The Newtown Review of Books was established in March 2012 by Jean Bedford and Linda Funnell as an independent site for book reviews. NRB publishes reviews of fiction, memoir, biography, history, politics and true crime. Our tastes are eclectic, and we aim to provide intelligent reviews of books people will want to read. We post new reviews two or three times a week, and occasional extracts and giv
eaways. We do not review poetry or children’s books. The Newtown Review of Books is produced entirely by volunteers. You can support us by buying books via the links on the site (we earn a small commission on these sales), or by making a donation. If you are interested in advertising with NRB please get in touch. Who we are:
Editor
Linda Funnell is an editor and publishing consultant and has taught courses in publishing, editing and writing for UTS, the ASA, Writing NSW and the University of Sydney. For ten years she was a publisher with HarperCollins, and previously worked with Random House, Pan Macmillan, and legendary literary agent Rosemary Creswell. She has been NRB’s editor since 2020, having been co-editor with Jean Bedford from 2012 to 2019. Editor Emerita
Jean Bedford is a prizewinning novelist and short-story writer. She was Literary Editor of the National Times and has been a freelance and in-house publisher’s editor as well as a teacher of Creative Writing. She has been a judge for many local, state and national literary awards and prizes. Her acclaimed novel Sister Kate has been included in Melbourne University’s Untapped: The Australian Literary Heritage Project. Jean was co-editor of NRB from its foundation until 2019, when she stepped back from day to day operations. Foundation guest contributor
Peter Corris is the creator of PI Cliff Hardy and known as ‘the Godfather of Australian crime fiction’. Peter was married to Newtown Review of Books editor Jean Bedford and wrote ‘The Godfather’ column for NRB from 2012 to 2018. You can read his columns here, including tributes following his death in September 2018. The Scribe and Bark Foundation
NRB gratefully acknowledges the support of the Scribe and Bark Foundation, which has enabled us to undertake important behind-the-scenes upgrades to our website. Copyright in all reviews remains with the reviewer.
