Title: The Garden Party
Author: Sarah Challis
London : Headline Review, 2011
Sarah P’s pick
The book is the story of the Baxter family- Alice, David and their four children. Alice is approaching her 60th birthday and 40th wedding anniversary and decides, uncharacteristically, to hold a party to celebrate the occasions and have her family together. Continue reading
John Aiken is coming to Parramatta City Library for the author talk on Tuesday 24 May. It’s one of the Programs for Men. Continue reading
Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs by Malcolm Fraser & Margaret Simons
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
Pirate Rain by Jennifer Maiden
Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature
Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature
My Australian Story: The Hunt for Ned Kelly by Sophie Masson
Script Writing Award
Play Award
Do Not Go Gentle… by Patricia Cornelius
NSW Premier’s Translation Prize & PEN Medallion
Ian Johnston
Community Relations Commission Award
The English Class by Ouyang Yu
UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing
Book of the Year
Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs by Malcolm Fraser & Margaret Simons
Special Award
Libby Gleeson
People’s Choice Award
Lovesong by Alex Miller
Title – Under the influence
Author – Jacqueline Lunn
NSW, Vintage Books, 2011
Sarah’s Pick
Three girls meet at boarding school in Sydney’s North Shore. Meg is the daughter of a widowed sheep farmer from western NSW. Eve’s parents run the chemist shop in a country town. And Sarah can see the roof of her house from the boarding school but has been sent there by her busy professional parents. The story gives a good account of teenage girls and life in a boarding school. The girls share a secret about another girl from school- the popular and beautiful Rebecca. This secret changes the girls. Continue reading
Title: Daughters-in-Law
Author: Joanna Trollope
London : Doubleday, 2011
Sarah’s pick
Rachel is married to Anthony and the mother of three sons. She has devoted her life to bringing up her sons in Suffolk, giving up her career to focus on her family. But now they are all adults and married and Rachel struggles with the changes in her family. The daughters-in-law now have more influence over her sons than she does and the family starts to drift apart. Continue reading
