Posts Tagged ‘gideon haigh’

Inaugural John Button Prize longlist announced

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

The longlist for the inaugural John Button Prize, worth $20,000, has been announced.

The longlist features 31 titles, representing Australia’s best writing on politics and public policy in the past year. The entries could be books, essays, journalism, academia and speeches, and nearly 100 submissions were received.

Six titles will be shortlisted, and the winner will be announced at the inaugural John Button Lecture at the Melbourne Writers Festival on August 28th. The prize is judged by Bob Carr, Kerry O’Brien, Morag Fraser, Judith Brett and JM Coetzee.

Books on the longlist are:

    * To the Bitter End (Peter Hartcher, A&U)
    * Howard’s End: The Unravelling of a Government (Peter Van Onselen and Philip Senior, Melbourne University Publishing)
    * Black Politics (Sarah Maddison, A&U)
    * The Statute of Liberty (Geoffrey Robertson, Vintage)
    * Seven Seasons in Aurukun (Paula Shaw, A&U)
    * The Tall Man (Chloe Hooper, Hamish Hamilton)
    * The Life You Can Save (Peter Singer, Text)
    * A Question of Power (Michelle Schwarz, Black Inc.)
    * The Godfather (Quentin Beresford, A&U)
    * The Land of Plenty (Mark Davis, Melbourne University Publishing)
    * Tasmania’s Wilderness Battles (Greg Buckman, Jacana Books)
    * The Henson Case (David Marr, Text)
    * The Clean Industrial Revolution (Ben McNeil, A&U)
    * The Times Will Suit Them (Geoff Boucher and Matthew Sharpe, A&U)
    * Politics, Parties and Issues in Australia: An Introduction (Andrew Scott, Pearson SprintPrint)
    * The Racket: How Abortion Became Legal in Australia (Gideon Haigh, Melbourne University Publishing)
    * Blind Conscience (Margot O’Neil, UNSW Press)
    * Denial (Tony Taylor, Melbourne University Publishing).

See the article and essay longlist, plus more information about the Prize and the John Button Literary Foundation here.

Source: http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2009/07/12522/

This article from Thorpe Bowker’s Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2009, Thorpe-Bowker

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July Book Giveaway

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Another month, another giveaway. July’s is Ashes-tinged and filled to the brim for cricket fans and avid readers alike, so be sure to register HERE for your chance to win copies of:

Cricket Kings by William McInnes  SIGNED
Step into the lives of a team of regular middle-aged men who meet each week to play cricket in their local park. With these characters William will make us laugh and cry. And never again will we think that someone is just a regular bloke – everyone can be a king or a queen in their own suburb.

 

Glenn McGrath: Line and Strength by Glen McGrath SIGNED
From working the land in Narromine to winning cricket’s World Cup three times, Glenn McGrath has always faced life with fierce determination and an unerring will to succeed despite the odds. Now, following his retirement from international cricket, McGrath shares the story of his life – in cricket and off the field.
 

The Cricket War by Gideon Haigh SIGNED
It was the end of cricket as we knew it – and the beginning of cricket as we know it. In May 1977, the cricket world woke to discover that a businessman called Kerry Packer had signed 35 elite international players for his own televised World Series Cricket. The Cricket War is the definitive account of the split that changed the game on the field and on the screen. In helmets, under lights, with white balls, and in coloured clothes, the outlaw armies of Ian Chappell, Toney Greig and Clive Lloyd fought a daily battle of survival. In boardrooms and courtrooms Packer and cricket’s rulers fought a bitter war of nerves. A compelling account of the top-class sporting life, The Cricket War also gives a unique insight into the motives and methods of Australia’s richest man.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas SIGNED
A novel about the relationships between children and adults, and the new Australian multicultural middle-class from the controversial cult author of Loaded and Dead Europe.

 

 

 

Starting An Online Business For Dummies by Melissa Norfolk
Turn your dreams into profitable reality with this straightforward guide to setting up and running an online business. Including strategies to help you identify your market, set up a website and promote your business online.

 
Just Macbeth by Andy Griffiths
Take one Shakespearean tragedy: Macbeth, add Andy, Danny and Lisa the Just trio, whose madcap exploits have already delighted hundreds of thousands of readers for the last ten years. Mix them all together to create one of the most hilarious, most dramatic, moving stories of love, Whizz Fizz, witches, murder and madness. Ages 9+.

