A new committee is being set up to pursue equal rights for women writers in Australia. Besides research, lobbying and setting up mentorships, the committee is looking at establishing a literary prize for Australian women writers, along the lines of the UK's Orange Prize. The steering committee (including novelist and publisher Sophie Cunningham, critic and … Continue reading Let's read writing by women
Australian authors
Guest review: Imogen Baratta on Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman
Text Publishing 9781921758133, March 2011 (Aus) (also UK) Reviewed by Imogen Baratta Helen Hodgman’s Blue Skies tells the story of an unnamed young wife and mother living in the 'heart shaped island' of Tasmania. The agonising banality of her day-to-day life plays out within the confines of stark, suffocating suburbia, amid the manicured lawns and … Continue reading Guest review: Imogen Baratta on Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman
Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on The Girl With No Hands by Angela Slatter
Ticonderoga Publications, 2011 9780980628883 (Aus, US, UK) reviewed by Lyndon Riggall In my first year at University I studied fairytales, and more specifically Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, a book which is arguably the poster-child of fairytale re-imaginings. Carter writes well, and in many cases her stories spin beautifully away from tradition while remaining neatly tied … Continue reading Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on The Girl With No Hands by Angela Slatter
This Too Shall Pass by SJ Finn
This review first appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald: Spectrum on the weekend of February 26-27. Sleepers Publishing 9781742700380 March 2011 (Aus) Jen Montgomery, known as ‘Monty’, had always considered herself a ‘forever’ person, until years into her marriage when something shifted. Monty began a relationship with another woman. This Too Shall Pass not only reflects on … Continue reading This Too Shall Pass by SJ Finn
The moody city: Meg Mundell on Black Glass
Black Glass Meg Mundell Scribe, March 2011 9781921640933 (Aus) In Meg Mundell’s dark and stylish debut, two sisters and a cast of characters from different tiers of society fight for survival, recognition and connection in near-future Melbourne. The novel is in some ways about maintaining some kind of hope or dreams in a fractured, controlling … Continue reading The moody city: Meg Mundell on Black Glass
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
Review of Yearn by Tobsha Learner up at Fancy Goods
I recently reviewed Tobsha Learner's new collection of sexy short stories, Yearn: Tales of Lust and Longing, for Bookseller+Publisher. They've put it up now on their Fancy Goods blog. 'Yearn is a collection of fun, imaginative and sexy stories by the author of Tremble and Quiver, Tobsha Learner. Learner’s stories are not purely erotic, but romantic and … Continue reading Review of Yearn by Tobsha Learner up at Fancy Goods
Guest review: Lisa Down on Making News by Tony Wilson
Murdoch Books July 2010 9781741969238 (Aus) reviewed by Lisa Down Remember the old saying, ‘Write what you know’? It’s an adage former AFL player, author and columnist Tony Wilson must have taken to heart. His latest offering, Making News, revolves around, well… a retired soccer player, an aspiring young columnist and an author, who … Continue reading Guest review: Lisa Down on Making News by Tony Wilson
Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on Five Wounds by Jonathan Walker & Dan Hallett
Allen & Unwin, 2010 9781742370132 (Aus, US, UK) To call your novel 'illuminated' is a dangerous thing. Five Wounds' claim holds with it the expectation that it should be something beyond a typical read. An 'illuminated novel' must be more than novel: no minor feat, and no small promise. I am glad to say that … Continue reading Guest review: Lyndon Riggall on Five Wounds by Jonathan Walker & Dan Hallett
Guest review: Elizabeth Bryer on Wayne Macauley’s Other Stories
Black Pepper November 2010 9781876044664 (Aus) Reviewed by Elizabeth Bryer Other Stories brings together Melbourne-based Wayne Macauley’s output over the past decade and counting. The collection is filled with ‘other’ stories—tales that are other, or outside the mainstream, in a double sense. They are other in subject, given that they are stories that trace … Continue reading Guest review: Elizabeth Bryer on Wayne Macauley’s Other Stories
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