Books

• OPINION

  Marjane Satrapi’s masterpiece Persepolis transformed the world’s understanding of Iran

  Shadi Rouhshahbaz

  Marjane Satrapi, best known for her memoir and film Persepolis, has died, aged 56. The death of this much loved Iranian–French artist, graphic novelist, film-maker and activist has been met with widespread celebration of her life – and its dedication to resistance, freedom and humanity.

  Lifestyle & CultureBooks

  

• OPINION

  'How to Sell a Genocide' exposes the double standards of reporting on Gaza

  Jeff Sparrow

  When the University of Queensland Press cancelled the publication of Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money’s book Bila: A River Cycle because of a blog post by its illustrator, 60 UQP contributors signed a letter of protest. Some declared they would no longer publish with UQP. Fourteen staff members issued a statement decrying “the precedent the University of Queensland has set”.

  

  International AffairsBooks

  

• OPINION

  Yáng Shuāng‑zǐ, winner of the International Booker Prize, reveals a Taiwan many Australians have never seen

  Mei-fen Kuo

  Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and her English translator Lin King have received the 2026 International Booker Prize for Taiwan Travelogue. The novel is the first work translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award in its ten-year history, and Yang is the first Taiwanese writer to take the prize.

  

  Lifestyle & CultureBooks

  

• OPINION

  Romy Ash’s novel imagines the next pandemic as an eerily beautiful mushroom disease

  Jane Rawson

  This is a novel that explores connection, porousness, the possibilities offered by permeability. “It asks for a numb heart, the patriarchy,” says Joc. Mantle asks, what if we could ask for the opposite; what if we could let ourselves feel?

  

  BooksLifestyle & Culture

  

• OPINION

  Demagogues and Despots: Remaking the People

  John Keane

  Democracy and despotism live closer together than you’d expect. Acclaimed political thinker John Keane reveals why that should alarm us all in his new book Demagogues and Despots: Democracies on the brink. Here is an extract of this book: 'Remaking the People'.

  

  Democracy & AccountabilityBooks

  

• OPINION

  Trying to be ‘good patients’: The power and pitfalls of magical thinking

  Na’ama Carlin, Louise Chappell & Siobhan O'Sullivan

  An edited extract of Being Patient: Close Encounters in Cancer World, by Na'ama Carlin, Louise Chappell and Siobhan O'Sullivan. Available from 1 May in all good bookshops.

  HealthLifestyle & CultureBooks