Grab a cuppa and read on…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IncaseYouMissedItBanner1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe Miles Franklin longlist for 2019 is announced<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nIt’s time to celebrate the best of Australian fiction once again: the 2019 longlist for the Miles Franklin Literary Award<\/a> has officially been announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt’s an interesting longlist that includes a fair few first time novelists, including Robbie Arnott (Flames<\/a><\/em>), Tracey Sorensen (The Lucky Galah<\/a><\/em>), and Trent Dalton (Boy Swallows Universe<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nRichard Neville of the State Library of NSW said, \u201cThe 2019 Miles Franklin longlist yet again highlights a mixture of new and established writers. It showcases ten of the most vibrant voices of Australian fiction speaking to us of lives facing, or having endured, some version of extremity. Angry, funny, contemplative and urgent, these voices \u2013 which include a galah \u2013 explore personal, historical and ecological loss, cultural inheritances and disenfranchisement, and the fraught bonds of friendships, families and communities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shortlist will be announced in Sydney on 2 July, with the overall winner announced on 30 July. You can shop the longlist here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/MilesFranklinLonglist.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBoy Swallows Universe<\/em> is Australia’s number 1 book<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nSpeaking of Boy Swallows Universe<\/a><\/em>, Nielsen Bookscan announced last week that it is officially Australia’s number 1 book, having gained the top spot in both the general and fiction bestseller charts. HarperCollins Australia also confirmed<\/a> that the book has now sold over 160,000 copies across all formats since it was first published in July last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\nJames Kellow, CEO of HarperCollins Australia, said, “It\u2019s rare for an Australian fiction debut to reach number one \u2013 so it speaks volumes about the affection readers feel for our young hero, Eli Bell, and his creator, Trent Dalton. Boy Swallows Universe<\/em> looks set to become a new Australian classic.”
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat’s more, news has just broken that Joel Edgerton (Boy Erased<\/em>) will team up with Anonymous Content, Chapter One, and Hopscotch Features to adapt the novel for television<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n(Read a piece by Trent Dalton about the inspiration behind Boy Swallows Universe<\/em> here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/May23BookNews1-Blog.png\")
<\/a>Joel Edgerton (left) will adapt Boy Swallows Universe<\/em> for TV.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nNew books announced by Hilary Mantel and Michael Wolff<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nThere’s been a bunch of exciting book announcements made recently that you’re definitely going to want to be on top of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fans of Hilary Mantel’s bestselling Thomas Cromwell<\/a> <\/em>trilogy will be excited to learn that the final book, The Mirror and the Light<\/em>, will be published<\/a> in March, 2020. This announcement follows intense speculation about a possible new book from Mantel after a mysterious billboard popped up in Leicester Square in London a few days ago. This book is set to cover the last four years of Cromwell’s life, beginning with the beheading of Anne Boleyn in 1536 and ending with his death in 1540. <\/p>\n\n\n\nYou can pre-order The Mirror and the Light<\/em> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnyone else a little tired of the never-ending onslaught of Trump books (or just Trump himself…)? Well that’s too bad, because Michael Wolff has written a followup to last year’s bestseller, Fire & Fury<\/a><\/em>. This book will examine the second year of Trump’s tumultuous presidency up to the release of the Mueller report.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou can pre-order Siege: Trump Under Fire<\/em> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/May23BookNews-Blog.png\")
<\/a>The mysterious billboard in Leicester Square.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nNational Simultaneous Storytime gets over a million kids reading!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nYesterday was National Simultaneous Storytime<\/a> day. At 11am, kids across the nation gathered in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops, and many other places to read a picture book by an Australian author and illustrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis year, that book was Alpacas With Maracas<\/a><\/em> by Matt Cosgrove, a gorgeous story about an alpaca named Macca who decides to enter into a talent contest with his best mate.