Just want to pause the bookiness for a minute to tell you about a great project my sister, Sonja, is doing. 'Yell, Don't Whisper' is a three month design initiative that will enable her to work with a number of environmental non-profit organisations and action groups around Australia. She recently re-jigged the Port Phillip EcoCentre's image, pro-bono. They've … Continue reading Yell, don’t whisper
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Guest post: Around the world in 28 novels, by Kent MacCarter (part two)
28 books, 28 authors, 28 countries... and one year by Kent MacCarter See part one What are some of the hurdles in finding all the books? Translations into English, and the lack thereof, has proven to be the largest hurdle in cobbling together my reading list. Not a surprise. It’s my own fault I’m not … Continue reading Guest post: Around the world in 28 novels, by Kent MacCarter (part two)
Guest post: Around the world in 28 novels, by Kent MacCarter (part one)
28 books, 28 authors, 28 countries... and one year by Kent MacCarter Why am I embarking this reading project? I was two weeks shy of age eighteen before I read my first novel, fuelled by my own motivation. I’ll start this post, cathartically, with that embarrassing, stale, shrivelled yet undeniable fact. It was Fitzgerald’s The … Continue reading Guest post: Around the world in 28 novels, by Kent MacCarter (part one)
A mini-diary of Perth Writers Festival 2011
Thursday On the flight over I read Jonah Lehrer, watch Animal Planet and listen to Philip Glass and Emily Haines. Nathan Scolaro picks me up at the airport and on the drive we discuss some of the festival authors. Nathan asks if I've read Armistead Maupin and I say, unfortunately, no. He loves Tales Of … Continue reading A mini-diary of Perth Writers Festival 2011
Celebrity Book Auction for literacy
One thing that was brought to my attention while I was in WA was The Great Celebrity Book Auction. Well-known people from Australia and beyond have donated books that have influenced their lives, to raise money for literacy programs at Kyilla Primary School, a small Government school of 200 students in North Perth. The children … Continue reading Celebrity Book Auction for literacy
Perth Writers Festival 2011: The A-Z of Publishing
Yesterday I chaired the 'A-Z of Publishing' day at Perth Writers Festival. Two-hundred people were in attendance. They heard Vintage/Knopf (Random House) publisher Meredith Curnow, senior editor at Text Publishing Mandy Brett and Fremantle Press Publisher Clive Newman speak on the topic 'Where on Earth Do You Start?' Then manuscript assessor John Harman and literary agent Lyn Tranter … Continue reading Perth Writers Festival 2011: The A-Z of Publishing
Renowned biographer Hazel Rowley dies
I recently had the pleasure of reading Hazel Rowley's wonderful biography of the Roosevelts, Franklin and Eleanor, in preparation for our panel in Perth this weekend. Last week I was notified that Rowley was ill, and that she wouldn't be able to attend the festival. I hoped that it wasn't serious and that she would pull … Continue reading Renowned biographer Hazel Rowley dies
Social media marketing & bringing back the letter
Those two things might seem incompatible, but they are two things I have spoken about and written on lately... Recently I was a guest of the Australian Publishers Association at the Social Media Marketing seminars in Sydney and Melbourne. There were all sorts of speakers - writers, booksellers, publishers, a 'guru' and someone like me … Continue reading Social media marketing & bringing back the letter
And the winner of the Hide & Seek: Melbourne books is…
Richard Goodwin, of Perth. The winner was drawn randomly. Richard had this to say about his favourite hidden place: 'When we’re visiting Victoria, we love to go to a place called Kyo down on the Bellarine Peninsula. It’s a warehouse full of old furniture, fittings, fabrics, work equipment and art/craft items from northern Asia, the … Continue reading And the winner of the Hide & Seek: Melbourne books is…
Recent reads: Perth Writers Festival special
The following three books are some of the new ones I've read in preparation for Perth Writers Festival (5 to 7 March). I'll be chairing panels featuring the authors. Find out more about those panels on this post. The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe by Andrew O'Hagan Faber, 9780571215997 … Continue reading Recent reads: Perth Writers Festival special
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