Last month, I reviewed Darren Rix and Craig Cormick's book Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People, but I didn't say all I'd like to have said. And I won't achieve that here either, but I did want to focus on a … Continue reading Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai (2, some literary connections)
Six degrees of separation, FROM Perfection TO …
When this SixDegrees goes live, I will be travelling from southern Germany to the Austrian Tyrol, a week into a five-week holiday that will see us travelling through Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland to France, returning home in early October. My blog commenting will be severely impacted though I have scheduled a few posts over … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Perfection TO …
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian novels set in Germany
When this post is published Mr Gums and I will be in Germany, having just spent three days in Vienna, so I thought to write something about Australian novels set in Germany. I wrote this post before we left, because I knew I'd have little time while we're travelling. Mr Gums lived in Germany for … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian novels set in Germany
Lee Lai, Cannon (#BookReview)
Lee Lai's second graphic novel, Cannon, won this year's Stella Prize, and so, while I'm not a graphic novel aficionado, I was intrigued to read this one. I'm not embarrassed to admit how surprised I was by how completely I was drawn into Cannon's world, and how much I felt for her predicament. How did … Continue reading Lee Lai, Cannon (#BookReview)
Monday musing on Australian literature: on People’s Choice literary awards
Nearly two weeks ago, the longlist was announced for the Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award. This is a significant award that has been going since 2002, and I have written about it before. But, I have never focused on one of its aspects, the People's Choice Award, so this is where we are … Continue reading Monday musing on Australian literature: on People’s Choice literary awards
Merlinda Bobis, In the name of the trees (#BookReview)
In July, Philippine-born Merlinda Bobis' latest novel, In the name of the trees, won the ACT Literary Awards prize for fiction, and in August it was shortlisted for the Prime Minster's Literary Awards. But then, Merlinda Bobis is no stranger to awards, in Australia and her country of birth, the Philippines, as you will see … Continue reading Merlinda Bobis, In the name of the trees (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: ConSYDeration, and some poetry
Back in March, I wrote a Monday Musings on the Blake Poetry Prize, which is a poetry prize managed by the Liverpool Powerhouse in conjunction with WestWords. WestWords is one active organisation, and is clearly good at finding partners to further its aims. Based in Parramatta in Western Sydney, the WestWords Centre for Writing describes … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: ConSYDeration, and some poetry
Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai
What most struck me as I got into the flow of Darren Rix and Craig Cormick's book Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People was that I was reading something that felt like a model for a new way of telling Australia's … Continue reading Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlist 2026, announced
The shortlists for this year's Prime Minister's Literary Award were announced today, as I was driving back from Melbourne. Creative Australia's page for the announcement says they received "a remarkable 673 entries across six literary categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry, and Australian history", which is exactly what they said last year, … Continue reading Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlist 2026, announced
Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1926: 1, First Nations language and literature
In 2022, I started a Monday Musings sub-series in which I shared news about Australian literature from a century ago. I wrote several posts for the sub-series in the first couple of years, but fewer in the last couple of years. This is not because I lost interest, but because the issues started to repeat … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: on 1926: 1, First Nations language and literature
Whispering Gums 