It’s that time of the year when there are many literary prize long and short lists being announced, such as the Man Booker and the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction in the UK.  In Australia, The Stella Prize for Women’s Writing has just been announced and we’re very excited that it was awarded to a debut novel by young Melbourne writer, Emily Bitto, for her book The Strays. This book was one of the store’s favourites last year and we were very fortunate to host Emily in the store to talk about the book.

As part of our “Authors into Schools” programme we will taking three authors to the St Leonard’s Community Day Fair on Saturday 14 March. My thanks go out to the parent organisers of the Fair for their invitation to be involved.  You can find our two author events in the Junior activity area in the middle of the school grounds by the large trees.

11am: Storytime with the creators of Owl Know How picture book

Join Cat Rabbit and Isobel Knowles for our story time with the Owl Know How story, get a sneak preview of their new book, Too Much for Turtle,  visit some of the sets from the stories and have fun in our tree house drawing activity.

These lovely picture books are suitable for ages 2 and above.

George Ivanoff will entertain the children reading excerpts from his fantastic “You Choose” adventures.   These are interactive books where the reader gets to make key decisions about how the story progresses. Numerous intertwining story paths and a plethora of different endings combined with a variety of genres and an odd assortment of really weird characters provide a roller-coaster ride of a reading adventure.  Each book is a standalone adventure.

Suitable for grades 2 and above to read to themselves but can be enjoyed by all school  age children.

All books except Too Much for Turtle will be available to purchase from the Ulysses Bookstore table in the marquee on the day or if you already own a copy bring them along as the authors are happy to sign their books for you.  We will be taking pre-orders for Too Much for Turtle.

We’re a little late with our latest newsletter – my excuse is that it is jam packed full of great new books and news that it took me longer to write.  To read it, follow the link below:

September is a few days away so that means that Fathers Day is just around the corner.  Why not check out our new Spring Reading Guide for lots of good ideas.  If you haven’t received one in your letterbox then drop into the store to pick up a printed copy or if you don’t mind reading a digital copy then click on the cover picture below.

Come down and help us celebrate National Bookshop Day, this Saturday 9 August.  We’ve are hosting visits by two children’s book authors and a picture book illustrator and you can enter our draw to win a bottle of wine and an advance copy of the new Sulari Gentill crime novel due out in November with every purchase over $10.

This week one of our best selling books is The Fictional Woman by Tara Moss.  This is a mixture of memoir and social commentary.

What are your fictions? Tara Moss has worn many labels in her time, including ‘author’, ‘model’, ‘gold-digger’, ‘commentator’, ‘inspiration’, ‘dumb blonde’, ‘feminist’ and ‘mother’, among many others. Now, in her first work of non-fiction, she blends memoir and social analysis to examine the common fictions about women. She traces key moments in her life – from small-town tomboy in Canada, to international fashion model in the 90s, to bestselling author taking a polygraph test in 2002 to prove she writes her own work – and weaves her own experiences into a broader look at everyday sexism and issues surrounding the underrepresentation of women, modern motherhood, body image and the portrayal of women in politics, entertainment, advertising and the media.