Hi folks,

I’ve recently started following Jaclyn from Six Minutes for Me on various social media and I was pretty excited to see her #AussieApril Readathon tag spring up on twitter a couple of days ago.

Jaclyn and her mate Doris are hosting this readathon to get more people reading Australian books and authors. The readathon is to celebrate Jaclyn’s 1 year anniversary of her Booktube channel – and is also timed to coincide with the announcement of the winner of this year’s Stella Prize (which will happen next week). I’ve just watched a few Booktubers putting their lists up and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many non-Aussies talking about Aussie books, and that makes me very excited!

Here are a the main prompts, which are pretty low key:

1. A new Aussie release you’ve seen reviewed on Booktube.

2. An Aussie author you’ve been meaning to get to.

There are also two bonus prompts:

1. A book by an Indigenous author

2. A book that has been listed for the Stella prize.

What I’ll be reading!

1. A new Aussie release you’ve seen reviewed on Booktube.

One of my deep dark secrets is that I don’t watch a lot of anything due to an eye condition (that’s why I read as much as I do!) so I haven’t seen anything reviewed specifically on Booktube. However, I will be reading this new release (which is available on Book Depository). It looks pretty awesome and was supported by my trusty local indie.

2. An Aussie author you’ve been meaning to get to.

While I have a pile of those, this one is demanding my attention. Queer YA? Yes please! Alicia is also a delight to follow on Instagram).

3. A book by an Indigenous author.

A Long Way From No Go is the memoir of Tjanara Goreng Goreng who talks about the institutionalised racism and abuse of Aboriginal people from the time of invasion. Goreng Goreng a celebrated academic and writer, a Songwoman and a survivor.

4. A book that has been listed for the Stella Prize.

The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper was longlisted for this year’s Stella and I’ve heard lots of good things about it. Hooper tells the story of the Black Saturday arsonist and the police hunt to track him down (there were 180 people who died.)

Are you going to play along for #AussieApril? What are you planning to read?

Also remember if you’re participating in the #AussiesRule2019 Challenge, this readathon will help you along.

Cheers!