Oscar & Friends Last Weekend EVER!!
It's Oscar & Friends last weekend EVER and there's still so many books, so we've ramped up our Closing Down Sale discount on all stock to 40%!
Use Code: CHEERS40
Our Closing Down Sale Continues!
Well, we are definitely at the pointy end of closing down so all stock is now 30% off! Get in quick!!
Our Closing Down Sale Begins!
With only three weeks remaining, our closing down sale has begun!! 20% off everything instore!
Oscar & Friexit 🥺
Dear Friends of Oscar & Friends,
It is with a heavy heart we must announce that Oscar & Friends Surry Hills will be permanently closing our doors on 31st March 2023.
It's been a wonderful twelve years in our poky little corner bookstore, made all the more wonderful by having such lovely customers.
We'd just like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for being such a supportive, warm, and all round delightful community.
We'll be open for a little while yet, so there's still plenty of time to come in and say hi and bye.
We look forward to seeing you! 💚
2020 Booker Prize Shortlist Announced
The shortlist for the 2020 Booker Prize is as follows:
Brandon Taylor, Real Life, Daunt Books Publishing
Diane Cook, The New Wilderness, Oneworld Publications
Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body, Faber & Faber
Avni Doshi, Burnt Sugar, Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House
Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain, Picador, Pan Macmillan
Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, Canongate Books
The winner of the 2020 Booker Prize will be announced on Tuesday, November 17th. For more information, please see the Booker Prizes website: https://thebookerprizes.com/
2020 Miles Franklin Shortlist Announced
The shortlist for the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award has been announced. Australia’s most prestigious and valued literary award, celebrating novels of the highest literary merit telling stories about Australian life, the winner will receive a prize of $60,000.
The 2020 longlist is as follows:
Tony Birch,The White Girl, University of Queensland Press
John Hughes, No One, UWA Publishing
Carrie Tiffany, Exploded View, Text Publishing
Tara June Winch, The Yield, Penguin Random House
Philip Salom,The Returns, Transit Lounge
Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, Mitchell Librarian of the State Library of NSW and Chair, Richard Neville, said, “The books on this year’s shortlist, diverse in form and tone, all explore the effects of trauma. From familial stories of neglect and abuse to the national story of racial and cultural dispossession, these novels demonstrate powerfully how past trauma continues to inform the present”.
Last year, the Miles Franklin Literary Award was awarded to Melissa Lucashenko for her novel, Too Much Lip.
The winner will be announced on 16 July 2020.
For further information about the Miles Franklin Literary Award, visit http://www.milesfranklin.com.au/
2020 Miles Franklin Longlist Announced
This year’s Miles Franklin Literary Award longlist has been announced. First presented in 1957, the Award celebrates novels of the highest literary merit that tell stories about Australian life. Winning authors also receive a prize of $60,000. The Award remains Australia’s most prestigious and valued literary award.
The 2020 longlist is as follows:
Tony Birch,The White Girl, University of Queensland Press
Melanie Cheng,Room for a Stranger, Text Publishing
Peggy Frew, Islands, Allen & Unwin
John Hughes, No One, UWA Publishing
Anna Krien, Act of Grace, Black Inc.
Gerald Murnane, A Season on Earth, Text Publishing
Philip Salom,The Returns, Transit Lounge
Carrie Tiffany, Exploded View, Text Publishing
Tara June Winch, The Yield, Penguin Random House
Charlotte Wood, The Weekend, Allen & Unwin
Last year, the Miles Franklin Literary Award was awarded to Melissa Lucashenko for her novel, Too Much Lip (2019).
The shortlisted finalists will be revealed on 17 June 2020 and the winner announced 16 July 2020.
For further information about the Miles Franklin Literary Award, visit http://www.milesfranklin.com.au/
2020 NSW Premier's Literary Award Recipients Announced
Source: State Library of NSW Instagram
The recipients of the 2020 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced, with Wiradjuri writer Tara June Winch taking home three major prizes: Book of the Year, People’s Choice, and the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction.
Congratulations to all recipients, as well as those on the shortlists.
