Read Alert

The Secret History of Words and Numbers is for all students in Years 4 to 7. Two outstanding writers and a team of creative actors reveal the stories behind words and numbers in an enjoyable and informative 90 minute program.

The Word Spy introduces a whole world of English: euphemisms, malapropisms, acronyms, mondegreens, portmanteau words, [...]

It’s INKY WEEK!
Please join us for the launch of the 2008 Inky Awards.
Featuring:

2007 Golden Inky Winner Simmone Howell
2007 Silver Inky Winner John Green (via YouTube)
the official 2008 Longlist Announcement
the launch of the Inkys Creative Reading Prize
really, really special cake.

Young people are welcome to stay for a free writing workshop after the launch.
Friday 1 August, 11am
Experimedia, [...]

Book now for Words + Music, a special book event for secondary students at the State Library of Victoria. Places are limited.
Michael Gerard Bauer, Ursula Dubosarsky and William Kostakis explore the connection between writing and music in a special event for secondary students.
The three writers are paired with live performers: rock, opera [...]

Shaun Tan joins poet, esayist and Melbourne literary icon Chris Wallace-Crabbe for a special in conversation event. Shaun Tan and CWC will be available for book signing after the talk.
Wednesday 11 June
7pm, gold coin donation
Village Roadshow Theatrette,
State Library of Victoria
Bookings 8664 7555
bookings@slv.vic.gov.au

Portrait by Nick Stathopoulos
But if you can’t make it tomorrow night, you can catch [...]

Read Alert will take a break on Monday to celebrate the Queen’s birthday*.
To mark the occasion we have a booklist featuring five other great English women.
Before I Die Jenny Downham
Broken Soup Jenny Valentine
The Game Diana Wynne-Jones
Forever Rose Hilary McKay
My Sister Jodie Dame Jacqueline Wilson
*Actually, the Queen’s real birthday is on 21 April. Readers in [...]

A biting southerly wind drags the leaves from the plane trees on LaTrobe Street. Current Melbourne temperature: 12C.
So how happy am I to receive an invitation to attend a book launch in Darwin next Friday? To be reminded that there are people in Australia right now strolling about in t-shirts and sandals. Who are not [...]

Morris Gleitzman marks the publication of Then, a companion novel to Once, with a special in-conversation event at the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre Elsternwick, next Tuesday, 3 June.
The event is from 4.30pm for 5.00 start, winding up at 6.30.
You can reserve seats by phoninng (03) 9811 2416 or email rsvp@au.penguingroup.com
Then continues the story [...]

It’s another strong line-up for this year’s Guardian fiction prize for children, announced at the Hay-on-Wye Festival this week. Highlights include Before I Die by Jenny Downham, The Bog Child by the late Siobahn Dowd and Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Jenny Valentine, the author of the wonderful Finding Violet Park is one of this [...]

If you have read The Long Patrol by Richard Plunkett you will have seen the striking photographs by Stephen Dupont. Tonight, ABC 1’s Foreign Correspondent reports on Dupont, who last month was blown up, but survived, a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan.
For a look at Dupont’s recent work in Afghanistan, there is an online [...]

Woodend is famous for many things*, not least that in winter it can be seriously cold. Thankfully, the Woodend Winter Arts Festival has a lively program of events. Elizabeth Honey is at Woodend Library on Saturday 7 June at 10.30am (free).
Later that day Rod Quantock leads the Scotch College Orchestra through the forests of [...]