Book Week is the longest running children’s festival in Australia, celebrating its 65th birthday in 2010.

The dates for Book Week 2013 will be Saturday 17 – Friday 23 August.

Each year, many schools and public libraries from all over Australia spend a week celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians develop activities, offer competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.

The theme in 2013 is ... 'Read across the universe.' This is a wonderful opportunity for both children and adults to share and enjoy books.

The week is organised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) a volunteer run, not for profit, organisation that was established in 1945 and is comprised of branches of individual members who are passionate about children’s and young adult literature. The awards that are presented cover fiction for both older and younger readers, non-fiction and picture books from Australian authors and illustrators. To be shortlisted or receive a “notable” mention for your book is an honour and schools and libraries in particular will have a week-long celebration of all things bookish.

CBCA website: http://cbca.org.au/bookweek.htm

Indigenous Literacy Day aims to help raise funds to raise literacy levels and improve the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Australians living in remote and isolated regions. We need your support to help raise funds to buy books and literacy resources for children in these communities.

The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is an initiative and charity of The Australian Book Industry drawing on its diverse range of expertise, skills and resources. It works with the support of the Australian Publishers Association, the Australian Booksellers Association and the Australian Society of Authors.

The Foundation’s core aim and strategies to make a positive and measurable difference in the early literacy levels of Indigenous Australian children in order to raise their prospects in schools our key strategy is to draw on the collective resources of the Australian Book Industry and the goodwill of the public and corporate sector to raise funds for the purchase and provision of books and literacy resources for Indigenous Australian children in communities. Our secondary strategy is to assist in the writing and publishing of Indigenous Australian children’s experiences and stories.

In 2013 this day will be held on Wednesday, 4th of September and you can visit any bookshop and donate as little as you like to go towards this wonderful cause.

This is a Saturday in August to go to your local bookshop as a sign of support and appreciation -  this year’s day will be held on Saturday 10 August.  This event began as an initiative of the Australian Booksellers Association and this concept has since expanded to take in the idea of “IndieBound” so that communities can support their hard working “indie” businesses and retailers.

Indiebound is a community-oriented movement begun by the independent bookseller members of the American Booksellers Association and adopted into Australia by the Australian Booksellers’ Association in 2011.  It brings together booksellers, readers, indie retailers, local business alliances and anyone else with a passionate belief that healthy local economies help communities thrive.  Supporting local, independent businesses means that dollars, jobs, diversity and choices stay local, creating strong, unique communities.

Independent bookshops are increasingly a destination of choice, especially for consumers who want to be part of their community.  Very often bookshops are already at the heart of a community and a place where customers discover their next great book and where they meet someone to talk with about it.  Independent booksellers are uniquely placed to talk to their customers about independence and about sustaining a healthy high street.

Consumers in Australia today are aware of the importance of independent businesses and the health of a high street.  The growth of farmers’ markets and many other campaigns show how important it is to consumers to shop locally.  We want IndieBound to be a key part f the booksellers connecting with these community-aware customers and taking the positive message outwards to other indie retailers and businesses.

Why shop indie?  When you shop at an independent locally-owned business, your entire community benefits.

The Economy:

• Based on US research, for every $100 spent at a local store, $68 of that stays in your community.  Spend the same $100 at a national chain and your community only sees $43.
• Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbours.
• More of your taxes are reinvested in your community – where they belong.

The Environment:

• Buying local means less packaging, less transportation and a smaller carbon footprint.
• Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance and more money to put back into your community.

The Community:

• Local retailers are your friends and neighbours:  support them and they will support you.
• More independents mean more choice, more diversity and a truly unique community.

The prize, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 after launching in 1969, aims to promote the finest in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.  The maintain the consistent excellence of the Man Booker Prize, judges are chosen from a wide range of disciplines, including critics, writers and academics, but also poets, politicians and actors, all with a passion for quality fiction.

This is seen as the most prestigious literary prize for any author and it’s winners are much read and talked about.  The important dates for this are 23 July for the longlist, 10 September for the shortlist and the winner will be announced on 15 October.

Australia’s most prestigious literary award was established through the will of the writer Stella Miles Franklin, best known for her novel My Brilliant Career. The bequest came as a surprise to the literary world as Franklin had told nobody – save her trustees – of her plans.

Miles Franklin had first-hand experience of the struggle to make a living as a writer and was herself the beneficiary of two literary prizes. She was also extremely conscious of the importance of fostering a uniquely Australian literature. She wrote, "Without an indigenous literature, people can remain alien in their own soil."

Accordingly, the Award is presented each year to a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases.  The Miles Franklin was first awarded in 1957. Since then, the annual announcement of the winner has become an event anticipated and discussed throughout Australia and around the world.

