, ludicrous and extraordinary. 101 Uses of a Dead Kindle will become a cult classic for Kindle owners (and e-book haters) everywhere.

Buy the book here…

HarperCollinsPublishers Australia will publish Ricky Ponting’s end-of-career autobiography in November 2013.

Ricky Ponting, 37, who made his final Test appearance this week, is one of the greatest cricketers to have worn the baggy green.  He became Test captain of Australia in 2004 and remained in the post until handing the job to Michael Clarke in 2011. He is the highest Australian run-scorer of all time in Tests and one-day international cricket, behind only India’s Sachin Tendulkar among batsmen from all countries.  Ponting’s career highlights include 168 Test matches, an Australian record he shares with Steve Waugh.  He scored 13,378 runs in Test matches and 41 centuries.

No Australian cricketer can match his Test hundreds record and his Test average (51.85) is third best among all Australian batsmen with 20 or more innings (behind only Don Bradman and Greg Chappell). Bradman is the only Australian to score more Test double centuries. Only India’s Rahul Dravid has taken more Test catches. No man has been a part of more Test victories. No captain has led his country to more Test wins.

Ponting has been a HarperCollins author since 2003 and his autobiography will be his biggest project yet.  It will track, with his customary honesty, the journey from his childhood in Tasmania, playing for the Mowbray Cricket Club’s third-grade side at 11 years old, through the highs and lows of his extraordinary international career to his retirement and future plans.

HarperCollins Publishing Director, Shona Martyn, said:  ‘Ricky Ponting’s autobiography will head straight to the top of the bestseller lists next Christmas. Australian readers love cricket, love heroes and love strong sporting autobiographies — this book will deliver all three.’

Image source: The Australian

The Biblio-Mat is a random book dispenser built by Craig Small for The Monkey’s Paw, an idiosyncratic antiquarian bookshop in Toronto. Biblio-Mat books, which vary widely in size and subject matter, cost two dollars. The machine was conceived as an artful alternative to the ubiquitous and often ignored discount sidewalk bin. When a customer puts coins into it, the Biblio-Mat dramatically whirrs and vibrates as the machine is set in motion. The ring of an old telephone bell enhances the thrill when the customer’s mystery book is delivered with a satisfying clunk into the receptacle below.

Take a look at this clip to see how it works -

The BIBLIO-MAT from Craig Small on Vimeo.

‘People kept remarking on how they were surprised that a gold medal and fame hadn’t changed me. I always responded, “Why would I change? Being me is the easiest person to be.”

I was lying. It wasn’t.’

At the Beijing Olympic Games, Matthew Mitcham made history with an unforgettable dive, scoring perfect tens, and winning gold for Australia.

There was no hint of the harrowing battle this talented young dynamo had fought with clinical depression, self-harm, and his addiction to alcohol and drugs including crystal meth (also known as Ice).

Joyously out and proud, Matthew was a role model for his courage both in and out of the pool. Yet even after Beijing and ranking No 1 in the world, beneath that cheeky, fun-loving exterior he was painfully aware of how easily it could unravel.

Unbeknownst to everyone, even those closest to him, Matthew turned to crystal meth as a way of dealing with his personal demons some of which stemmed from his childhood.

When injury further threatened his London Olympic hopes, he struggled to overcome his addictions through rehab and counselling, and balance his perfectionism with the old fear of self-doubt. He may not have won gold but he triumphed over his physical and emotional pain – and showed us the true meaning of sportsmanship.

As Andre Agassi’s Open is to tennis, so is Matthew Mitcham’s Twists and Turns to diving. This is an inspiring story of a true champion, in and out of the pool.

“A searingly frank memoir” – Deborah Snow, The Sydney Morning Herald

Buy the book here…

A funny and tender love story from a talented new Australian writer – Sex, lies & bonsai by Lisa Walker

What if you live in the midst of the intense surfing culture of the NSW North coast with a father who is a legendary surfing champion but you are too scared to even go in the water?  And if you start writing erotic fiction but have a massive fear of being found out by the close knit community? These are the sorts of questions Lisa Walker seeks to explore in this funny and charming story about coming out of your shell and letting the world see your rich inner life even when it makes you nearly crazy with embarrassment.

Dumped by text message by her ‘perfect’ boyfriend, heartbroken Edie flees Sydney for the refuge of her childhood home, taking only a wilting bonsai as a reminder of her failure. But in this small coastal town, Edie has always lived in the shadow of her surf champion father. How can she move on from her ex — and from her past?

Her best friend and life-coach, Sally, is full of dubious advice, but Edie finds there are many ways to mess things up on her own. She discovers a new-found talent for erotic writing which is lucrative but cringe-making, finds a job drawing crab larvae but suffers terribly with unrequited lust for her employer, the hunky professor with ‘hidden depths’ and nearly blows it all with the complicated but undeniably sexy musician – Jay.

