News & Blog
Read the latest news and bulletins, essays, features, opinions from our bestselling authors. Find out what's being said, debated, and discussed in the world of books and ideas.
So my new book is out. It's called THE LITTLE BOOK OF ANXIETY and I am happy and proud. On the other hand, I am also extremely nervous and uptight, which probably isn't surprising given that I'm a highly anxious person, a fact the discerning reader might pick from my book's title. It's one thing to be sitting alone at your computer, tap tap tapping away, sharing...
The inaugural Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival (SHWF) will take place at the Gibraltar Hotel in Bowral from the 21 – 22 July 2012. Among the 30 book, poetry, play and film writers that will be appearing at the festival, four are Random House authors, including Frank Moorhouse, Candice Bruce, Jaye Ford and Kate Forsyth. Tickets for the SHWF are now on sale. There are...
Only a few weeks ago, I was in the fjords of Cape Nelson on the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea. I always find it a strange experience leaving the village, walking down the peninsular to the bright sheen of the Solomon Sea, looking back at the green drop of the cliffs, cooling off in the water as canoes glide in from the reef, and this time, it was stranger than usual. I’d been there...
Characters in a fantasy novel must be vividly drawn so the reader can build a strong sense of connection with them. A strong fantasy novel has: - A sympathetic, likeable protagonist with fears and failings just like any other human - an intriguing villain that has the potential to surprise the reader - a cast of interesting, funny and tragic minor characters that add humour, romance...
Gail Jones’s exquisite novel FIVE BELLS has been recognised on the shortlist for the 2012 Kibble Literary Award. This award, which is one of the most prestigious for women writers, recognises the work of an established Australian female writer in the past year. Told over the course of a single day, FIVE BELLS vividly describes the lives of four people who converge on Circular Quay...
We’re pleased to announce that SOUNDS SPOOKY by Christopher Cheng and Sarah Davis has won an Aurealis Award for Children’s Fiction (told primarily through pictures). SOUNDS SPOOKY was recognised in the picture book category for its haunting and creative illustrations by Sarah Davis, and words by award-winning Australian children's author, Christopher Cheng. The awards, which...
Jessica Owers' book PETER PAN has won the Bill Whittaker Literary Award. After being announced as a finalist in March, Jessica's novel beat out 32 other racing books to win this literary prize which pays tribute to the memory of award-winning writer Bill Whittaker by honouring the best racing book published in the last two years. PETER PAN follows...
In a BBC first, live footage of our Earth’s incredible living creatures will air on Australian television at 4.50am tomorrow morning (and again at 7.30pm Monday night) for Planet Earth Live. This live broadcast brings a whole new dimension to the BBC's Planet Earth television series which was immortalised in a stunning photographic book collection by Random House. Planet...
We are thrilled to share the news that COLD LIGHT by Frank Moorhouse has made the 2012 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist. Of the novel, the judges said; 'Frank Moorhouse has brought the intellectual richness and political tensions of post-war Australia to life in unexpected ways. In COLD LIGHT he has created an enduring Australian character and captured a time that still...
How is it possible that there could exist human filth of Reinhard Heydrich’s type? This is the disturbing question that HHhH, the magnificent book by Laurent Binet, asks us. It’s been at least three decades since I last read a winner of the Prix Goncourt. When I worked at Radio Television France in the ‘70’s, I did it by obligation, since we devoted the program Literature...