 

Brief Encounters: Literary travellers in Australia 1836-1939 by Susannah Fullerton
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, countless distinguished writers made the long and arduous voyage across the seas to Australia. They came on lecture tours and to make money, to sort out difficult children sent here to be out of the way for health, for science, to escape demanding spouses back home, or simply to satisfy a sense of adventure. In 1890, for example, Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife, Fanny, arrived at Circular Quay after a dramatic sea voyage only to be refused entry at the Victoria, one of Sydney’s most elegant hotels. Stevenson threw a tantrum, but was forced to go to a cheaper, less fussy establishment. Next day, the Victoria’s manager, recognising the famous author from a picture in the paper, rushed to find Stevenson and beg him to return. He did not. In Brief Encounters, Susannah Fullerton examines a diverse array of writers, including Charles Darwin, Rudyard Kipling, Stevenson, Anthony Trollope, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, DH Lawrence, Joseph Conrad, HG Wells, Agatha Christie and Jack London, to discover what they did when they got here, what their opinion was of Australia and Australians, how the public and media reacted to them, and how their future works were shaped or influenced by this country.

Good Night & God Bless: Volume One by Trish Clark
This is the modern traveller’s bible. Travellers and pilgrims seeking a unique experience can now uncover the ancient secrets of convents and monasteries around Europe. We reveal these atmospheric and affordable places that accommodate tourists or those pursuing a pilgrimage or spiritual retreat. Convents, monasteries and abbeys have always been places which generously welcome weary travellers. That tradition continues today and Goodnight & God Bless takes you on a tour of religious hideaways offering tourist and pilgrimage accommodation throughout Europe. Suitable for the traveller, the pious and the curious alike, this user-friendly travel guide provides invaluable information, travel tit-bits and anecdotes against a fascinating backdrop of history and religion.

Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart by Ashley Du Toit SIGNED
Enchanted by Bella, the Fairy of Pure Heart, Prince Arthur follows her into the immortal world. Angered by this, the powerful dragon Nemesis captures Arthur. To rescue her prince, Bella must complete the Great Dragon’s Hunt, and collect five magical tokens. As Bella and her butterfly friend Teague carry out her quest, they meet many mystical creatures, including a witch and a werewolf, elfins and leprechauns, and two very forgetful goblins.

A big thanks to our friends at Allen and Unwin, Pan Macmillan, Hachette, Random House, Melbourne University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Dragon Publishing and Paratus Press for supporting our monthly giveaway.

To go into the draw to win this month’s prize, complete the entry form HERE. Entries close 31 July, 2009. Don’t forget, it’s a monthly giveaway, so be sure to favourite that link and keep visiting every month. Please note, entrants will be automatically subscribed to our fortnightly Boomerang Books Bulletin e-newsletter.

… A bonus for our Facebook Friends

Need an incentive to join one of Australia’s largest book group on Facebook? Well, we have a great pack of books to give away to one of our Facebook Group members this month, which includes copies of Nemesis and the Fairy of Pure Heart by Ashley Du Toit (SIGNED), Mascot Madness! by Andy Griffiths and Good Night & God Bless: Volume One by Trish Clark.

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NSW Prem’s awards shortlists announced

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

The shortlists for the NSW Premier’s Awards have been announced, worth a total of $320,000.

In 2009, there were 640 entries received. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the awards, a People’s Choice prize has been added.

‘We wanted to do something special this year to help celebrate the anniversary of the awards, which were started by my predecessor Neville Wran in 1979,’ said NSW Premier and Minister for the Arts Nathan Rees.

Residents of NSW can vote for their favourite book from the titles shortlisted for the Christina Stead Award for Fiction until Monday May 11 at the award website. The People’s Choice winner will receive a unique trophy gifted by Dinosaur Designs at the winner’s presentation dinner on 18 May at the Art Gallery of NSW. The website this year also includes more interactive options for the public, such as synopses of the books, author interviews, and the ability to post their own reviews.

