Booktopia would like to congratulate Anna Funder for winning the 2012 Miles Franklin Literary Award with All That I Am… Congratulations! [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yCr6cigqMo&rel=0] THE WINNER: Anna Funder – All That I Am Ruth Becker, defiant and cantankerous, is living out her days in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. She has made an uneasy peace with the ghosts of h... Read more

THE SHORTLIST: Tony Birch – Blood From the moment he saw her, wrapped in a blanket at the hospital, Jesse knew that he’d be the one to look after his little sister, Rachel. Mum was always on the move and always bringing home trouble. When his mum’s appetite for destruction leads the little family into the arms of Ray Crow, beneath the charm and charisma, Jesse sees the broodin... Read more

From where I sit the 2012 Miles Franklin Literature Award longlist seems right. The names I expected to see are listed, Elliot Perlman, Kate Grenville, Gail Jones, Alex Miller, as are some of the names I hoped to see, Charlotte Wood, Charlotte Wood and Charlotte Wood. There are a few disastrous exclusions,  though. The Life by Malcolm Knox, for one. Kylie Ladd’s Last Summer, is another. A... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Gillian Mears author of Foal’s Bread Ten Terrifying Questions ————————– 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? Lismore Base Hospital, northern NSW. One of my earliest memories is of being taken to see the Richmond in flood. When my f... Read more