I know, I know, it’s been a long while since I’ve written one of these. All I can say is that it’s been a crazy couple of weeks in the book world, but there’s lots of exciting things on the horizon.
Let’s get right to it shall we?
(Just quickly, be sure to be on the lookout this week for the Booker Prize longlist announcement as well – around Thursday morning!)
Hachette to publish the Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award winner
Hachette Australia has acquired the rights to Kokomo by Victoria Hannan, the winning entry for the Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award of 2019. Kokomo tells the story of a young woman named Mina who returns home to Melbourne after discovering that her agoraphobic mother has left the house for the first time in twelve years.
Hachette Australia’s Group Publishing Director Fiona Hazard says, “Mina’s voice is unforgettable, and Victoria will become one of the most talked about debut authors of 2020. Kokomo is an exceptional novel about love, family and relationships and a perceptive commentary on our times.”
Winning the Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award is no small feat – it’s helped launch the careers of incredible authors such as Jane Harper, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Graeme Simsion, Christian White, and Melanie Cheng. So don’t be surprised if you see Victoria Hannan’s name popping up quite a bit over the next few years…
You can pre-order Kokomo (out July 2020) here.
Tade Thompson wins the 2019 Arthur C. Clarke Award
Tade Thompson’s novel Rosewater has won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, a prize awarded to the best science fiction novel published in the U.K. in the previous year.
Thompson’s novel is a classic alien invasion novel and the first in the Wormwood Trilogy, in which a telepath named Kaaro begins investigating a series of murders in a community living on the edge of an alien bio-dome with mysterious healing powers.
The Chair of judges Andrew M Butler said, “Alien invasion is always a political subject, and Tade Thompson… expertly explores the nature of the alien, global power structures and pervasive technologies with a winning combination of science fictional invention, gritty plotting, and sly wit.”
You can check out Rosewater here.
In case you missed it…
- The Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist was revealed.
- Last Saturday, 20 July, marked the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Our academic books specialist (and wannabe astronaut) Rob O’Hearn rounded up 4 books for kids and 4 books for adults that are all about the space race!
- Australia celebrated NAIDOC Week from 7-14 July – here are 8 books by Indigenous authors that you should check out.
- Romance Writers of Australia announced the finalists for the 2019 RuBY Awards!
- Reese Witherspoon announced her latest Book Club Pick, Whisper Network by Chandler Baker (read our review).
- Check out some of Jim Kay’s illustrations for the upcoming illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!
That’s it for this week – there’ll be plenty more bookish news coming your way soon so stay tuned!
About the Contributor
Olivia Fricot
Olivia Fricot (she/her) is Booktopia's Senior Content Producer and editor of the Booktopian blog. She has too many plants and not enough bookshelves, and you can usually find her reading, baking, or talking to said plants. She is pro-Oxford comma.
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Take a look at Jim Kay’s illustrations for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!
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