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Norwegian author Jon Fosse awarded 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature
Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse is awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable".
University scholars examine Taylor Swift's lyrics
Universities are offering courses to study Taylor Swift and her impact on gender, literature and economy. Literature Professor Elly McClausland explains how she teaches students to critically analyse Taylor Swift's lyrics.
Zoe was three years behind in reading. She caught up when she was taught a different way
Literacy standards are rising in schools that emphasise the sounding-out of words, but education systems are divided over the focus on phonics.
Virginia Woolf's own copy of her debut novel found in Sydney
Virginia Woolf’s copy of her debut novel The Voyage Out, featuring handwritten notes, was rediscovered at the University of Sydney and is now online.
Sydney discovery of Virginia Woolf novel with handwritten notes offers glimpse into brilliant mind
A rare personal copy of Woolf’s first novel with the author's handwritten revisions offers tantalising glimpses into the mind and process of one of the 20th century’s most significant writers. Now the public can access it online.
Melissa's 3,000-plus books got their own home when they crowded her out of her house
With a collection of thousands of stories in her shed, Melissa Boyes's passion for paper books is in no danger of withering in the digital age.
Paul Kelly says the thing that 'heightens life' might be passing us by
The beloved Australian musician argues poetry is not something to be afraid of. Rather, Kelly reckons it might change your life.
Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship
British prime minister Rishi Sunak has criticised changes to the books of children's author Roald Dahl. It included removing references to characters' appearance and weight.
Australia's Word of the Year for 2022 is a colourful nod to the federal election
It rose to prominence as a way to describe independent candidates taking on mostly wealthy, Liberal federal seats in the election, and now it's the Word of the Year.
The trees are given a voice with the tales of Albury school kids
Albury primary school children have been getting to know the trees in their Botanic Gardens, and now they have brought their stories to life.
Is irregardless a word? An offhand mid-interview comment from a TV host has re-ignited the debate
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary wasn't having a bar of it, putting the argument to bed irregardless of what social media's grammar police do or say.
2021's Word of the Year alludes to a uniquely Australian problem
The Word of the Year, decided by the ANU's Australian National Dictionary Centre, illustrates the unique predicament the nation found itself in as it worked to vaccinate the population against COVID-19.
'It's just the truth': Young First Nations readers meet heroes, confront harsh histories, in new book
Mununjali and Fijian illustrator Jaelyn Biumaiwai has brought to life the stories of seven iconic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a new book written by Karen Wyld.
Cairns students told to stay home after peaceful protest against racism
Cairns State High School students, who staged a peaceful protest against racism, are told to stay home while the matter is investigated.
The 'reading wars': Why experts differ on the science of literacy
As Australian literacy rates fall, academics are locked in a battle over how best to help young children master the ability to read, with some calling for a return to phonics instruction.
Teaching with systematic synthetic phonics
Leah Daley teaches 10-year-old Hamish using systematic synthetic phonics.
Tutors in demand after homeschooling reveals gaps in kids' learning
Irene Pullen was enthusiastic about homeschooling her daughter until she realised how much the 6-year-old was struggling with her learning.
Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society facing cut to lease and funding
The historical society which has been a vocal advocate for the protection of the poet's former homestead has been surprised with proposed cuts to its funding, and the lease of a council building.
Old leather and petrichor: Why do old books smell so good and familiar?
Why do old books smell like chocolate, vanilla, grass clippings and old socks? There's a scientific explanation.
How a regional bookshop is thriving in the age of ebooks
Paul and Karen Morgan decided to sift through their local second-hand bookshop to kill some time, but they walked out having bought the whole shed and its contents of 60,000 books.
Why we turn to romance novels when faced with a global crisis like coronavirus
Romance fiction is the unsung hero that saved the literary world during the GFC, and it was deemed so important for public morale that Mills and Boon were able to keep their paper rations to continue publishing during WWII. We could turn to it again during this pandemic.
Musicians, authors and a former PM auction off prizes for bushfire donations
The #AuthorsForFireys campaign has raised "hundreds of thousands" of dollars for bushfire relief and delivered "a swell of generosity and kindness" across the arts community, organisers say.
Your deep-reading brain is the perfect antidote to screens — and here's how to engage it
Are you finding it hard to read deeply and even remember what you've read after a year of scanning and skimming quickly through digital content? You're not alone — but you should be able to fix it.
Opinion
opinion:Come on, apostrophe's really arent that hard to use
Reports this week about the demise of the Apostrophe Protection Society may have been greatly exaggerated — and the man behind the mission now wants to save the comma from a similar fate, writes Roslyn Petelin.
Would you read a novel written by a machine? They're closer than you might think
Computers have traditionally excelled at mathematical tasks, and are now better than humans at games such as chess, but some AI experts believe they could one day produce literature to rival Shakespeare himself.