Man Booker International Prize Finalist Profiles

Further to yesterday's post on the finalists for the Man Booker International Prize, The Guardian has posted profiles on each author by the judges. click on each author's name to read the profile.

• Wang Anyi (China)


• Juan Goytisolo (Spain)


• James Kelman (UK)


• John le Carré (UK)


• Amin Maalouf (Lebanon)


• David Malouf (Australia)


• Dacia Maraini (Italy)


• Rohinton Mistry (India/Canada)


• Philip Pullman (UK)


• Marilynne Robinson (USA)


• Philip Roth (USA)


• Su Tong (China)


• Anne Tyler (USA)

Happy Birthday Book Express

Our train station library service, Book Express is

8 years old

on Thursday.

Book Express offers books, CDs and DVDs for loan to Blue Mountains commuters at

Springwood Station on

Monday and Thursday mornings

from 6:30am to 8am

and at

Katoomba Station on

Tuesdays from 6am to 7:30am.

So if you use Book Express at Springwood Station tomorrow morning, say Happy Birthday to Rita who manages Book Express and is up at the crack of nothing, in all weathers to keep you happy and occupied as you travel to and from work.

Man Booker International Prize

The finalists for the Man Booker International Prize was announced in Sydney this morning by chair of the judges Rick Gekoski. The prize, awarded every two years, is worth £60,000 (AUD $93,247.40) to the winner and recognises the winner for his or her achievement in fiction. Eligible authors have published fiction either originally in English or their work is generally available in translation in the English language. The authors come from eight countries, five are published in translation and there are four women on the list.

The thirteen authors on the list are:

1. Wang Anyi (China)


2. Juan Goytisolo (Spain)


3. James Kelman (UK)


4. John le Carré (UK)


5. Amin Maalouf (Lebanon)


6. David Malouf (Australia)


7. Dacia Maraini (Italy)


8. Rohinton Mistry (India/Canada)


9. Philip Pullman (UK)


10. Marilynne Robinson (USA)


11. Philip Roth (USA)


12. Su Tong (China)


13. Anne Tyler (USA)

In announcing the finalists, Rick Gekoski said : ‘The 2011 List of Finalists honours thirteen great writers from around the world. It is, we think, diverse, fresh and thought-provoking, and serves to remind us anew of the importance of fiction in defining both ourselves and the world in which we live. Each of these writers is a delight, and any of them would make a worthy winner.'

However, shortly after the finalists were announced John le Carre's literary agents, Curtis Brown, issued the following statement on his behalf : "I am enormously flattered to be named as a finalist of 2011 Man Booker International Prize. However I do not compete for literary prizes and have therefore asked for my name to be withdrawn."

Rick Gekoski's response was : "John le Carré's name will, of course, remain on the list. We are disappointed that he wants to withdraw from further consideration because we are great admirers of his work."

The Man Booker International Prize winner will be announced at the Sydney Writers' Festival on 18 May 2011 and then celebrated at an awards ceremony in London on 28 June 2011.

Past winners of the Man Booker International Prize are Alice Munro (2009), Chinua Achebe (2007) and Ismail Kadare (2005).

Shaun Tan's Success Continues

Congratulations from us to Aussie author-illustrator Shaun Tan who has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award this year - which is proving to be a very successful one; Shaun Tan also he won the Oscar for best animated short film for The Lost Thing, based on his book of the same name. It is a 15-minute fable about a Melbourne boy who encounters an exotic creature above a laundromat and is narrated by Tim Minchin.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is named for the Swedish author who gave us one of my favourite childhood characters, Pippi Longstocking.

After her death in 2002 the award was established by the Swedish government to promote interest in children's and young adult literature. The award is presented to authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and those active in reading promotion work and may be presented to a single recipient or to several, regardless of language or nationality. It is the world's richest children's literature prize with 5 million Krona (AUD$765,500).

The jury’s citation reads: "Shaun Tan is a masterly visual storyteller, pointing the way ahead to new possibilities for picture books. His pictorial worlds constitute a separate universe where nothing is self-evident and anything is possible. Memories of childhood and adolescence are fixed reference points, but the pictorial narrative is universal and touches everyone, regardless of age. Behind a wealth of minutely detailed pictures, where civilization is criticized and history depicted through symbolism, there is a palpable warmth. People are always present, and Shaun Tan portrays both our searching and our alienation. He combines brilliant, magical narrative skill with deep humanism."

