Sleepers Publishing 9781742701851 October 2011 (paperback) This interview was first published in Bookseller+Publisher magazine. Life Kills is a slim novel but I imagine many hours went into its construction. Can you talk a bit about how it came together? For a number of years I’d been writing rants; stories told in single, unpunctuated paragraphs that … Continue reading The poetic & the profane: an interview with Miles Vertigan, on Life Kills
Australian literature
An Emotional Landscape: Laurie Steed reviews The World Swimmers by Patrick West
ICLL, August 2011 available at selected bookstores & through the author ($25, postage free, email: patrick.west@deakin.edu.au) review by Laurie Steed Australia’s literary landscape seems scarred by an increasingly commercial approach to what constitutes quality literature. Yes, publishers need to make a profit, but in chasing said profit, publishers close the door on any number of quality … Continue reading An Emotional Landscape: Laurie Steed reviews The World Swimmers by Patrick West
Review of Animal People by Charlotte Wood in the Age today
I reviewed Charlotte Wood's new novel Animal People for the Age and it looks like it has already found its way online, on the SMH website (not sure if it was in their print version as well). It is definitely one of the best Australian books I've read this year, and I do encourage you to … Continue reading Review of Animal People by Charlotte Wood in the Age today
Review of :etchings 9 – Love & Something on Cordite
I recently reviewed issue nine of the journal :etchings for Cordite Poetry Review. The focus of the review is the issue's poetry, as that is Cordite's focus, but I mention the fiction and nonfiction also. It begins: 'Love & Something is the sub-header of :etchings 9, and the something seems to stand for the multitudinous meanings the … Continue reading Review of :etchings 9 – Love & Something on Cordite
Guest review: Raili Simojoki on The Amateur Science of Love by Craig Sherborne
Text Publishing, June 2011 9781921758010 (trade paperback, ebook) Reviewed by Raili Simojoki If you’ve read any of Craig Sherborne’s writing, you’ll know not to expect a rosy-eyed view of the world. The Amateur Science of Love follows the grim journey of a love affair gone wrong. Colin leaves the unglamorous environs of his parents’ farm … Continue reading Guest review: Raili Simojoki on The Amateur Science of Love by Craig Sherborne
Mystery, strangeness and coming-of-age: an interview with Christopher Currie, author of The Ottoman Motel
Text Publishing, May 2011, 9781921758164 (Aus, US, UK) The parents of a young boy disappear in a small, strange town called Reception, in Christopher Currie's atmospheric debut novel The Ottoman Motel. The townfolk don't seem to be trying too hard to find Simon's parents, and it isn't the first disappearance in the area. Currie's debut … Continue reading Mystery, strangeness and coming-of-age: an interview with Christopher Currie, author of The Ottoman Motel
Let's read writing by women
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
Guest review: Lisa Down on Kill Your Darlings: Issue Four
Kill Your Darlings: Issue Four (Aus) Ed: Rebecca Starford January 2011 reviewed by Lisa Down Call me a philistine, but I wasn’t previously familiar with the Australian quarterly Kill Your Darlings. It means I don’t have a standard by which I can judge this edition but I walked away satisfied that it had provided the … Continue reading Guest review: Lisa Down on Kill Your Darlings: Issue Four
Australian Book Review Online Edition launches today
Australian Book Review, as you may well know, is a monthly magazine featuring lengthy, considered book reviews plus poetry and essays (and soon fiction). It is 50 years old this year. Today they’re launching their Online Edition, which is an enhanced version of the magazine accessible to subscribers. ABR OE can be read on any device with … Continue reading Australian Book Review Online Edition launches today
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
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