The literature world has lost two giants in the last few days –

Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird and Go set a Watchman passed away on 19 Feb 2016 aged 89.  To Kill a Mockingbird has become a classic of modern American literature. Compassionate, dramatic and deeply moving, the book had a strong impact on social justice for African Americans in fifties and sixties America and still affects people today.

Umberto Eco, an Italian novelist, essayist, literary critic, philosopher and semiotician, also passed away on 20 Feb aged 84. His first novel, The Name of the Rose, won him instant recognition and critical acclaim. His vast knowledge and academic credentials made him a very different writer compared to others and his imaginative style and humorous plots are full of historical events but also fun to read.

Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro

Narrated by Brian Bowles, James Goode, Colin Mace, Alesandro Richie and Martin T Sherman

Nocturnes is a thought-provoking short story collection.

In a sublime story cycle, Kazuo Ishiguro explores ideas of love, music and the passing of time. From the piazzas of Italy to the Malvern Hills, a London flat to the ‘hush-hush floor’ of an exclusive Hollywood hotel, the characters we encounter range from young dreamers to cafe musicians to faded stars, all of them at some moment of reckoning.

Gentle, intimate and witty, this quintet is marked by a haunting theme: the struggle to keep alive a sense of life’s romance, even as one gets older, relationships flounder and youthful hopes recede.

“A lovely, clever book about the passage of time and the soaring notes that makes its journey worthwhile.” INDEPENDENT

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Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by James Yaegashi

Magic as you have never seen it before from the international bestseller.

Warbreaker is the story of two sisters Vivienna and Siri, who happen to be princesses. Theirs is a world where those who die in glory return as immortal gods; a world transformed by BioChromatic magic, a power based on an essence known as breath. By using breath and drawing upon the color in everyday objects, all manner of miracles and mischief can be performed.

“Epic fantasy heavyweight Sanderson pens a powerful stand-alone tale of unpredictable loyalties, dark intrigue and dangerous magic. . . . ” PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

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Bloodline by Mark Billingham

Narrated by Paul Thornley

“Another fine addition to Billingham’s formidably assured body of work.” DAILY MAIL

When a dead body is found in a North London flat, it seems like a straightforward domestic murder until a bloodstained sliver of X-ray is found clutched in the dead woman’s fist – and it quickly becomes clear that this case is anything but ordinary. DI Thorne is dealing with one of the most twisted killers he has ever hunted…

“An efficient and fast-paced police procedural, technically superb from its gripping opening to its climax.” GUARDIAN

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The Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, and the Minister for the Arts, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield have announced the winners of the 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards on Monday 14 December. Fiction
The golden age – Joan London

Poetry
Poems 1957-2013 – Geoffrey Lehmann

Prize for Australian History – Joint Winners
Charles Bean – Ross Coulthart
The spy catchers. Volume 1 : the official history of ASIO, 1949-1963 – David Horner

Non Fiction – Joint Winners
John Olsen: An Artist’s Life – Darleen Bungey
Wild Bleak Bohemia: Marcus Clarke, Adam Lindsay Gordon and Henry Kendall – a documentary
– Michael Wilding

Young Adult Fiction
The protected – Claire Zorn

Children’s Fiction
One minute’s silence – David Metzenthen