Guest Blogger Justin Cahill shares his thoughts on John Thavis’ much talked about book The Vatican Diaries. What is it about large, hierarchical institutions that attracts so much interest? Is it their enormous wealth and power? The eccentricities of their leaders? When that leader is, in name at least, Jesus Christ, and its power are said to include universal salvation, such questions as... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Claire Scobie author of The Pagoda Tree 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 Newbury, England, and brought up near Oxford. We always lived about an hour from London so in my teens ... Read more

The story of Jock Palfreeman has captivated Australia. Booktopia’s Andrew Cattanach took a look at award-winning journalist Belinda Hawkins’ account of the harrowing story of a young Australian jailed for murder. Wrong place, wrong time. Some phrases are uttered so often in our daily lives that they lose their punch, struggling to convey the real horror behind them. Sometimes you ca... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Tim Fischer author of Holy See, Unholy Me and many 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 at Lockhart in the Riverina, south eastern Australia in 1946 as a baby boomer, and went to school at Boree Creek and Melbourne. I served in the Army before... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Aaron Patrick author of Downfall… 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 Perth and schooled in Melbourne and Geelong, where I went to high school. I studied an Arts degree, specializing in politics, at Melbourne University, and later did a Masters ... Read more

Love The Hunger Games? Love to get your creative juices flowing? Love winning things? Well you’re in luck, because The Hunger Games Series wants you to illustrate the first chapter of Catching Fire! For those not in the know, Catching Fire, is the second book in the series and the next movie to be released in the trilogy on November 22. You can use movie photos, screenshots from the trail... Read more

The first look at the latest installment in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy has been released today to frenzied excitement from Middle Earth fans around the globe. You can check out the trailer below, along with some questions you might have after watching it. 1) Should contractions be more encouraged in Middle Earth? It seems like a busy place and time and sentence delivery length cou... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Max Barry author of Lexicon, Machine Man and many 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 country Gippsland, Victoria. We moved around a little then returned for my high schooling. There isn’t much in country Gippsland for a teenager... Read more

The true identity of one of Australia’s bestselling erotic authors has been kept a closely guarded secret, until now . . . Industry rumours had been circling about intensely private author Natasha Walker since the 2012 release of the first book in The Secret Lives of Emma series until Booktopia’s John Purcell revealed Natasha Walker is a pseudonym and that he is the true voice behind this pheno... Read more

Mark Twain once said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” And before they became world famous novelists, these authors knew just the right kind… Read more