The 2020 winners of the NSW Premier’s Literary awards are as follows:
Book of the Year ($10,000)
The Yield by Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)
Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000)
The Yield by Tara June Winch
UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($5,000)
Real Differences by SL Lim (Transit Lounge)
Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction ($40,000)
Tiberius with a Telephone: The Life and Stories of William McMahon by Patrick Mullins (Scribe Publications)
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000)
Enfolded in the Wings of a Great Darkness by Peter Boyle (Vagabond Press)
Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature ($30,000) — joint winners
Ella and the Ocean by Lian Tanner and Jonathan Bentley (Allen & Unwin)
Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature ($30,000)
Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee (Allen & Unwin)
Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting ($30,000)
Counting and Cracking by S. Shakthidharan, Associate writer Eamon Flack (Belvoir and Co-Curious)
Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting ($30,000) — joint winners
Missing by Kylie Boltin (SBS)
The Cry, Episode 2 by Jacquelin Perske (Synchronicity Films)
Multicultural NSW Award ($20,000)
The Pillars by Peter Polites (Hachette Australia)
Indigenous Writers' Prize ($30,000) — biennial award
The White Girl by Tony Birch (University of Queensland Press)
People's Choice Award
The Yield by Tara June Winch
2020 Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist Announced
The 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist was announced on April 22nd by judging chair Martha Lane Fox via online broadcast.
This year’s shortlist is as follows:
Dominicana by Angie Cruz
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
Hamnet by Maggie O’ Farrell
Weather by Jenny Offill
One of the UK’s most prestigious literary prizes, the Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize) winner will receive £30,000. The twenty-fifth winner will be announced on Wednesday 9th September.
For more information, please go to the Women’s Prize website: https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/
Source: Women’s Prize for Fiction website
COVID-19 Update: We're Ordering!
Dear Customers,
As we all struggle with the pandemic's various challenges, we at Oscar & Friends are very grateful for the incredible support of the local community. COVID-19 poses a particular risk to bricks-and-mortar bookshops, but we are still here, working to get the books we love into your hands.
We hope to have an online purchasing platform available soon, and in the meantime we are happy to take orders and enquiries at the Double Bay store via email: info@oscarandfriends.com.au
We can still conduct transactions over the phone using credit card details during our reduced operating hours (leave your number so that we can call you), and we're conducting free deliveries to customers in Double Bay and Bellevue Hill.
We hope you are all keeping well.
Warmest regards,
The Oscar & Friends team
COVID-19 CLOSURE
Dear Customers,
To mitigate the possible spread of Covid-19 and to protect the wellbeing of our staff, customers and community, it is with great sadness we have decided to close our doors.
We very much look forward to the moment we can open our doors once again.
In the meantime please SOCIAL DISTANCE and stay safe.
The sooner we beat this, the sooner we can all start enjoying the wonderful things in life we took for granted.
We wish you all well,
Oscar & Friends
Please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for any updates
23rd March 2020
COVID-19 Update
Dear Customers,
What a strange time this is.
We want to take a minute of your time to address any concerns and the steps we are taking during these uncertain times.
Our utmost priority is to keep our staff and customers safe and reduce any health risks when visiting our store.
We have increased our cleaning and disinfecting of all areas including EFTPOS machines, the front counter, computers and door handles.
To reduce risk we would also ask that we have no cash transactions during this time.
We are doing our best to continue to stay open but in the meantime we have postponed the Surry Hills monthly Bookclub until further notice.
We are aiming to go full techie (not our area of expertise) and if Natalie can work out Zoom the fun will continue with an online community (sadly you will have to provide your own wine).
You can subscribe to our newsletter for Book Club updates.
If you are in quarantine, self isolation or just feeling too anxious to go out and you live in the local area we can deliver books to your doorstep. Just give us a ring at either store DB 02 9326 2304 or SH 02 9332 3509 or email info@oscarandfriends.com.au
Our overriding message is to say thank you to all our customers for your years of loyalty and support and we wish you well in these unprecedented times.
As the situation develops we will inform you of any changes in operating hours via twitter and our website.
On the positive side - a great time to catch up on all your reading.
Best wishes to all,
From all of us at O & F
The 2020 Stella Prize Shortlist
Stella’s judges — publisher, writer and reviewer Louise Swinn (Chair), award-winning journalist Monica Attard, senior editor and journalist Jack Latimore, memoirist and editor Zoya Patel and poet and educator Leni Shilton — have selected the 6 outstanding books for the 2020 Stella Prize shortlist.
The 2020 Stella Prize shortlist is:
See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill (Black Inc.)
Diving Into Glass by Caro Llewellyn (Penguin Random House)
There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia)
Here Until August by Josephine Rowe (Black Inc.)
The Yield by Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)
The 2020 Stella Prize will be awarded in Sydney on the evening of Wednesday 8 April.
The 2020 ABIA Longlist!
The 2020 Australian Book Industry Awards longlist has been announced. The ABIAs showcase the collaborative efforts of publishers, editors, illustrators, marketers, designers, and authors in bringing quality books to Australia and abroad.