‘The inspiration for Edie’s story came from a few different places,’ Lisa says. ‘One of these was seeing the way that surfing was so much a part of life on the north coast, I wondered what it would be like to be an outsider – a girl who is scared of the water. While I am a surfer myself, my kids are fairly apathetic about it. In a town like Lennox Head, which has such a strong surfing culture, whether you surf becomes an important part of who you are.’ ‘The other inspiration is that feeling of living in a small town. Darling Head, where the novel is set, is a town of five thousand people. In a town like that, it is impossible to be anonymous. Edie has spent her whole life feeling like the odd one out. I wanted to see what would happen if she just let it all hang out.’  LISA WALKER

This appealing romance with a big dash of humour, a beautiful setting and a cast of memorable characters heralds the arrival of a major new Australian writer of popular women’s fiction.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa lives on the NSW North Coast with her husband and two teenage sons where she surfs, writes and works as a community relations manager for National Parks and Wildlife. She has held a myriad of different jobs including once being employed as an illustrator of crab larvae! She has a degree in zoology, a master’s in natural resource management and a graduate diploma in outdoor education. Lisa is an award winning short story writer; her play Baddest Backpackers aired on ABC RN in 2008 and her first novel Liar Bird was published in 2012. Sex, Lies &Bonsai is her second novel.   www.lisawalker.com.au

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Invented by Hal Taylor when his youngest daughter decided she wanted to be a part of storytime and he realised that there wasn’t going to room for a third child on his lap.

http://www.rockingchairs.net/Pages/storytime1.html

Andrew Charlton, senior economic adviser to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, has won the $20,000 John Button Prize for writing on policy and politics.

Dr Charlton won the prize for his 2011 Quarterly Essay on climate change, Man-Made World: Choosing between progress and planet.

The judges described Dr Charlton’s essay as a “dispassionate, reasoned and original analysis” that confronted the core dilemma behind global attempts to address climate change – the huge gap in priorities between rich and poor nations.

“Every Australian over the age of 15 should read it, then we could start the climate change debate afresh and with a much larger perspective ,” one judge said.

Dr Charlton said he was honored to win the award. “John Button reflected the best of Australian politics. He was a thinker, a doer and a thoroughly decent man.”

In writing the essay, Dr Charlton, a former Rhodes Scholar, drew on his experience as a member of the Australian delegation that travelled to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

His essay defeated two other shortlisted entries, The Australian Moment by George Megalogenis, and Us and Them: On the Importance of Animals, by Anna Krien.

Anjali Bethune of Ruyton Girls School won the $2500 John Button Schools Prize for writing on politics and policy by a Victorian secondary student. Her essay argued that Australia should increase its immigration intake.

Anjali, who is 17 and in Year 12, said: “To win this prize is a great honour, as I believe Australian politics and policy are amongst the most important things for the youth of this country to be involved in.

“Many of us will soon be on the electoral roll, and I think it is imperative that we all take advantage of our democratic right to free speech, which many in this world are not fortunate enough to have.”

Andrew Charlton and Anjali Bethune were awarded their prizes at the Melbourne Writers Festival’s John Button Oration, given this year by American philosopher Professor Martha Nussbaum.

From the John Button Prize website

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How the legendary Aussie Tunnel Rats fought the Vietcong

‘We make and we break.’

They were the forward scouts, the mine clearers, the bridge builders and the tunnel rats. They were frequently not just on the front line, but right at the sharp end of the action. They were the legendary Aussie sappers, the army engineers, who were literally everywhere in the fighting against the Vietcong.

This special breed of soldier lived hard and played hard. They were there at the beginning of the war. They were also among the last to leave. And along the way, they fought with their mates in infantry and tanks to bear the brunt of the Vietcong’s revenge.

To the rest of the world, Vietnam was a conflict of ideologies. On the ground it was a battle of wits and the sappers were at the forefront. This is their story.

About the Authors

Jimmy Thomson is a journalist, author and screenwriter whose credits include the ABC-TV series Rain Shadow. He is the author of Snitch, Tunnel Rats and Watto.

A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a young captain Sandy MacGregor commanded 3 Field Troop in Vietnam, where he won the Military Cross. He served in the Army for 30 years, finishing as a colonel in the Reserves.

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The Australians in New Guinea in World War II

As well as providing new perspectives on the Kokoda campaign, the book covers the battles that preceded and those that followed, most of which have previously received scant attention.

Phillip Bradley has conducted extensive research on the official and private records from Australia, the US and Japan, and as well as these perspectives, shows those of the Papua New Guineans. He has also conducted wide-ranging interviews with veterans, and made extensive use of Japanese prisoner interrogation records.