Tan has written and/or illustrated more than 20 books including The Rabbits (written by John Marsden), The Arrival and Tales from Outer Suburbia, which was hailed in the Guardian as possibly "the most beautiful book you'll see all year".

Take a look here at some examples of his work in The Guardian.

I'll share with you an amusing tale : One of the members of my book group, who I shall not name and shame, is a diligent attender but has never yet read any of the books in the group's history (we started in June 2007). In 2009 her book choice was The Arrival by Shaun Tan. It's a beautiful and poignant tale of the migrant experience, all told without words. She-who-shall-remain-nameless didn't even read that book!

As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong

As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong PUBLICATION DATE: 2009

No PAGES: 260

TIME PERIOD: 1905 - 1922

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: New Zealand, chiefly Wellington and Dunedin.

CATEGORY: Adult fiction. Historical fiction. New Zealand.

PLOT SUMMARY: The Wong brothers, Shun and Yung, own and run a fruit and vegetable shop in the Chinatown area of Wellington, in 1905. Shun, the elder, left Kwangtung to make a livelihood in New Zealand, his brother following after some time. The Chinese are just tolerated by the white locals, and subjected to frequent abuse. Katherine McKechnie lives not far away, with husband Donald and her son and daughter. Donald is cruel, sadistic, racist, using his power as wage-earner and head of the house to oppress the family, particularly his wife. His son idolises him, and absorbs his views and attitudes. One night Donald drowns, too drunk to save himself. Katherine is secretly elated, but finding enough money to feed and clothe the family is hard. This is when she begins to get to know Yung at the fruit shop. Yung has very little English, Katherine no Chinese. They communicate though – against a background of extreme prejudice.

REVIEW: It’s always a pleasure to read a novel by someone who uses confident and beautiful language. Wong is herself from a Chinese/New Zealand background but this is not her family’s story, it’s fiction – though she borrows the odd incident from life. I was fascinated to learn more about this Chinese diaspora, and horrified by the damage hatred is capable of inflicting. This is a strong and beautiful novel, absolutely recommended to book groups, for whom, at www.picador.com.au there are some focus questions.

REVIEWED BY: Alison.

Read It 2011 Online Discussion

Tonight there will be real time twitter discussion for #readit2011.

At 8pm (AEST) come online to talk about this month's #specfic. What titles did you enjoy reading?

To participate you will need a twitter account. Don't forget to use #specfic in your tweet. If you don't have a twitter account you can still watch the discussion by going to twitter search http://search.twitter.com/ and searching on #specfic.

For more information about #readit2011 go to http://readit2011.wordpress.com/

2010 Aurealis Awards finalists

The Aurealis Awards recognise excellence by Australian writers and editors for Speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, horror and all points in between.

Eligible works for the 2010 award have to be written by an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and have been published for the first time between 1 November 2009 and 31 December 2010.

There are a number of categories and here are the finalisists in each :

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)

• Grimsdon by Deborah Abela


• Halt’s Peril(The Ranger's Apprentice series, book 9) by John Flanagan


• The Vulture of Sommerset by Stephen M Giles


• The Keepers by Lian Tanner


• Haggis MacGregor and the Night of the Skull by Jen Storer & Gug Gordon

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)

• Night School written by Isobelle Carmody & illustrated by Anne Spudvilas


• Magpie written by Luke Davies & illustrated by Inari Kiuru


• The Boy and the Toy written by Sonya Hartnett & illustrated by Lucia Masciullo


• Precious Little written by Julie Hunt & Sue Moss & illustrated by Gaye Chapman


• The Cloudchasers written by David Richardson & illustrated by Steven Hunt

YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

• Inksucker by Aidan Doyle


• One Story, No Refunds by Dirk Flinthart


• A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan


• Nine Times by Kaia Landelius & Tansy Rayner Roberts


• An Ordinary Boy by Jen White

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

• Merrow by Ananda Braxton-Smith


• Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey


• The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett


• The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher by Doug MacLeod


• Behemoth (Leviathan Trilogy, book 2) by Scott Westerfeld

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL

• Shakespeare’s Hamlet by Nicki Greenberg


• EEEK!: Weird Australian Tales of Suspense by Jason Paulos et al


• Changing Ways Book 1 by Justin Randall


• Five Wounds: An Illustrated Novel by Jonathan Walker & Dan Hallett,


• Horrors: Great Stories of Fear and Their Creators by Rocky Wood & Glenn Chadbourne

