Crikey’s new blog Truth to Tell, by former political and media advisor James Rose, explores the many issues spotlit by truth tellers of the entertainment world.

“Chook lit” and “chick lit” are being considered for inclusion in the Australian National Dictionary. Crikey’s linguistics blog Fully (sic) explains where the term comes from and how it evolved.

He’s 400kg and can’t leave the couch — it’s the drama around him that makes Melissa Bubnic’s Beached such a moving and timely journey, writes Corina Thorose.

The gender issue has been a persistent theme in the announcement of shortlists and longlists. For the first time in history an all-female Stella Prize shortlist has been announced, writes Bethanie Blanchard.

Female writers have stormed back into contention for the Miles Franklin — this year it’s the men left off the shortlist. So is it reactionism or simply a stellar year for women authors?

The man who sentenced Ned Kelly to death would be instrumental in creating the institution that educated Sidney Nolan in famously capturing the outlaw. John Kelly looks at the legacy from Ireland.

Brisbane’s 77-year-old Arts Theatre has a new lease on life under energetic artistic director Ron Kelly and an open-house philosophy for the theatrical community, writes Alison Cotes.

Australia’s most prolific playwright serves up another relationship drama that still has plenty of things to say — by silver-tongued characters, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

They Might Be Giants would be pop kings except for one factor: their brains are too big. Needless to say, their concert in Melbourne rocked, writes W H Chong.

Chrissy Amphlett blasted the door open for women who didn’t want to be demure. Her legacy in Australian rock will live on long after her death from cancer yesterday, writes journalist (and fan) Andrew Stafford.

Celebrity chef website Eatlove has secured partnerships with some of the top foodies in Australia, yet publishers and a Murdoch, writes StartUp Smart reporter Michelle Hammond.

Australia is getting a new pavilion at the Venice Biennale, largely funded by private donors. But very few of us will ever see it. The rich are spending more on art, but do we really benefit?

Don Quixote emerges as about the most fun a dancer or dance devotee can have with tights on, or admiring them. It’s old and new from the Australian Ballet, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

Last night the first winner of the Stella Prize, a new award for Australian women writers, was announced. How did the founders create a $50,000 award in just two years?

Why should women have their own, segregated writing prize? That was the questioned that hovered over the first Stella Prize, writes W H Chong.

In a show without his trademark puppets, Potentially still shows Sammy J can hold his own, writes Siobhan Argent.

Li Cunxin makes a splash as the new creative force of the Queensland Ballet with a joyous and touching production of Cinderella. Even for ballet novices it proves a magical hit, writes James Rose.

This year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival program presents an impressive line up. Liticism blogger Bethanie Blanchard picks her highlights.

Why is The Australian Financial Review spruiking a book by one of its writers on the death of Fairfax? There’s a slew of such books coming out — it may test Fairfax’s tradition of openness.

The new Melbourne production of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins has its problems, but with a stellar cast and faultless material it’s still worth a look, writes Byron Bache.

Should new buildings and streetscapes be made in historic styles? How important is the demand to look “modern”? Alan Davies argues there is still a place for new constructions to embrace old aesthetics.

Philanthropic punter David Walsh is battling to keep his millions. So what happens to his celebrated Museum of Old and New Art if he goes down? Ben Eltham examines a unique and precarious gallery model.

As Australia’s largest art fair opens next week in Melbourne, Crikey examines the growing importance of art fairs in an increasingly global art market. Australia is emerging as a player.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is on the right track with his pilot program for micro-apartments — think 25 - 28 square metres — in Manhattan, writes Alan Davies.

Buildings designed by Frank Gehry look terrific, with their leant-over facades and bug-eyed windows. But perhaps it’s time for him to find a new shtick, writes Alan Davies.

In one way, the winner of this year’s Archibald Prize is emblematic of the finalists — it’s a self-portrait. Fully one third, 14, are self-gazing (two are shown with another subject), notes W H Chong.

In the short street of Rue Cremieux in Paris, blocked off from traffic, 33 houses and a hotel reside. Bob Gosford photographs the street’s colourful array of edifices.

Andy ‘Godfather of Graffiti’ Mac’s extensive collection of Melbourne street art — almost certainly the largest of its kind — is fascinating as art, history and cultural milieu, writes W H Chong.

Now in their seventh year, the Bald Archy Art Prize still itches to aggravate the art establishment with its shameless dig at the Archibald. Julia and Tony were among the winners, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

Courtney Collins’ fictional tale about Australia’s last bushranger is told through the dead eyes of Jessie’s newborn child. It’s a beautiful book but lacks depth and is tonally inconsistent, writes Erin Handley.

Fiction, debut writers and independent publishers are the emphasis in the longlist announced for the inaugural Stella Prize, the first major new literary award for women’s writing, reports Bethanie Blanchard.

The relationship between publishers and readers has changed dramatically — and it’s all thanks to digital marketing technologies. Social media and video trailers are flogging more books.

There’s change at the top of Meanjin, one of Australia’s oldest literary journals.

What was the best film of 2012? The best TV show? The book you have to read, the video game you have to play, the album you have to download, the theatre you should have seen? Crikey picks the best.

