Love and dragons: the literary mash-up topping bestseller lists
Move over, thrillers and crime novels – a wildly popular genre and its offshoot promise to dominate reading lists in 2025.
Books
How strangers’ books helped me travel through my grief
The author of Braver Than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime, reflects on books that made a special trip memorable.
The most anticipated books of 2025
Chief literary critic Geordie Williamson previews the titles we can look forward to this year – in both fiction and nonfiction.
Fresh Praise for champion of Indigenous culture
Waanyi author Alexis Wright has earned a nomination for The Australian’s Australian of the Year for her literary talent and success.
Love, life and crimes: our favourite books of 2024
Heading on holidays? Or looking for something to keep you entertained during your staycation? You’ll find some absolute gems on this list – as recommended by The Australian’s literary critics.
$42k taxpayer grant for anti-Israel artist
Matt Chun received a $42,452 taxpayer grant in May 2023 to publish a picture book. He previously co-wrote works that attacked ‘colonial and imperialist’ statues.
Another judgment: Mary Magdalene was right up there with Jesus all along
An Italian author says the woman who followed Christ to the end is in a Sistine Chapel fresco.
The young girl who saw a much nicer Chandler
Sybil Davis, whose mother was secretary to the master of noir, recalls a lively father figure who enjoyed the finer things in life.
The love and loss of Boris: Di Morrissey’s Christmas sadness
From sun-soaked beach days to festive celebrations with all the trimmings, I’ve marked the yuletide season in many different ways. But this year I’ll include a new tradition – raising a toast to Boris.
Which books fired your imagination when you were a kid?
The Lord of the Rings was such an overwhelming experience, in my late childhood and early adolescence, that rather than plunging me into a passion for fantasy, it set me off on a quest to understand our Earth and its history and poetry.
How the Bible made its way around the world
The Bible resonates with one-third of the globe’s population. Christmas is as good a time as any to reflect on why this might be.
The best new children’s books to buy this Christmas
Children are spending far too much time on mesmerizing, addictive screens. There are still a few shopping days before Christmas, so why not hit the bookshop?
Why Les Miserables is a one-man show
Victor Hugo based two central characters on the colourful double life of crook-turned-detective Eugene-Francois Vidocq.
‘Tomorrow’ author John Marsden dies aged 74
The Tomorrow, When the War Began author paved the way for more recent fantasy blockbusters, such as The Hunger Games.
‘Chick-lit? The term made me foam at the mouth’
For decades Maggie Alderson has written bestsellers that have been eagerly devoured by (mostly female) readers all over the world. Ahead of her latest release she reflects on the unwanted label which has dogged her entire career.
Add this to your must-read list
This story matters more than ever now, as Xi Jinping imposes on China the antithesis of what Hu Yaobang articulated and patiently, intelligently championed, between 1977 and 1987.
Revealed: the rot behind Robodebt
Rick Morton exposes the human rights nightmare behind Robodebt in his new book, Mean Streak
Richard Dawkins is a giant next to today’s thinkers
Few have done more to popularise science and few will be able to replace him — much of the fault lies with our universities.
Cervantes was a poet but he didn’t know it, says historian
The Spanish author of Don Quixote thought little of his verse but a new book begs to differ.
Feted writer killed in car accident
Brenda Walker came from a family of storytellers, including her brother, Don Walker, who wrote classics for Cold Chisel, and her mother, Shirley Walker, who wrote novels.
This place is so sublimely beautiful, it will make you cry. And it’s right here in Australia
On an island at the far end of the world there remains one fragile corner to remind us of how much of the beauty of the natural planet we have already lost.
The story of Impressionism is well-known. But is it true?
Art critic Sebastian Smee argues the Impressionist movement rosefrom a year of terror rather than a reaction against a rigid culture.
A Wild Heart wins The Australian Fiction Prize
Katherine Johnson’s tale of a spirited young woman in the wilderness of Tasmania has triumphed over top quality competition to take out the inaugural The Australian Fiction Prize.
A Wild Heart wins The Australian Fiction Prize
Katherine Johnson grew up dodging bindi-eyes in the backyard of her family’s old Queenslander. Like so many kids in the 1970s, she almost always had a book under her arm.
Inside the gripping pursuit of camper killer Greg Lynn
A couple murdered at their campsite; a Jetstar pilot on trial. A new book unpacks the high country crime.
Final journey for adored pillar of Pittwater
A flotilla of boats accompanied writer Susan Duncan on her final journey from her water-access-only home to the mainland north of Sydney.
’We’re all too comfortable with fantasy’
Fantasy fiction is having a cultural moment but Alan Moore – the author of V for Vendetta and Watchmen – says the genre is in danger of losing its relevance altogether.
The popular TV plots that will make no sense in the future
The dramatic courtroom reveal. The brilliant diagnosis. The undercover disguise. TV writers are going to have to rethink the old tropes.
Meet the finalists for The Australian Fiction Prize
The first ever fiction prize sponsored by The Australian and HarperCollins Australia has attracted a talented field. Each and every one of these writers deserve their place on the shortlist.
What happened when I — a 58-year-old woman — shaved my head
Men, I perceived early on, don’t like short hair on women. And, since we live and work in an overwhelming patriarchy, to have short hair has been, if often on a subtle level, to defy men. I’ve carried this understanding with me – but decided to let go.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/books/page/5