BEST COLLECTION

• The Library of Forgotten Books by Rjurik Davidson


• Under Stones by Bob Franklin


• Sourdough and Other Stories by Angela Slatter


• The Girl With No Hands by Angela Slatter


• Dead Sea Fruit by Karon Warren

BEST ANTHOLOGY

• Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears edited by Angela Challis & Dr Marty Young


• Sprawl edited by Alisa Krasnostein


• Scenes from the Second Storey edited by Amanda Pillar & Pete Kempshall


• Godlike Machines edited by Jonathan Strahan


• Club Wings of Fire edited by Jonathan Strahan & Marianne S. Jablon

HORROR SHORT STORY

• Take the Free Tour byBob Franklin, Under Stones


• Her Gallant Needs by Paul Haines, Sprawl


• The Fear by Richard Harland, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears


• Wasting Matilda by Robert Hood, Zombie Apocalypse!


• Lollo by Martin Livings, Close Encounters of the Urban Kind

HORROR NOVEL

• After the World: Gravesend by Jason Fischer


• Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson


• Madigan Mine by Kirstyn McDermott

FANTASY SHORT STORY

• The Duke of Vertumn’s Fingerling by Elizabeth Carroll


• Yowie by Thoraiya Dyer, Sprawl


• The February Dragon by LL Hannett & Angela Slatter, Scary Kisses


• All the Clowns in Clowntown by Andrew McKiernan, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears


• Sister, Sister by Angela Slatter, Strange Tales III

FANTASY NOVEL

• The Silence of Medair by Andrea K Höst


• Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson


• Stormlord Rising by Glenda Larke


• Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier


• Power and Majesty by Tansy Rayner Roberts

SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

• The Heart of a Mouse by K.J. Bishop, Subterranean Online (Winter 2010)


• The Angaelian Apocalypse by Matthew Chrulew, The Company Articles Of Edward Teach/The Angaelian Apocalypse


• Border Crossing by Penelope Love, Belong


• Interloper by Ian McHugh, Asimovs (Jan 2011)


• Relentless Adaptations by Tansy Rayner Roberts, Sprawl

SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

• Song of Scarabaeous by Sara Creasy


• Mirror Space by Marianne de Pierres


• Transformation Space by Marianne de Pierres

The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Sydney on May 21.

What Library staff are reading . . .

• Minding Frankie ~ I enjoyed Maeve Binchy’s latest novel which is set in Dublin. This is a story about relationships and everyone has baby Frankie ‘s wellbeing in their minds. This novel grabs you the more you get into it


• I’m really enjoying Three cups of tea: one man’s mission to promote peace-one school at a time by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin ~ After Mortensen, a mountaineer, failed to climb K2, he arrived in a Pakistan village and was so moved by the warm heartedness of the villagers that he promised to return and build a school. I haven’t finished this biography yet but so far Mortensen hasn’t much money himself


• I had to read In My Skin by Kate Holden for book group ~ Kate turned to prostitution to feed her heroin addiction - the first 1/3rd was pretty gripping but there are only so many ‘client interaction’ descriptions this gal can take . . .


• I thought 1000 Years of Annoying the French by Stephen Clarke was going to be really annoying – and it is, but I also learned a fair bit too – it’s a bit Horrible Histories for adults


• I thought The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives was going to be great – it wasn’t, it is a really dense academic tome and no fun at all


• Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin is fabulous ~ a short time after the anti-segregation laws in the US Griffin, a white journalist, uses medication to turn his skin black and heads off to the deep south to see what life is really like as a black man


• I am currently slogging my way through Blindness by Jose Saramago ~ I think I’m enjoying it but I am completely distracted by the dense text – very few paragraph breaks, little punctuation and conversations that are presented all on the same line with only a comma and a capital letter to indicate a new speaker


• Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin ~ who remembers the wonderful Tales of the City series? This picks up a few years later ... and it is great to read what all my “friends” have been up to – I really missed them - http://www.armisteadmaupin.com/


• Soldiers Without Borders: Beyond the SAS by Ian McPhedran ~ an interesting read of what my life could have been like as an SAS wife. Thankfully my hubbie was not so keen to move to WA and pursue this life