Gina Rinehart’s latest book is weirdly amateur, and portrays the mining magnate as delusional and blind to how she is being perceived, writes literary critic Cameron Woodhead.

An Age op-ed slamming Gabrielle García Márquez’s classic novel Love in the Time of Cholera seemed like harmless clickbait, but the Victoria Curriculum Assessment Authority took it seriously. Bethanie Blanchard defends a beautiful and intricate novel.

The Australian government was warned about embarrassing cables before WikiLeaks published them, according to an updated book on Julian Assange by ABC journalist Andrew Fowler.

Can readers approach a novel without comparing it to an author’s previous ones? Bethanie Blanchard delves into J K Rowling’s A Casual Vacancy.

Gina Rinehart will spend the next 36 hours zipping between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to launch her top-secret book of political essays. A presentation reveals personal photos of the billionaire.

Fragmented, dizzying, nerve-jangling and sometimes frustrating, there are nevertheless flashes of brilliance in Zadie Smith’s NW, writes Bethanie Blanchard.

The merger of publishers Penguin and Random House will trigger more takeover activity. And the impact will trickle down to all aspects of the industry, writes Scribe publisher Henry Rosenbloom.

Mo Yan has won the world’s most prestigious literary honour for his merging of ‘folk tales, history and the contemporary’ with ‘hallucinatory realism’, writes Bethanie Blanchard.

A debut novelist in Australia could earn less than $5000 from their publisher as an advance for their book. Crikey speaks to publishers, authors and agents about the delicate topic of advances.

Christian Lander’s Stuff White People Like blog spawned a NYT bestselling book, a world tour and countless imitations. Bethanie Blanchard interviews Lander about writing before and after becoming the official voice of the ‘white person’.

In-vogue verb “Adlerised” has been spotted in newsprint (and in Crikey) in regards to publishing boss Louise Adler. But what does it really mean?

Only one Australian reviewer has read JK Rowling’s first book for adults, which goes on sale at 5pm today. The secrecy around The Casual Vacancy is a Harry Potter-like mystery.

On the Great Barrier Reef’s most beautiful island, a feast of world-class music. It sounds like a fantasy, but the Australian Festival of Chamber Music has never been conventional, writes Alison Cotes.

Encountering a backlit bus stop advertisement for Channel 9’s smash hit The Voice, Culture Mulcher and Voice aficionado W H Chong applies his designer scalpel to the show’s poster and album art.

Tony Birch’s Miles Franklin contender Blood is a dark, brutal and troubling story with the underlying quality of a classical children’s fairytale. It’s an Australian novel that isn’t suffused with “Australian-ness,” writes Bethanie Blanchard.

Aside from the smoke machines, flame throwers, knickers and beards, Eurovision offered plenty to be engaged by — including choice of language and the linguistic quality each performance, writes Lauren Gawne.

Nine finally has a runaway ratings freight train to rival all comers, with spinny-chair mega-hit The Voice dominating TV screens across the country. And Nine isn’t the only one cashing in.

When does a song become an addiction, an obsession? What peculiar personal associations must be made for a tune to become an earworm? asks W H Chong.

Australia finally has access to a legal world-class music streaming service with Rdio, from Skype inventors Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstron. Earwormblogger Neil Walker tunes in and weighs up the pros and cons.

The new Melbourne production of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins has its problems, but with a stellar cast and faultless material it’s still worth a look, writes Byron Bache.

Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez aka The Pajam Men impress with their assorted repertoire of characters, facial gymnastics and vocal abilities, writes Nicole Humphreys.

Here’s a lesson to remember: never go and see a show thinking “I really wanted to see this guy in my university days”. You’ll regret it, warns Siobhan Argent.

It’s as good as Carmen can be, indoors or out. Opera Australia’s Sydney Harbour spectacle might not be pure, but it’s a visual feast and the performers are world-class, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

Irish playwright Enda Walsh wrestles Beckett, Joyce and Homer and comes out a little worse for wear in Red Stitch’s Penelope, says Sarah Braybrooke, despite some winning (near-naked) performances.

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and the Australian players really dazzle. The Addams Family, a moderate hit on Broadway, arrives in Sydney in perfect working order, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

Contemporary dance enjoys renewed attention — and attracts large audiences — as part of the Dance Massive festival in Melbourne. It’s driving innovative new projects in Australia.

Bach’s St Matthew Passion came to life on a Brisbane stage as superb musical drama. Crikey got into the Easter spirit with a performance last week, writes Alison Cotes.

What happens when you put seven seniors from south-western Sydney, who’ve never acted before, on a stage? It’s rough and ready but has important things to say, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

Intense, dark and wildly creative, Skeleton intrigues from the outset. The Dance Massive work is unconventional, even distressing, but rewarding theatre, writes Corina Thorose.

The last few months of Judy Garland’s tragic life comes alive on a Brisbane stage in End Of The Rainbow thanks to a powerful performance from Christen O’Leary, writes Alison Cotes.

Songs For The Fallen is a drama, comedy, musical, cabaret … or something else entirely. The lush Seymour Centre production is certainly a tour de farce, writes Lloyd Bradford Syke.

This Black Arm Band view of Australia is pumped with life, love and with the everyday majesty of our shared journey. And all with a killer a soundtrack, writes James Rose.