Everyone and Everything, the debut novel of Nadine J. Cohen

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Everyone and Everything, the debut novel of Nadine J. Cohen

4 July 2023

Everyone and Everything by Nadine J. Cohen, book cover

Book cover of Everyone and Everything, written by Nadine J. Cohen.

Just as well I still check in on Twitter. If not, I’d have not found what I found out about Sydney based refugee advocate, and Australian writer, Nadine J. Cohen. First up her Twitter account has been suspended, and second, her debut novel, Everyone and Everything, is being published later this year.

The Twitter ban came after an apparently off-colour joke on her page was brought to the notice of the powers that be at the social networking service. I saw a screen capture of the tweet in question, and yes, strictly speaking, the comment could be deemed inappropriate. However its tone has been taken completely out of context.

I’m surprised Twitter even looked sideways at Cohen’s tweet. Compared to some of what I see there now, it’s hardly offensive. Fingers crossed sense that prevails, and her account is reinstated, though that might be asking a lot. But back to Everyone and Everything, which arrives in bookshops on Tuesday 5 September 2023.

According to the book’s Sydney based publisher Pantera Press, Cohen’s debut will make you laugh, cry and call your sister:

When Yael Silver’s world comes crashing down, she looks to the past for answers and finds solace in surprising places. An unconventional new friendship, a seaside safe space and an unsettling amount of dairy help her to heal, as she wrestles with her demons — and some truly terrible erotic literature.

Early reviews sound promising. John Birmingham, he of He Died with a Felafel in His Hand fame, said “this book gave me all the feelings.” I read He Died with a Felafel in His Hand years ago, and have the film adaptation queued for viewing on my streaming service.

Australian radio and TV host, Myf Warhurst, whom I mentioned yesterday, was also approving of Cohen’s first novel:

This brilliant book doesn’t shy away from the rough stuff, exploring the complexity and brutality of life, all the while maintaining a grip on to the occasional simple joy and beauty of it all. I was cackling away at Nadine’s unique perspectives one minute, and sobbing the next. A magnificent debut!

That’ll do me. I’ve added Everyone and Everything to my TBR list.

Limberlost by Robbie Arnott wins 2023 BookPeople fiction award

19 June 2023

The winners of the 2023 BookPeople Awards were announced last night, Sunday 18 June, at a ceremony at the Adelaide Convention Centre, in South Australia.

The awards recognise both the efforts of booksellers across Australia, and Australian writers of adult fiction, adult non-fiction, and children’s books. Winners are selected every year by members of the Australian Booksellers Association.

Craig Silvey won Children’s Book of the Year with Runt, Niki Savva won Non-Fiction Book of the Year with Bulldozed, while Robbie Arnott continued on his winning way, taking out the Fiction Book of the Year, with his 2022 novel Limberlost.

I’m yet to read Limberlost, but rest assured, it’s there TBR.

Michelle See-Tho wins 2023 Penguin Literary Prize

15 June 2023

Australian freelance writer and creative copywriter Michelle See-Tho has been named winner of 2023 Penguin Literary Prize, for her manuscript titled Jade and Emerald. See-Tho’s yet to be published novel tells the story of an acquaintance a lonely ten year girl develops with a well-off socialite, and the impact the friendship has on the girl’s relationship with her strict mother.

See-Tho will be awarded a cash prize and a publishing contract with Penguin Random House Australia. Awarded annually since 2017, the Penguin Literary Prize nurtures and supports new Australian writers of literary fiction.

Anne de Marcken, Jonathan Buckley, win Novel Prize 2022

22 March 2023

It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over, by American interdisciplinary artist and writer Anne de Marcken, and Tell, by British author and teacher Jonathan Buckley, have been named joint winners of the 2022 Novel Prize.

The Novel Prize is a biennial award for a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by published and unpublished writers around the world. It offers $10,000 to the winner and simultaneous publication in North America by New Directions, in the UK and Ireland by the London-based Fitzcarraldo Editions, and in Australia and New Zealand by the Sydney-based publisher Giramondo.

Both novels will be published simultaneously in 2024 by the three participating prize publishers. Australian author Jessica Au was the inaugural winner of the 2020 Novel Prize, with her book, Cold Enough for Snow.

The 2023 Penguin Literary Prize shortlist

9 March 2023

The 2023 Penguin Literary Prize shortlist, consisting of six manuscripts by new and emerging Australian writers of literary fiction, has been unveiled:

The Elementals by Liz Allan
The Boy Who Wept Rabbits by Benjamin Forbes
Falling and Burning by Michael Krockenberger
Jade and Emerald by Michelle See-Tho
Nothing Like The Sun by J.N. Read
The Guggenheim by Heather Taylor-Johnson

The winner, to be named on Thursday 15 June 2023, will win a cash prize, and have the opportunity to see their work published.

Update: the winner has been named.