Biography Book of The Year
Australia Day, Stan Grant (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
Born-Again Blakfella, Jack Charles (Penguin Random House Australia, Viking)
Gulpilil, Derek Rielly (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
Penny Wong: Passion and Principle, Margaret Simons (Black Inc., Black Inc.)
Tell Me Why, Archie Roach (Simon & Schuster Australia, Simon & Schuster)
The Prettiest Horse In The Glue Factory, Corey White (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
When All is Said & Done, Neale Daniher, with Warwick Green (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macmillan Australia)
Your Own Kind of Girl, Clare Bowditch (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+)
Detention, Tristan Bancks (Penguin Random House Australia, Puffin)
How It Feels to Float, Helena Fox (Pan Macmillan Australia, Pan Australia)
It Sounded Better in My Head, Nina Kenwood (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories, Michael Earp et al (Walker Books Australia, Walker Books Australia)
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, Wai Chim (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
This Is How We Change the Ending, Vikki Wakefield (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Welcome to Country Youth Edition, Marcia Langton (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Travel)
Welcome To Your Period, Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
Book of the Year for Younger Children (ages 7-12)
Explore Your World: Weird, Wild, Amazing!, Tim Flannery (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
Funny Bones, Edited by Kate Temple, Jol Temple and Oliver Phommavanh (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
How to Make a Movie in 12 Days, Fiona Hardy (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
Real Pigeons Nest Hard, Written by Andrew McDonald , Illustrated by Ben Wood (Hardie Grant Egmont, Hardie Grant Egmont)
The 117-Storey Treehouse, Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Pan Macmillan Australia, Pan Australia)
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, Sami Bayly (Hachette Australia, Lothian Children’s Books)
Under the Stars, Lisa Harvey-Smith, Mel Matthews (illustrator) (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
Young Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Children’s Picture Book of the Year (ages 0-6)
All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors, Davina Bell and Jenny Løvlie (Hardie Grant Egmont, Little Hare)
Bluey: The Beach, Ludo Studio, BBC Studios and Penguin Random House Australia (Penguin Random House Australia and Puffin)
Kindness Makes Us Strong, Sophie Beer (Hardie Grant Egmont, Little Hare)
Lottie and Walter, Anna Walker (Penguin Random House Australia, Puffin)
Mr Chicken All Over Australia, Leigh Hobbs (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Painted Ponies, Alison Lester (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Tiny Star, Mem Fox and Freya Blackwood (Penguin Random House Australia, Puffin)
Tilly, Jane Godwin and Anna Walker (Scholastic Australia, Scholastic Press)
Wilam, Andrew Kelly, Aunty Joy Murphy, Lisa Kennedy (Walker Books Australia, Black Dog Books)
General Fiction Book of the Year
Bruny, Heather Rose (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Call Me Evie, J.P. Pomare (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Cilka’s Journey, Heather Morris (Echo Publishing, Echo Publishing)
Good Girl, Bad Girl, Michael Robotham (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Peace, Garry Disher (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Silver, Chris Hammer (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Scholar, Dervla McTiernan (HarperCollins Publishers, HarperCollins Publishers)
The Wife and the Widow, Christian White (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
General Non-fiction Book of the Year
Accidental Feminists, Jane Caro (Melbourne University Publishing, Melbourne University Press)
Against All Odds, Craig Challen and Richard Harris (Penguin Random House Australia, Viking)
Banking Bad, Adele Ferguson (HarperCollins Publishers, ABC Books)
Fake, Stephanie Wood (Penguin Random House Australia, Vintage Australia)
Kitty Flanagan’s 488 Rules for Life, Kitty Flanagan (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse, Jess Hill (Black Inc., Black Inc.)
The Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume I 1978, Helen Garner (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Troll Hunting, Ginger Gorman, (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Illustrated Book of the Year
Australia Modern: Architecture, Landscape & Design 1925–1975, Hannah Lewi and Philip Goad (Thames & Hudson Australia, Thames & Hudson Australia)
Ben Quilty, Ben Quilty (Penguin Random House Australia, Lantern Australia)
Finding the Heart of the Nation, Thomas Mayor (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Travel)
Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia: Second Edition, Bill Arthur and Frances Morphy (eds.) (Pan Macmillan Australia, Macquarie Dictionary Publishers)
Olive Cotton, Helen Ennis (HarperCollins Publishers, Fourth Estate)
Step into Paradise, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson (Thames & Hudson Australia and MAAS Media, Thames & Hudson Australia)
The Lost Boys: The untold stories of the under-age soldiers who fought in the First World War, Paul Byrnes (Affirm Press, Affirm Press)
The Whole Fish Cookbook, Josh Niland (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Three Birds Renovations, Erin Cayless, Bonnie Hindmarsh and Lana Taylor (Murdoch Books, Murdoch Books)
International Book of the Year
Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow (Hachette Australia, Fleet)
Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Hachette Australia, Wildfire)
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
Lanny, Max Porter (Faber, Faber)
The Dutch House, Ann Patchett, (Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing)
The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (Penguin Random House Australia, Chatto & Windus)
Three Women, Lisa Taddeo (Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury Circus)
Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens (Hachette Australia, Corsair)
Literary Fiction Book of the Year
Damascus, Christos Tsiolkas (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
Exploded View, Carrie Tiffany (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Room for a Stranger, Melanie Cheng (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
The Drover’s Wife, Leah Purcell (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
The Weekend, Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The Yield, Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
There Was Still Love, Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Wolfe Island, Lucy Treloar (Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador Australia)
Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year
Cosmic Chronicles, Fred Watson (NewSouth Publishing, NewSouth)
Feeding the Birds at Your Table: A guide for Australia, Darryl Jones (NewSouth Publishing NewSouth)
Invented Lives, Andrea Goldsmith (Scribe Publications, Scribe Publications)
Kindred, Kirli Saunders (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Paris Savages, Katherine Johnson (Ventura Press, Ventura Press)
Sand Talk, Tyson Yunkaporta (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Split, Lee Kofman (Ventura Press, Ventura Press)
The White Girl, Tony Birch (University of Queensland Press, University of Queensland Press)
Small Publishers’ Children’s Book of the Year
Baby Business, Jasmine Seymour (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Cooee Mittigar, Written by Jasmine Seymour, Illustrated by Leanne Mulgo Watson (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Little Bird’s Day, Written by Sally Morgan, Illustrated by Johnny Warrkatja Malibirr (Magabala Books, Magabala Books)
Love Your Body, Written by Jessica Sanders, Illustrated by Carol Rossetti (Five Mile, Five Mile)
Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street, Felicita Sala (Scribe Publications, Scribble)
Sick Bay, Nova Weetman (University of Queensland Press, University of Queensland Press)
Summer Time, Hilary Bell and Antonia Pesenti (NewSouth Publishing, NewSouth)
You Can Change the World: The Kids’ Guide to a Better Planet, Lucy Bell (Pantera Press, Pantera Press)
The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year
Being Black ‘n Chicken, and Chips, Matt Okine (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
Call Me Evie, J.P. Pomare (Hachette Australia, Hachette Australia)
It Sounded Better in My Head, Nina Kenwood (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
Sand Talk, Tyson Yunkaporta (Text Publishing, Text Publishing)
The Prettiest Horse In The Glue Factory, Corey White (Penguin Random House Australia, Hamish Hamilton)
The Whole Fish Cookbook, Josh Niland (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Troll Hunting, Ginger Gorman (Hardie Grant Publishing, Hardie Grant Books)
Your Own Kind of Girl, Clare Bowditch (Allen & Unwin, Allen & Unwin)
The 2020 CBCA Notables have been announced!
Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators! You can find a list of the Notables here
Established with the first awards in 1946, the annual CBCA Book of the Year Awards aim to:
promote quality literature for young Australians;
support and encourage a wide range of Australian writers and illustrators of children’s books and;
celebrate contributions to Australian children’s literature.
The 2020 Stella Prize Longlist
Twelve books have been selected from more than 150 submissions to comprise the 2020 Stella Prize longlist, which was announced on February 6. Six of these books will make it to the shortlist, which will be announced on Friday March 6, and the winner will be announced on the evening Wednesday April 8. The winner will receive $50,000.
Founded in 2013, the Stella Prize is a significant award for literary excellence in all genres that draws attention to Australian writing and boosts the profiles of Australian authors. Last year’s recipient was Vicki Laveau-Harvie, whose memoir The Erratics was among the ten best-selling books of the year in Oscar & Friends Double Bay.
The Stella Prize longlist for 2020 is as follows:
Lucky Ticket by Joey Bui (Text Publishing)
Songspirals by Gay’wu Group of Women (Allen & Unwin)
See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill (Black Inc.)
Diving into Glass by Caro Llewellyn (Penguin Random House)
When One Person Dies the Whole World is Over by Mandy Ord (Brow Books)
There Was Still Love by Favel Parrett (Hachette Australia)
Here Until August by Josephine Rowe (Black Inc.)
This is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield (Text Publishing)
The Yield by Tara June Winch (Penguin Random House)
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin)
Paper Emperors by Sally Young (NewSouth Publishing)
See you in March!
Oscar & Friends Surry Hills' Top Ten Books of 2019!
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Educated by Tara Westover
The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
Ottolenghi SIMPLE by Yotam Ottolenghi