• The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas ~ I was loathe to read this. I kept putting it off thinking it would be a book I would hate. I wish I had read it sooner now. The characters are real, gritty and Australian. I had real emotions about each of them – and not always good ones! The Slap reminded me at the beginning of a David Williamson play. A real snapshot of modern Australia. I also enjoyed the actor Alex Dimitriades reading the audio book which was how I “read” it. I must say though, I found each of the characters quite hard-going and actually would have enjoyed the book more if it was a short story that ended with the verdict after the court case


• Odd One Out by Monica McInerney ~ hooking into the 2011 Librarians Reading Challenge – the theme for February month was Romance


• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling ~ continuing on my Talking Book journey of Harry Potter with Stephen Fry


• Crazy Age : thoughts on being old by Jane Miller ~ Enjoyable read for those of us of a certain age whose end game seems to be hurtling ever closer. With an acceptance of the world in which the 78 year old Miller finds herself she manages to convey that there is more to ageing than frailty and loneliness. Miller is a retired English professor; her husband founded the London Review of Books, so there is a real literary feel with references throughout to characters in books and the fact that literature reflects life. If that’s not your thing (and some of it was a bit too much for me) you won’t enjoy the book. No solutions - well there couldn’t be could there - just reflections on what it’s like, how it feels and a sense that it might be interesting


• A very private murder by Stuart Pawson ~ Decided to give myself a real change of scenery and read a detective and mystery novel. Am I enjoying it? Yes, but I keep feeling that I am in the middle of a DVD or that I missed the end of a TV show – then I have to remind myself that I’ve a book to finish


• David Sedaris Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk ~ Great fun, see my review in RITM


• Peter Behrens The Law of Dreams ~ It’s 1846, and the potato blight is causing widespread starvation in Ireland. Young Fergus, starving with the rest, escapes to make a new life, with variable success. Behrens’ writing is glorious: intense, terse, accessible


• Gregory Day The Patron Saint of Eels ~ I love writers who show me my own country, (in this case the area south of Geelong, near the Otway Ranges) in quirky, imaginative fiction


• Randy Frost and Gail Steketee Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things ~ Do you know any serious hoarders? This book will help you understand them


• And for light relief: Monica McInerny Greetings from Somewhere Else ~ A young Australian woman is transplanted to Ireland for a year


• Kerry Greenwood The Castlemaine Murders ~ another of Greenwood’s very readable whodunits set in country Victoria in the twenties


• The cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway ~ It was a fictional tale of the lives of several people in the city of Sarajevo during the siege/war/civil conflict. Lovely


• I am just about to finish Trudi Canavan The Ambassador mission (first in a fantasy fiction trilogy)


• I have slogged my way through Jose Saramago Blindness, the jury is out on it.


• I’m also half way through Michelle Moran Nefertiti and I’m enjoying it, if the ff hadn’t come along it would be finished by now.


• I’m about to start Raymond Feist Rides a dread legion


• I did start David Astle Puzzled but I kept picking it up and putting it down and then had to return it because it was reserved. I must read it because it should help me with his cryptic crossword which is the only one I can’t do in the SMH through the week


• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson - Despite my frustration over the never-ending paragraphs on the characters’ grocery lists, I am persisting! My mum has just finished this one (darn! She beat me) and she said she feels a little forlorn without it, so my slower pace is maybe a good thing


• I also started Lucky. Alice Sebold’s slightly depressing autobiography. After the initial shock over the frank way in which she relates the rape, I’m hoping things will look up (maybe a more inspiring ending?)

Family Workshop @ Springwood

Diagram Prize winner

The winner of the 2011 Diagram Prize for the Oddest Titles has been won by a book that advises dentists to manage their practices according to the leadership techniques of legendary Mongolian warlord Ghengis Khan. Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way by Michael R Young absolutely blitzed the opposition in the online vote at thebookseller.com.

Horace Bent, The Bookseller's diarist and custodian of the Diagram Prize said: "In the end, it wasn't even close. Much like the tyrant himself, Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way ruthlessly slaughtered the opposition, and scored twice as many votes as the runner-up."

The share of votes among the shortlist was as follows:

• Managing a Dental Practice the Genghis Khan Way - 58%


• 8th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium Proceedings - Papers on the development and application of friction stir welding presented at the symposium held in Lübeck, Germany, in May 2010 - 24%


• What Color Is Your Dog? - Hollywood dog trainer's dog training method - 8%


• The Italian's One-night Love-child - House-sitter gets pregnant with a billionaire's baby after one night of passion - 4%


• Myth of the Social Volcano - Perceptions of inequality and distributive injustice in contemporary China - 3%


• The Generosity of the Dead - An examination of the ongoing debate surrounding organ procurement - 3%

Goodreading magazine online

The April edition of the wonderful Goodreading magazine is now available online here - all you have to do is enter your Blue Mountains Library card number and you're in.

