Amy Winehouse needs no introduction. A critically acclaimed recording artist, she touched millions with her music during her short but extraordinary life. Following her tragic death in July 2011, Mitch Winehouse wants to tell her incredible story in full. AMY, MY DAUGHTER will take the reader through her mischievous early years, her rise to stardom and to her much publicised struggles with addi... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Barbara Arrowsmith-Young author of The Woman Who Changed Her Brain: And Other Inspiring Stories of Pioneering Brain Transformation Ten Terrifying Questions —————————————– 1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?... Read more

The Orange Prize for Fiction Shortlist 2012 Esi Edugyan – Half Blood Blues This is a new part of an old story: 1930s Berlin, the threat of imprisonment and the powerful desire to make something beautiful despite the horror. Chip told us not to go out. Said, don’t you boys tempt the devil. But it been one brawl of a night, I tell you. The aftermath of the fall of Paris, 1940. Hierony... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Laura Buzo author of Holier Than Thou and Good Oil 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 Darlinghurst, Sydney, in 1978, the second of three daughters although my younger sister didn... Read more

I had promised to post a new set of three authors offering writing tips every Friday evening but this is the second third fourth time in a row I have forgotten to do so. Hmmm… Maybe I should just promise to post every Saturday? Or even better, forgo the promise… I know what I’ll do. New announcement: I have long thought the advice offered to aspiring writers in answer to quest... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Y.A. Erskine author of The Betrayal and The Brotherhood Six Sharp Questions ——————————- 1. Congratulations, you have a new book, The Betrayal. What is it about and what does it mean to you? Thank you so much! Like The Brotherhood before it, The Betrayal is set in Tasmania. This time the battleground is behi... Read more

I have just finished Charlotte Wood’s Love and Hunger and urge everyone to read it, especially those who must cook every night and resent it, or avoids cooking when they can because they consider it a chore. This book has the power to reignite a passion for life, friendship, food and the everyday. Part memoir and part recipe book, Love and Hunger can be read cover to cover, as I did, just... Read more

I had promised to post a new set of three authors offering writing tips every Friday evening but this is the second third time in a row I have forgotten to do so. Hmmm… Maybe I should just promise to post every Saturday? Or even better, forgo the promise… I know what I’ll do. New announcement: I have long thought the advice offered to aspiring writers in answer to question ten... Read more

The Booktopia Book Guru asks Drusilla Modjeska author of The Mountain, Timepieces, Stravinsky’s Lunch 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, raised and schooled in Britain. 2. What did you want to b... Read more

 The Booktopia Book Guru asks Alexandra Potter author of Going La La, Me and Mr. Darcy, Who’s That Girl? 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 and raised in Yorkshire, England in a happy, working-cla... Read more