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe aim was to get 1 million kids reading, and I’m happy to report that 1,138,889 kids<\/a> tuned into the livestream from the State Library of NSW, where Matt read Alpacas With Maracas<\/em> out loud (with the help of two actual alpacas)! As a big fan of both reading and alpacas, this news simply makes my heart swell.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you missed all the action, you can watch Matt Cosgrove read Alpacas With Maracas<\/em> right here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s an interesting longlist that includes a fair few first time novelists, including Robbie Arnott (Flames<\/a><\/em>), Tracey Sorensen (The Lucky Galah<\/a><\/em>), and Trent Dalton (Boy Swallows Universe<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Neville of the State Library of NSW said, \u201cThe 2019 Miles Franklin longlist yet again highlights a mixture of new and established writers. It showcases ten of the most vibrant voices of Australian fiction speaking to us of lives facing, or having endured, some version of extremity. Angry, funny, contemplative and urgent, these voices \u2013 which include a galah \u2013 explore personal, historical and ecological loss, cultural inheritances and disenfranchisement, and the fraught bonds of friendships, families and communities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The shortlist will be announced in Sydney on 2 July, with the overall winner announced on 30 July. You can shop the longlist here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of Boy Swallows Universe<\/a><\/em>, Nielsen Bookscan announced last week that it is officially Australia’s number 1 book, having gained the top spot in both the general and fiction bestseller charts. HarperCollins Australia also confirmed<\/a> that the book has now sold over 160,000 copies across all formats since it was first published in July last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n James Kellow, CEO of HarperCollins Australia, said, “It\u2019s rare for an Australian fiction debut to reach number one \u2013 so it speaks volumes about the affection readers feel for our young hero, Eli Bell, and his creator, Trent Dalton. Boy Swallows Universe<\/em> looks set to become a new Australian classic.” What’s more, news has just broken that Joel Edgerton (Boy Erased<\/em>) will team up with Anonymous Content, Chapter One, and Hopscotch Features to adapt the novel for television<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Read a piece by Trent Dalton about the inspiration behind Boy Swallows Universe<\/em> here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s been a bunch of exciting book announcements made recently that you’re definitely going to want to be on top of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fans of Hilary Mantel’s bestselling Thomas Cromwell<\/a> <\/em>trilogy will be excited to learn that the final book, The Mirror and the Light<\/em>, will be published<\/a> in March, 2020. This announcement follows intense speculation about a possible new book from Mantel after a mysterious billboard popped up in Leicester Square in London a few days ago. This book is set to cover the last four years of Cromwell’s life, beginning with the beheading of Anne Boleyn in 1536 and ending with his death in 1540. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can pre-order The Mirror and the Light<\/em> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone else a little tired of the never-ending onslaught of Trump books (or just Trump himself…)? Well that’s too bad, because Michael Wolff has written a followup to last year’s bestseller, Fire & Fury<\/a><\/em>. This book will examine the second year of Trump’s tumultuous presidency up to the release of the Mueller report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can pre-order Siege: Trump Under Fire<\/em> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday was National Simultaneous Storytime<\/a> day. At 11am, kids across the nation gathered in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops, and many other places to read a picture book by an Australian author and illustrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, that book was Alpacas With Maracas<\/a><\/em> by Matt Cosgrove, a gorgeous story about an alpaca named Macca who decides to enter into a talent contest with his best mate. The aim was to get 1 million kids reading, and I’m happy to report that 1,138,889 kids<\/a> tuned into the livestream from the State Library of NSW, where Matt read Alpacas With Maracas<\/em> out loud (with the help of two actual alpacas)! As a big fan of both reading and alpacas, this news simply makes my heart swell. If you missed all the action, you can watch Matt Cosgrove read Alpacas With Maracas<\/em> right here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBoy Swallows Universe<\/em> is Australia’s number 1 book<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>New books announced by Hilary Mantel and Michael Wolff<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>National Simultaneous Storytime gets over a million kids reading!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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