This month there's an interview with Jean Auel about her wildly popular Earth's Children series, gift ideas for Mother's Day, another with Joanne W Jones, Peter Corris and Fiona McCallum. This month's literatary destination is Cornwall (mmmm clotted cream)

And then there are the regular features, Your Say, Books of the Month, Book Trivia as well as reviews and competitions.

The 'hardcopy' is also available from Springwood, Blaxland and Wentworth Falls Libraries. If you haven't already dipped into this magazine, make this the month you do.

Look at the National Library of Australia

As part of Enlighten Canberra held this month in the capital, the NLA got a makeover. . . How cool is that?!

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/41034938@N03/5524856499/ See more here: Canberra buildings in a whole new light - ABC Canberra - Australian Broadcasting Corporation. PeeCee

New to the Library's delicious account

National Library of Australia e-Books The National Library of Australia's electronic books (eBooks) are available as free downloads

A History of Aboriginal Sydney This site is intended for use in schools, especially in Sydney, by Aboriginal families and organisations, by the non-Indigenous people of Sydney who wish to know and share more of the lives and achievements of Australia's first peoples.

Data Australia Australian government public information datasets

Open Library Free access to more than 1,000,000 ebooks

Calendar of Cultural and Religious Dates This calendar lists key cultural and religious events, festivals and national days. From the Australian Governemnt Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) Portal A virtual music library providing free access to scores and recordings. Over 5,000 composers and 87,000 scores.

MyNite Information about safe partying for young people. ‘mynite’ provides a basic summary of some of the most relevant laws that apply to young people and their friends when they are out having fun. NSW Police force website. Inside A Dog The Dog is a place for teens to find great reads and share your thoughts via reviews, blogs and book clubs. Read about an author’s process with a new guest Writer in Residence each month, create your own reader profile or discuss the latest news in youth literature

Take a minute to check these bookmarks out, when you get the chance!

PeeCee

More Painting & decorating eggs with Naomi

Painting & decorating eggs with Naomi

Easter Art with Naomi

More Clay FUN with Jane

Clay FUN with Jane

Alison's Picks - March 2011

Emma Donoghue: Room

Jonathan Franzen: Freedom

Muriel Spark: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Robertson Davies: The Merry Heart: reflections on books, art, writing, morality and magic

"Happy Easter" School Holiday Program

Stephen Fry on Language

NSW Premier's Literary Award Shortlists 2011

These numerous Awards "help to establish values and standards in Australian literature and draw international attention to some of the country's best writers and to the cultural environment that nurtures them" (NSW Premier's Literary Awards website).


Christina Stead Prize for Fiction

• Peter Carey - Parrot and Olivier In America
• Stephen Daisley - Traitor
• Lisa Lang - Utopian Man
• Alex Miller - Lovesong
• Kristel Thornell - Night Street
• Ouyang Yu - The English Class

Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction

• Malcolm Fraser And Margaret Simons - Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs
• Anna Krien - Into the Woods: The Battle for Tasmania's Forests
• Tony Moore - Death or Liberty: Rebels and Radicals Transported to Australia 1788-1868
• Ranjana Srivastava - Tell Me The Truth: Conversations With My Patients About Life And Death
• Maria Tumarkin - Otherland
• Brenda Walker - Reading By Moonlight: How Books Saved a Life

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry

• Susan Bradley Smith - Supermodernprayerbook
• Andy Jackson - Among the Regulars
• Jill Jones - Dark Bright Doors
• Anna Kerdijk Nicholson - Possession
• Andy Kissane - Out to Lunch
• Jennifer Maiden - Pirate Rain

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature

• Michelle Cooper - The FitzOsbornes in Exile: The Montmaray Journals - 2
• Cath Crowley - Graffiti Moon
• Kirsty Eagar - Saltwater Vampires
• Belinda Jeffrey - Big River, Little Fish
• Melina Marchetta - The Piper's Son
• Jaclyn Moriarty - Dreaming of Amelia
  

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature

• Jeannie Baker - Mirror
• Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood - Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House
• Cassandra Golds - The Three Loves of Persimmon
• John Heffernan - Where There's Smoke
• Sophie Masson - My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kelly
• Emma Quay - Shrieking Violet
  

Community Relations Commission Award

• Ali Alizadeh - Iran: My Grandfather
• Anh Do - The Happiest Refugee
• Maria Tumarkin - Otherland
• Ouyang Yu - The English Class
• Yuol Yuol, Akoi Majak, Monica Kualba - My Name is Sud
  

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing
Award sponsored wholly by the University of Technology, Sydney.