The shortlists for book-related categories of the awards are as follows:

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000) and nominees for the People’s Choice Award

    * The Spare Room (Helen Garner, Text)
    * The Lieutenant (Kate Grenville, Text)
    * Disquiet (Julia Leigh, Penguin)
    * The Good Parents (Joan London, Vintage)
    * A Fraction of the Whole (Steve Toltz, Penguin)
    * Breath (Tim Winton, Hamish Hamilton)

Douglas Stewart Prize for Nonfiction ($40,000)

    * Van Diemen’s Land (James Boyce, Black Inc.)
    * The Land I Came Through Last (Robert Gray, Giramondo)
    * The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island (Chloe Hooper, Hamish Hamilton)
    * Mother Land (Dmetri Kakmi, Giramondo)
    * An Exacting Heart: the Story of Hephzibah Menuhin (Jacqueline Kent, Viking)
    * Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All (Christina Thompson, Bloomsbury)

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000)

    * Unanimous Night (Michael Brennan, Salt)
    * The Balcony (David Brooks, UQP)
    * Aria (Sarah Holland-Batt, UQP)
    * Man Wolf Man (L K Holt, John Leonard Press)
    * A Shrine to Lata Mangeshkar (Kerry Leves, Puncher & Wattman)
    * The Australian Popular Songbook (Alan Wearne, Giramondo)

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000)

    * Crossing the Line (Dianne Bates, Ford Street)
    * A Brief History of Montmaray (Michelle Cooper, Random House)
    * Monster Blood Tattoo Book Two: Lamplighter (D M Cornish, Omnibus)
    * The Two Pearls of Wisdom (Alison Goodman, HarperCollins)
    * Sprite Downberry (Nette Hilton, HarperCollins)
    * My Candlelight Novel (Joanne Horniman, A&U)

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000)

    * The Word Spy (Ursula Dubosarsky, illus. Tohby Riddle, Penguin)
    * How to Heal a Broken Wing (Bob Graham, Walker Books)
    * Sadie and Ratz (Sonya Hartnett, illus. Ann James, Puffin)
    * Perry Angel’s Suitcase (Glenda Millard, illus. Stephen Michael King, ABC Books)
    * Nobody Owns the Moon (Tohby Riddle, Viking)
    * Tales from Outer Suburbia (Shaun Tan, A&U)

Community Relations Commission Award ($15,000)

    * Spinning the Dream: Assimilation in Australia 1950-1970 (Anna Haebich, Fremantle Press)
    * Australian Muslim Cameleers: Pioneers of the Inland 1860-1930s (Philip Jones and Anna Kenny, Wakefield Press)
    * An Exacting Heart: the Story of Hephzibah Menuhin (Jacqueline Kent, Viking)
    * East West 101: Chapter Five – Haunted by the Past (Michelle Offen, Knapman Wyld Television)
    * The Scots in Australia (Malcolm Prentis, UNSW Press)
    * Destination Australia: Migration to Australia Since 1901 (Eric Richards, UNSW Press)

Gleebooks Prize ($10,000)

    * Van Diemen’s Land (James Boyce, Black Inc.)
    * Quarterly Essay 31: Now or Never, a Sustainable Future for Australia? (Tim Flannery, Black Inc.)
    * The Racket: How Abortion Became Legal in Australia (Gideon Haigh, MUP)
    * The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island (Chloe Hooper, Hamish Hamilton)
    * Unfinished Business: Paul Keating’s Interrupted Revolution (David Love, Scribe)
    * The Secret War: A True History of Queensland’s Native Police (Jonathan Richards, UQP)

The NSW Premier’s Translation Prize ($30,000) and PEN Medallion

    * Harry Aveling
    * David Colmer
    * Alison Entrekin
    * Simon Patton
    * Kevin Windle.

The winners will be announced on Tuesday 18 May. For more information, including the play and screenwriting lists, or to vote for the People’s Choice, visit the website here.

Source: http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2009/03/11423/

This article from Thorpe Bowker’s Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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The Memory Room’ wins Waverley award

Thursday, November 27th, 2008

Christopher Koch has been awarded the 2008 CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature (‘The Nib’) for his novel The Memory Room (Vintage).

This is the first time in seven years that a work of fiction has won the prize, this year worth $20,000. The award ‘primarily recognises excellence in research and has attracted … renowned and respected authors’ said Waverley Mayor Sally Betts. This year 165 works were nominated–a record number.

The award judges found that for Christopher Koch ‘fascination lies in the nature of the psychological need which might propel a person into a life of espionage’, and the novel shows that he has ‘researched in convincing detail the actual operations of professional secret agents’.

Betts acknowledged the generous support of the Copyright Agency Limited, which has committed to support the award for the next three years.

The Nib’ has previously been won by Helen Garner, Gideon Haigh, Geoffrey Blainey, Barry Hill, Tim Low, and John Bailey.

Source: http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2008/11/10220/

This article from Thorpe Bowker’s Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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