The text is further illuminated by the author’s deep familiarity with the New Guinea battlefields, and is well illustrated with photographs, many previously unpublished, and maps.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians, Phillip’s father among them, fought in New Guinea and many never returned. Hell’s Battlefield tells their story, and the battles they fought in, that raged on land, in the air and at sea.

About the Author – Phillip Bradley

A chemical research manager by profession, Phillip has had a lifetime interest in military history. Two years working in Papua New Guinea gave him the opportunity to travel to the battlefields there, particularly where his father had fought around Shaggy Ridge. This led to his first book, which was on that battle. This was followed by books on other long forgotten New Guinea battles at Wau and Salamaua. He also writes for After the Battle and Wartime magazines.

All Phillip’s books are characterized by an intimate knowledge gained from his many trips to the battlefields, complemented by his research skills and by his many unique interviews with New Guinea battlefield veterans, over 300 and counting.

Phillip now writes full time and also does work for Kokoda Treks and Tours. Hell’s Battlefield is his fifth book.

Buy the book here…

The winners of this year’s Age Book of the Year Awards were announced on 23 August at the opening of the Melbourne Writers Festival at Melbourne Town Hall.

1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia by James Boyce won the overall Age Book of the Year Award, worth $10,000.  The book also won the Non-Fiction Prize, worth $2,500.

Foal’s Bread by Gillian Mears was selected as this year’s Age Book of the Year fiction prize and the poetry prize was presented to Mal McKimmie for The Brokenness Sonnets I-III and Other Poems. Both prizes are worth $2,500.

Toni Jordan’s much-anticipated third novel hit stores this week and the response has been sensational. Peter Pierce called Nine Days ’a triumph’, comparing it to the work of Charles Dickens and Patrick White, and this epic story of love, folly and heartbreak has already won over many readers.

Nine Days was inspired by the beautiful photograph displayed on its cover, an image of a woman hoisted on the shoulders of two soldiers and farewelling another as he is shipped off to war. The picture is a mystery: dated 14 August 1940 and found by Publisher Michael Heyward on the State Library of Victoria website, the photograph has no caption and the identity of the lovers (siblings? friends?) is unknown. If you recognise anyone in the picture or can give any more information, email the Age. We’d love to get to the bottom of it!

From Text Publishing

The book blurb:

It is 1939 and although Australia is about to go to war, it doesn’t quite realise yet that the situation is serious. Deep in the working-class Melbourne suburb of Richmond it is business – your own and everyone else’s – as usual. And young Kip Westaway, failed scholar and stablehand, is living the most important day of his life. Kip’s momentous day is one of nine that will set the course for each member of the Westaway clan in the years that follow. Kip’s mother, his brother Francis and, eventually, Kip’s wife Annabel and their daughters and grandson: all find their own turning points, their triumphs and catastrophes, in days to come. But at the heart of all their stories is Kip, and at the centre of Kip’s fifteen-year-old heart is his adored sister Connie. They hold the threads that will weave a family. In Nine Days Toni Jordan has harnessed all the spiky wit, compassion and lust for life that drew readers in droves to Addition and Fall Girl. Ambitious in scope and structure, triumphantly realised, this is a novel about one family and every family. It is about dreams and fights and sacrifices. And finally, of course, it is – as it must be – about love. 

Buy the book here…

The shortlists for the Queensland Literary Awards for 2012 have been announced.  Here are the nominees!

Fiction book award

Science writer award

Nonfiction book award

Emerging Queensland author – manuscript award

David Unaipon Award for an unpublished Indigenous writer

• Story (Siv Parker)
• Hard (Ellen van Neerven-Currie)
• My Journey that May Never End (Dorothy Williams-Kemp)

The Harry Williams Award for a literary or media work advancing public debate

• Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future (Paul Cleary, Black Inc.)
• The Australian Moment: How We Were Made for These Times(George Megalogenis, Penguin)
• There Goes the Neighbourhood (Michael Weley, UNSW Press)

Judith Wright Calanthe Award – poetry collection

• The Welfare of My Enemy (Anthony Lawrence, Puncher & Wattman)
• Outside (David McCooey, Salt Publishing)
• Late Night Shopping (Rhyll McMaster, Brandl & Schlesinger)
• Crimson Crop (Peter Rose, UWA Publishing)
• The Yellow Gum’s Conversion (Simon West, Puncher & Wattman)

History book award

• Seduced by Logic (Robyn Arianrhod, UQP)
• 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia(James Boyce, Black Inc.)
• The Biggest Estate on Earth (Bill Gammage, A&U)
• The Censor’s Library (Nicole Moore, UQP)

Children’s book award

• The Horses Didn’t Come Home (Pamela Rushby, HarperCollins)
• Bro
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