Literature
Marred by controversy, the Philip Roth biography is a spectacular own goal
Allegations of sexual assault and impropriety against Blake Bailey make it hard to read his life of Philip Roth in the way biographer and subject may have originally intended.
- by James Ley
Latest
With The Pursuit of Love, the Mitfords became the Kardashians of their day
In her hit comic novel, Nancy Mitford reinvented her damaged, despicable family as adorable oddballs – and pioneered “structured reality”.
- by Iona McLaren
‘No more bingo!’ How creative writing is telling the true story of loneliness in old age
A unique collaboration between a Miles Franklin award-winning author and an academic is helping more people understand how aged care residents experience ‘the worst bloody feeling in the world’.
- by Jewel Topsfield
Inside the home that’s part of Australia’s literary history
Within these state heritage-listed walls, Ethel Turner penned what was to become Australia’s most popular children’s book, Seven Little Australians.
- by Tim Barlass
Exclusive
City life
‘A very prestigious location’: 350-seat auditorium to go under State Library reading room
The Mitchell Library has been awarded further funding for a new underground auditorium and photography gallery.
- by Linda Morris
When sudden loss tips you off the straight, narrow and boring
Ella Baxter’s first novel follows the experiences of a funeral parlour cosmetician who experiences grief for the first time.
- by Thuy On
A self-described troublemaker, Kate Jennings was one of our finest writers
The writer, who died last week, is remembered by Elliot Perlman for her searing honesty and incisive writing.
- by Elliot Perlman
Pulitzer winner’s timely, tender response to solitude in the city
Jhumpa Lahiri’s new novel Whereabouts is poem-like in its patterning, intensity and pulse.
- by Felicity Plunkett
At Clunes it’s country versus town and everyone against Covid
Clunes’ annual festival returned but with some significant differences.
- by Jane Sullivan
The stories behind the people who wielded the blue pencils
Australian publishing has had its fair share of charismatic editors, as Craig Munro reveals in Literary Lion Tamers.
- by Susan Wyndham
Non-fiction: The Shortest History of China and three other titles
Linda Jaivin has a terrific eye for telling detail in her entertaining history of China.
- by Steven Carroll