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Aurealis Award Winners Announced

Winners of the 2011 Aurealis Awards were announced in a glittering ceremony held in Sydney on the weekend.  Susan Wardle, co‐convenor of the awards, said that with approximately 700 entries across the thirteen categories, the judges had a challenging task. "The winners represent the best of Australian fantasy, horror and science fiction writing in 2011 as judged by a panel of their peers. This year's winners join the likes of Sara Douglass, Garth Nix, Isobelle Carmody, Trudi Canavan, Shaun Tan and Sean Williams, all of whom are multiple Aurealis Award winners." Winners this year included Lian Tanner ("City of Lies", Allen & Unwin), Christopher Cheng (author) and Sarah Davis (illustrator) ("Sounds Spooky", Random House), Penni Russon ("Only Ever Always", Allen & Unwin), Mirranda Burton ("Hidden", Black Pepper),Tom Taylor (author) and James Brouwer (illustrator) ("The Deep: Here be Dragons", Gestalt Publishing), Robert N Stephenson ("Ember and Ash", Hachette) and Kim Westwood ("The Courier's New Bicycle", Harper Collins).  You can read the full listing, including short story winners, on the Aurealis Awards Website *here*. 

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Shortlist for Miles Franklin Award

Always an exciting day when the Miles Franklin shortlist is announced.  This year is no exception. The winner of this year’s award, worth $50,000, will be announced on 20th June at the State Library of Queensland. The Trust Company, as trustee of the Miles Franklin Literary Award, said in a statement that 'for the first time this year the five person judging panel were formally authorised by the Trustee to use their discretion to modernise the interpretation of Australian life beyond geographical boundaries to include mindset, language, history and values.' 

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The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award 2012

The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award is one of Australia's richest and the most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five. The Award has launched the careers of some of Australia's most successful authors, including Tim Winton, Kate Grenville and Andrew McGahan. The winner of the Australian/Vogel's Literary Award 2012 has been announced - congratulations to Paul D. Carter, whose novel Eleven Seasons took home the prestigious prize.  His coming-of-age story is about Melbourne schoolboy Jason Dalton, whose youth is filled with skateboards, spraypaint and an obsession with the Hawthorn Hawks. Carter's novel was described by the judges as 'A smashing book: heartfelt, tough-minded, occasionally shocking.' 

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Video Arts Special Offer

Video Arts DVDs are on special for ONE WEEK ONLY.  Video Arts was established in 1972 by a small group of television professionals including John Cleese who pioneered the use of humour in training.  The company is recognised for intelligent, entertaining and straight-talking training. Their high quality videos help you put across your learning messages in an entertaining and memorable way.  Thanks to VEA, you can save $250.00 on every Video Arts DVD purchased in the next seven days.  All orders will need to be sent to James Bennett before COB Thursday 26th April 2012. 

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New J.K.Rowling Adult Fiction Novel

Little, Brown Book Group has announced the new novel for adults by J.K. Rowling is entitled "The Casual Vacancy".  The book will be published worldwide in the English language in hardback, on Thursday 27th September 2012.  About the book: When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.  And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?  Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, "The Casual Vacancy" is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.  Order your copy on JBO today.  Click *here* for the direct link.

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Titanic Anniversary

From the creative minds of Academy Award (Gosford Park) and Emmy and Golden Globe (Downton Abbey) winner Julian Fellowes, and BAFTA-winning producer Nigel Stafford Clark (Bleak House), comes the highly anticipated "Titanic" - a four-part miniseries that will be shown on the Seven Network, the first episode airing on the 15th April. The DVD will be released shortly after so pre-order your library copy today!  Marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, "Titanic" is an extraordinary re-telling of the doomed voyage that cleverly weaves action, mystery and romance over four hours.  Shot in Budapest, Hungary, it features both fictional and historical characters, ranging from steerage passengers and crew to upper class guests and staff, who all come together in an explosive and unforgettable finale. Each hour follows similar events from different points of view, culminating in a cliff-hanger, as the ship begins to founder, and building to an explosive conclusion in the final hour that draws together all the stories. Viewers will be taken on a heart-wrenching journey through Titanic's last moments, as it's revealed who among the characters they've come to know so well will survive, and who will not.

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