News from the UK: Costa book award: Andrew Miller wins for sixth novel, Pure

Posted on January 25, 2012 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

Vivid tale of life in pre-revolutionary Paris beats Matthew Hollis’s biography of Edward Thomas to £30,000 prize cheque writes Mark Brown in The Guardian A vividly told story of life in pre-revolutionary Paris on Tuesday won the 2011 Costa book award in what turned out to be a bitterly fought two-way tussle between fact and fiction. [...]

Filed under: Biography/Memoir, Literary Prizes, Historical Fiction, Book Recommendations | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Congratulations Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor, our 2012-2013 Australian Children’s Laureates

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Booktopia

Much-loved children’s authors Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor were announced on December 6th as the first Australian Children’s Laureates at the launch of the initiative in Adelaide. Both are talented and award-winning storytellers who bring a wealth of experience and creativity to the role – Alison as a renowned author and illustrator, and Boori [...]

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Jennifer Egan, author of A Visit from the Goon Squad, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Jennifer Egan author of A Visit from the Goon Squad, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, The Los Angeles Times Book Award and National Book Circle Critics Award Ten Terrifying Questions —————————————— 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? [...]

Filed under: Author Interview, Contemporary Literature, Literary Prizes | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

The 2011 Man Booker Prize goes to The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Posted on October 19, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

Word has just come in from the UK… The contenders for the Man Booker Prize this year have already divided the literary world. Some have said that the shortlisted books were too popular for the world’s most famous literary award. But readers have reacted well and sales of all the books have been strong. The [...]

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Man Booker Prize 2011 – There can be only one…

Posted on October 18, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

Any moment now word will come through from the UK… The winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2011 is… I have read only one of the contenders… shame on me … (I blame Murakami – 1Q84 is enormous and has monopolised all of my reading time) but that one contender was one of the [...]

Filed under: Contemporary Literature, Literary Prizes | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

2011 Nobel Prize for Literature goes to… who? Oh, I hear he’s big in Stockholm

Posted on October 8, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

This is the part of the story where I reveal that I have been reading the poetry of Tomas Tranströmer for years and entirely concur with The Swedish Academy’s reasoning behind awarding him the Nobel Prize for Literature for 2011 >> “because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality”. Obviously. Ummmm… [...]

Filed under: Literary Prizes, Poetry | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

2011 Man Booker Prize Shortlist

Posted on September 6, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

Two first time novelists make shortlist of six 6 September 2011 Julian Barnes, Carol Birch, Patrick deWitt, Esi Edugyan, Stephen Kelman and A.D. Miller are today, Tuesday 6 September, announced as the six shortlisted authors for the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. The judges’ selection includes two first time novelists – Stephen Kelman and [...]

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Alison Pick, author of Far To Go, answers Ten Terrifying Questions

Posted on August 22, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Alison Pick author of Far To Go, which has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011, Ten Terrifying Questions  ———————– 1.      To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself—where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Toronto, but my parents moved to [...]

Filed under: Author Interview, Contemporary Literature, Literary Prizes, Writing Style, Writing tips | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Take a closer look at the longlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize

Posted on July 27, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

This year’s Man Booker Prize longlist is an interesting and surprising selection of established and emerging writers. I have to admit that at first the 2011 Man Booker Prize longlist left me a little cold. I recognised a few of the names on the list but many of them were completely unfamiliar. Then I cast [...]

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Winners of the 2011 Australian Book Industry Awards

Posted on July 26, 2011 by John Purcell, The Booktopia Book Guru

What follows is a selection of the winners announced at last night’s awards ceremony. ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2011 WINNER: Bereft written by Chris Womersley, published by Scribe Publications It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia. Schools are closed, state borders are [...]

Filed under: Australian Author, Literary Prizes | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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