Belarusian investigative journalist and prose writer Svetlana Alexievich has won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature! Alexievich is one of the world’s most acclaimed investigative journalists, also writing narratives from interviews with witnesses to the most dramatic events in the country, such as World War II, Soviet-Afghan war, fall of the Soviet Union, and Chernobyl disaster, of which... Read more

Andrew Cattanach has a brand new bag… It all started when listening to The Grantland Podcast. Grantland is a US sports/culture website usually frequented by lots of people like me. Young(ish) hipster(ish) sporty(ish) culturally aware(ish) folks who enjoy quality long-form journalism. They also do podcasts (Fun Fact: we do as well) which, along with audiobooks, keep me company on my long d... Read more

October at Booktopia means Booktoberfest. So….what is Booktoberfest? Andrew Cattanach answers all your questions… Hello everyone. Thanks for being here. Firstly, thank you for coming to this Q&A about Booktoberfest. You, in the back, wearing lederhosen and drinking a 5L mug of beer, I think you’re in the wrong room. Booktoberfest is Booktopia’s month long celebration... Read more

One of Australia’s most acclaimed actors, Toni Collette, has joined the cast of the upcoming film adaptation of Jasper Jones. Collette joins Levi Miller, Angourie Rice and Aaron McGrath as headliners for the long awaited production of Craig Silvey’s seminal 2010 novel. Jasper Jones will be directed by Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Day, Redfern Now, Mabo) and produced by David Jowsey (Too... Read more

 The Booktopia Book Guru asks Martyna Angell author of The Wholesome Cook 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 Poland and real food was always part of my upbringing. I grew up in and around Warsaw, the capital, and the city’s food scene was an interesting mixture ... Read more

Australia crime writing superstar Michael Robotham has won the prestigious British Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for the best crime novel of the year. A longtime Booktopia favourite, Michael beat the likes of Stephen King, Belinda Bauer and J.K. Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith).   “For all the fact that it’s lovely to have commercial success, to sell lots of... Read more

Today marks the birthday of the late great Jim Henson, the kid from Greenville, Mississippi who would go on to entertain millions worldwide as the creative force behind The Muppets and Sesame Street. While Sesame Street continues its remarkable run – 2015 marks its 46th year on the air – The Muppets have found their way back into the public’s consciousness thanks to the 2011 D... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Elizabeth Gilbert author of Big Magic, Eat Pray Love and much 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? Born and raised in the Berkshires Hills, in Connecticut, on my family’s Christmas tree farm. I grew up around goats and chickens and gardens a... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Mireille Juchau author of The World Without Us 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 Sydney, raised in Fiji, England, New Zealand and Australia. My primary schooling was in Castle Hill, in Sydney’s Bible belt. Religion was entirely mysteri... Read more

Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti are all big names in the book world in their own right. But when we heard about them joining forces to write a book together, we kind of freaked out. This is a big deal, and we were lucky enough to have all of them visit Booktopia HQ to sign copies of their new book Zeroes and record a podcast with our Queen of YA Sarah. The Podcast will be ... Read more