• Stephen Daisley - Traitor
• Ashley Hay - The Body in the Clouds
• Lisa Lang - Utopian Man
• David Musgrave - Glissando: A Melodrama
• Kristel Thornell - Night Street
• Gretchen Shirm - Having Cried Wolf
  

Play Award

• Patricia Cornelius - Do Not Go Gentle...
• Jonathan Gavin - Bang
• Jane Montgomery Griffiths - Sappho...In 9 Fragments
• Melissa Reeves - Furious Mattress
• Sue Smith - Strange Attractor
• Anthony Weigh - Like a Fishbone
  

Script Writing Award

• Shirley Barrett - South Solitary
• Glen Dolman - Hawke
• Michael Miller - The Hero's Standard
• John Misto - Sisters of War
• Debra Oswald - Offspring
• Samantha Strauss - Dance Academy, Episode 13: Family
  

People's Choice Award

• Vote in the 2011 People's Choice Award by clicking here!
  

New South Wales Premier's Translation Prize

• 2011 shortlisted writers will be announced shortly.
  

Man Booker in Sydney

How exciting for our neck of the woods!

The University of Sydney will host the press conference to announce the Judges' list of finalists for the Man Booker International Prize on 30th March, and the winner will be announced at the Sydney Writers' Festival on 18th May.

Worth £60,000 to the winner, the Man Booker International Prize is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.

The winner is chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel; there are no submissions from publishers. Alice Munro won in 2009, Chinua Achebe in 2007 and Ismail Kadaré the inaugural prize in 2005.

There is a separate award for translation and, if applicable, the winner can choose a translator of his or her work into English to receive a prize of £15,000.

Miles Franklin Literary Award Longlist

The 2011 longlist for the Miles Franklin Literary Award was announced yesterday.

'The Miles Franklin Literary Award celebrates Australian character and creativity and nurtures the continuing life of literature about Australia. It is awarded for the novel of the year which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases.

Since it was first awarded in 1957 to Patrick White for his novel Voss, the award has encouraged authors and delivered an immense contribution to the richness of Australian cultural life' (The Trust Company).

The Miles Franklin Literary Award is Australia's most prestigious literary prize and comes with $50,000 prize money.


The 2011 Miles Franklin Literary Award Longlist, chosen from the 55 books that were submitted for this year's award.

• Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer


• The Good Daughter by Honey Brown


• The Mary Smokes Boys by Patrick Holland


• The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta


• When Colts Ran by Roger McDonald


• Time's Long Ruin by Stephen Orr


• That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott


• The Legacy Kirsten Tranter


• Bereft by Chris Womersley

To read more about the longlist novels and their authors, click on this link.

The Shortlist is due to be announced on 19 April 2011

Orange Prize 2011 Longlist

Now in its sixteenth year, the Orange Prize for Fiction is the UK's most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman. The longlist has been announced and the titles are listed below. The shortlist will be announced on 12th April and then the winner be announced on 8th June. The winner will receive a cheque for £30,000 at a ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Here is the longlist:

• Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela


• Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch


• Room by Emma Donoghue


• The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi


• Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty


• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan


• The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna


• The London Train by Tessa Hadley


• Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson


• The Seas by Samantha Hunt


• The Birth of Love by Joanna Kavenna


• Great House by Nicole Krauss


• The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone


• The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht


• The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer


• Repeat it Today with Tears by Anne Peile


• Swamplandia! by Karen Russell


• The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin


• The Swimmer by Roma Tearne


• Annabel by Kathleen Winter
  

Make an Informed Decision on Election Day

Information about the election (candidates, polling places, boundaries...):

• NSW State election 2011 Information about enrolments, early voting, candidates and parties, polling places, voting assistance in your language
• Electoral Commission NSW Information about enrolments, levels of government, electoral boundaries, NSW electoral history, voting and counting systems
• NSW Parliament 2011 State Election page Information on members and expiry of terms of service, electoral areas, research papers
  