The long list has already been released, with the short list due to be announced in Sydney on 30 April and the winner will be announced in Canberra on 19 June.  This is always a much-awaited announcement and over the years it has honoured our greatest writers and literature.

http://www.milesfranklin.com.au/

The Winner of the 2013 Miles Franklin Award is:

Michelle de Kretser for Questions of Travel

Michelle de Kretser was born in Sri Lanka and emigrated to Australia when she was 14.

A mesmerising literary novel, Questions of Travel charts two very different lives. Laura travels the world before returning to Sydney, where she works for a publisher of travel guides. Ravi dreams of being a tourist until he is driven from Sri Lanka by devastating events.

http://www.milesfranklin.com.au/2013/michelle

Congratulations to Michelle from everyone at Turn the Page Bookshop.

The Stella Prize is a major new literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing. It is named after one of Australia’s iconic female authors, Stella Maria ‘Miles’ Franklin, and celebrates women’s contribution to Australian literature. The Stella Prize rewards one writer with a significant monetary prize of $50,000.

The Stella Prize raises the profile of women’s writing through the Stella Prize long lists and short lists, encourages a future generation of women writers, and brings readers to the work of Australian women.

The short list has been announced and the winner will be announced on 16 April 2013 at an awards event in Melbourne.

http://thestellaprize.com.au/

The winner of the inaugural Stella Prize for 2013 is ...

Carrie Tiffany - Mateship with birds

‘Art starts with noticing.’

Carrie Tiffany was born in West Yorkshire and grew up in Western Australia. Her first novel, Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Guardian First Book Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and won the Dobbie Award for Best First Book and the WA Premier’s Award for Fiction. Mateship with Birds is her second novel.

Her second novel, Mateship with Birds, is a triumph of noticing and, having noticed, of carefully, meticulously assembling the things that have been noticed into a novel that shows, on almost every page, not just an eye for detail, but also a conviction that every detail is in some way connected and that the connections have meaning.

http://thestellaprize.com.au/2013/winner

Congratulations to Carrie from everyone at Turn the Page Bookshop.

Get Reading!, formerly known as Books Alive, is Australia’s largest annual celebration of books and reading, which encourages all Australians to pick up a book, put up their feet and get reading!  This is an initiative backed by the Federal Government that aims to inspire more Australians to read, while promoting Australian authors and their books via events in metropolitan and regional centres. 

Titles that are chosen to be part of the promotion will carry the ‘Get Reading! Guaranteed: A Book You Can’t Put Down’ silver sticker of approval – so look out for these titles in your local bookstore or library!  This will be happening in bookshops in September, supported by the booklet “50 Books You Can’t Put down”, so you will then be able to find a comfy spot to put your feet up with a good book.

http://www.getreading.com.au/

In the past we have presented book launches, literary lunches, afternoon teas and kids’ events. Some of the authors we have hosted on the Island are:

David Vincent:                 
In July this year David came to the Island for a lunch held at Rusty Water to talk about his life as a South Sudanese refugee, a story he tells in his book “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Die”.  He has developed an organisation through which he intends to help his people become self-sufficient and to bring peace to his country.  Have a look at his website www.peacepalette.org and watch this space for news of David’s next visit to the Island in November 2012.

Sue Saliba:                         
Sue is an award winning local author whose latest book “Alaska” was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Young Adult Novel Award.  It was an honour for us to hold a wonderfully intimate and personal launch for this book in our store when in was released last year.  Her first novel “Something in the World Called Love” won the Victorian Premier’s Young Adult Fiction Award and it has one of the most perfect endings you could find in a book.

Joy Dettman:                    
Another great Australian (and Victorian) author, Joy came for a delicious afternoon tea at Rusty Water and told us of her life-long love of writing.  She told us how she develops her characters and storylines and her love of her craft is very evident. 

Dwayne Russell:             
You many have heard Dwayne as a footy commentator on radio, but his talents extend to writing kids’ picture books on ... footy of all things.  We had a delightful time at the Phillip Island Football Club with face painting, a sausage sizzle, having a kick on the oval and Dwayne reading his books to the kids.  They were all absolutely enthralled.

Margareta Osborn:        
A Gippsland girl, Margareta absolutely charmed the small group who came to the in-store event to hear about her first novel “Bella’s Run” and we eagerly await her next book.  We will keep you informed as Margareta will certainly be invited to visit again.

Michael Gordon:            
Michael is a senior editor at The Age but has a great interest in sport and particularly in the Bells Beach surfing contest held each Easter.  His very pictorial and thoroughly researched book “Bells” gives us a glimpse of past and present champions and just what is so special about this annual event.  His visit to our shop to sign his book drew interest from right across the community and you should always keep an eye open at Woolamai when the surf is up as it is one of Michael’s favouritespots.

Anna Pignatoro:              
Anna is a local girl from the Peninsula and visited our shop one Saturday in her fairy princess dress to charm the little ones and read from her books.  Her books are gorgeous and sparkly and just made for little girls.