Cirrus@Austlit

'The best role parents can play in helping children take the first steps into literacy is to raise a “free range” reader, according to the nation’s top children’s literacy advocate.Incumbent Australian Children’s laureate Jackie French, the author of 170 books, said while she believed children were reading more, 40 per cent still did not meet international literacy benchmarks...'

'The arrival in Australia of Amazon-owned online bookseller, BookDepository, has been welcomed by publishers and authors whose books will be quickly and cheaply available to readers overseas.The UK-based bookseller this week announced that 25,000 Australian titles would be available on its site, to be shipped from a warehouse in Melbourne...'

There's a hint of frustrated sadness in Deborah Mailman’s voice when she responds to a question about diversity on our television shows.It’s a query the acclaimed indigenous actor has had to answer countless times over the course of her almost two-decade career – and that’s the point.“I don’t know how many times we have to have this conversation before something changes,” Mailman says.“It’s time and time again. There’s a bloody hell of a long way to go and it’s just appalling, to be honest.” ...'