How parliament works and the election process:

• Hot Topics No 34: Voting and elections
• Hot Topics No 21: Parliament
• Hot Topics No 60: Australian Legal System
• Government in NSW, from the NSW Parliament web site
• Electing the Parliament, from the NSW Parliament web site
• Preferential voting system, from the Electoral Council of Australia web site
  

In the News

• The ABC NSW Votes 2011 page, links to Anthony Green's page
  

Indie Book Award Winners

Entrants for the Indie Book Awards are nominated by independent booksellers across Australia. Winners are awarded in four categories (Fiction, Non-fiction, Debut Fiction and Children's) and then an overall winner for Indie Book of the Year is chosen.

The winner of the 2011 Indie Book of the Year is comedian and TV personality, Anh Do, for his memoir, The Happiest Refugee which won the Best Non-fiction Book Award also. It is the first time a non-fiction book has won Indie Book of the Year.

In The Happiest Refugee Anh Do tells the incredible, uplifting and inspiring life story of his family's flight to Australia from Vietnam which they escaped in an overcrowded boat. They endured pirates, starvation, disease and dehydration as they drifted for days only to find life in Australia was hard with hand me down clothing, over-crowded accommodation, not to mention the difficulties of adjusting to a new language and a new culture.

Best Fiction Book of the Year is Bereft by Chris Womersley

Shortlisted were Indelible Ink by Fiona McGregor, When Colts Ran by Roger McDonald and That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott

Best Non-fiction Book of the Year is The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do

Shortlisted were How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly, The Well at the World's End by A.J.Mackinnon and Street Fight in Naples by Peter Robb

Best Debut Fiction Book of the Year is Rocks in the Belly by Jon Bauer

Shortlisted were Book of Lost Threads by Tess Evans, The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter and The Old School by P.M.Newton

Best Children’s Book of the Year is Mirror by Jeannie Baker

Shortlisted were Museum of Thieves: The Keepers Book 1 by Lian Tanner, The Very Bad Book by Andy Griffiths and The Legend of the Golden Snail by Graeme Base

100 Books Everyone Should Read

This is a lovely word cloud of the 100 books everyone should read from The Guardian online

The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence

The Elephant Whisperer: Learning About Life, Loyalty And Freedom From A Remarkable Herd Of Elephants by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence

London Sidgwick & Jackson 2009.

Summary : When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of 'rogue' elephants on his reserve at Thula Thula, his commonsense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival. This book is a charming, moving account of his race to save the herd. (Source : Angus and Robertson)

Review : I loved this book. It took me into a world that I could only hope to experience. Part memoir, part collection of anecdotes, each chapter of The Elephant Whisperer contains a different and generally exciting story about Anthony, the team at Thula Thula, and the herd.

Lawrence Anthony has a story to tell that will fill hearts with exhilaration, joy, as well as sadness and exasperation. He really reveals the depth of elephants in a way that only one who has spent considerable time and love on them can.

A great read.

Reviewed by : Carolyn

The time for Libraries is NOW

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

The time for Libraries is NOW

View more presentations from Ned Potter.

Harmony Day 2011

Harmony Day is celebrated around Australia on 21 March each year. It's a day where all Australians celebrate our cultural diversity.

The message for Harmony Day in 2011 is that Everyone Belongs, which means all Australians are a welcome part of our country, regardless of their background.

Blue Mountains Library branches will have displays, ribbons and stickers promoting Harmony Day.

At Springwood Library there will be a morning tea to accompany an Harmony Day display.

Join us at Springwood Library from 10:30am.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You

This review is by Library user, Joy, in one of our The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You journals.

The Rose Notes by Andrea Mayes

Review : An Australian writer writing about life in a country town in the Riverina area.

I got angry with the old man, her father, but realised as the book progressed that he was just unsure and frightened he would be left alone. A great insight into the individual characters in the book.

She has written other books which are in this library I hope as I will read them in the near future. - Shearwater is one of them.




Look out for The Good, The Bad, The Ugly : Reviewed by You in your library and add your own review

Fantasy Stamps

I had to read a Fantasy book for a Seminar at the State Library on Fantasy fiction which I attended yesterday.

I scoured the shelves at Springwood Library for something slim but those fantasy guys and girls all write enormous tomes. My son suggested one of his favourite authors, Terry Pratchett, and handed me Sourcery. And I tried. Gave up at p58 (which is a few more pages than I managed with Ursula Le Guin). I loved the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and they were the first set of chapter books I bought my sons (when they were 4 or five months old) but I've lost the art of fantasy as an adult.


