The Booktopia Book Guru asks Lincoln Peirce author of Big Nate in the Zone, the Big Nate series and more Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born in Ames, Iowa, but by the time I was six months old my family had moved to Durham, New Hampshire. So I consider Durham my hometow... Read more

As an avid reader with ambitions to one day become a broke writer, you tend look at stories differently. Rather like a butcher eating a steak. The pleasure isn’t only in the meal itself, but the cut and the consistency of the meat. You don’t just appreciate the story, but also the construction, the character development, and the sleight of hand an author might use to explore themes.... Read more

Grab a copy of Slaves of Socorro here Slaves of Socorro Brotherband Series : Book 4 by John Flanagan Return to the seafaring world of Hal and his intrepid ship’s crew in the fourth book of John Flanagan’s epic Brotherband series. When the Heron brotherband become the Skandian duty ship to the Kingdom of Araluen, they’re excited at the challenges ahead. Hal, Stig, Thorn and the... Read more

Around six million Jews died in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis. After reading Eva Slonim’s heartbreaking memoir, Gazing at the Stars, to throw a figure like that around seems careless. Europe’s Jewish population, of which two-thirds died in those years, were not just a faceless crowd of statistics. They were mothers, daughters, teachers, doctors, sons, fathers and decorated... Read more

For the uninitiated,  May the Fourth is International Star Wars Day. The pun, largely credited as the greatest pun of all time, was first used in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party placed an advertisement in the London Evening News after her election win that stated “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations,” May 4th wasn’t observed as a holiday,... Read more

Booktopia’s John Purcell sat down with 2014 Stella Prize winner Clare Wright to talk about her new book and of course her big win. The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright Winner of the 2014 Stella Prize The Eureka Stockade. The story is one of Australia’s foundation legends, but until now it has been told as though only half the participants were there. What if the hot-tempered, fr... Read more

Clare Wright visited Booktopia today fresh from her Stella Prize win last night at a ceremony in Sydney. She posed alongside Booktopia Book Guru John Purcell with copies of her incredible new book The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. It looks as though last night’s festivities had no effect on the acclaimed writer and historian, as she threw in one of history’s finest photo pranks on her... Read more

A new The Fault in Our Stars trailer has just been released!!!!! Grab a copy of The Fault in Our Stars here The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Su... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Maxine Beneba Clarke author of Foreign Soil Ten Terrifying Questions ____________ 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled? I was born and raised in Sydney, schooled in Sydney’s outer West (Kellyville and Baulkham Hills), before going to University on the South Coast (Wollongong). But now my hom... Read more

Melbourne writer, historian and broadcaster Clare Wright has won the second annual Stella Prize for her groundbreaking work The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. The book was previously named as one of Booktopia’s Books of the Year for 2013. Kerryn Goldsworthy, chair of the 2014 Stella Prize judging panel: The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka sheds a bright new light on a dark old Australian story. I... Read more