Anyway, seems all sorts are getting into fantasy, including the Royal Mail in Britain. They are releasing a set of beautiful stamps with characters from Harry Potter, Discworld and The Narnia Chronicles. Have a look at the gallery the Guardian has put up by clicking here.


I notice that one of the stamps is of Rincewind. Him I know because, on my way to p.58, I'd read p.17 and there he was : "Rincewind, as honorary assistant librarian, hadn’t progressed much beyond basic indexing and banana-fetching, and he had to admire the way the Librarian ambled, among the quivering shelves, here running a black-leather hand over a trembling binding, here comforting a frightened thesaurus with a few soothing simian murmurings."

I love the idea of a soothing a frightened thesaurus. Anyone got any other favourite quotes about Libraries or Librarians?

Squirrel seeks Chipmunk: a wicked bestiary by David Sedaris

Squirrel seeks Chipmunk: a wicked bestiary by David Sedaris, illustrated by Ian Falconer
London Little, Brown 2010 159 pages

Time Period : Contemporary
Geographical Area : New York, sort of.
Category : Adult fiction; Humour; American Fiction.

Plot Summary : This is a collection of sixteen urban fables with such titles as ‘The Cat and the Baboon’, ‘The Mouse and the Snake’, ‘The Sick Rat and the Healthy Rat.’ Animal stories, right? But these animals speak, act and emote like 21st century human beings, while retaining the essential qualities of the animal they in fact are. They are clearly all thinly-disguised characters David Sedaris has come across in his life and work as a writer/journalist. The Baboon, for instance, is a gossipy hairdresser who strives to flatter a toey customer, digging himself ever deeper with a growing sense of ennui. The Pot-Bellied Pig endured taunts about his weight when younger, and now has a neurotic sensitivity to seeing his name in print.

Review : David Sedaris fans won’t have to be talked into reading this one. Sedaris is such an entertaining satirist of his culture. I can do no better than to give you a quote.
Conversation between two lab rats, one of whom is slowly expiring from the HIV virus with which he has been injected. His newly arrived female roommate says, “I’m sorry to say it, but if you have a terminal illness it’s nobody’s fault but your own.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s nice to believe that these sicknesses just befall us,” she said. “We blame them on our environment and insist that they could happen to anyone, but in truth we bring them on ourselves with hatefulness and negativity.”
“So this is my fault?”
“Oh I think that’s been proven,” the female said. “You might not have realized how negative you were being. Maybe you were passive-aggressive…”
You get the picture? There are some people who should never be allowed to die, and David Sedaris is one of them.

Reviewed by : Diamantina

Carolyn's Books of the Month - March 2011

Best read : The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony

Thriller : Trick of the Dark by Val McDermid

General Fiction : The Second-Last Woman in England by Maggie Joel

Saga/Romance : Stolen by Lesley Pearse

Australian Author : The Delta by Tony Park

Crime : Body Work by Sara Paretsky and Worth Dying For by Lee Child

Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2011 Regional Winners

The regional prize winners of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers' Prize were announced a couple of days ago and here they are:

Africa

Best Book : The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)
Best First Book : Happiness is a four-letter word by Cynthia Jele (South Africa)

Caribbean and Canada
Best Book : Room by Emma Donoghue (Canada)
Best First Book : Bird Eat Bird by Katrina Best (Canada)

South Asia and Europe
Best Book : The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (UK)
Best First Book : Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller (UK)

South East Asia and Pacific
Best Book : That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott (Australia)
Best First Book : A Man Melting by Craig Cliff (New Zealand)

The overall winners of Best Book and Best First Book will be announced on 21 May. Read the shortlist here.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You

This review is by Library user, S. Aldridge, in one of our The Good, the Bad, the Ugly : Reviewed by You journals.

Witch's Sabbath by J.M. Gregson (Severn House Mystery) No.10 in the Inspector Peach series.

Plot Summary : A body is found in a ruin in the Lake District. There are a few suspects, including the members of a modern coven. But all is not what it seems . . .

Review : This was marvellous, a good mystery with an unusual, funny and engaging detective. The plot moved along well and kept you interested.


Look out for The Good, The Bad, The Ugly : Reviewed by You in your library and add your own review