This is the third year that expat journalist Kim has hosted an Australian Literature month on her blog Reading Matters – except that this year, for the first time, she has included New Zealand literature in her scope. As she writes in her introductory post, her aim is to celebrate and “raise awareness of the amazing range of literature produced by these two countries, much of which never gets publicised beyond their shores”. 

Over the month, which is nearly over, she has reviewed several books from the antipodes, highlighted some current award winners and interesting shortlists, used Australian bloggers for her Triple Choice Tuesdays, and published some specific suggested readings posts (including two guest posts). 

With Kim’s permission, I’m providing links to the suggested readings posts in today’s Monday Musings. As a reader of my blog, you’ve already shown an interest in Aussie literature, and so it’s likely the most of you will probably have heard of many of the books listed in these posts, but you never know …

• 8 good reads from Australia: Kim’s opening salvo for the month containing an eclectic mix ranging from established authors like Tim Winton and Kate Grenville to newer kids on the block like Wayne Macauley.
• 12 debut novels by Australian and New Zealander authors with a promising future: Lisa’s guest post (ANZLitLovers) containing an excellent list of writers which is sure to include at least one or two new authors to check out.
• 6 true crime books from Australia: Kim’s list, which includes books by some of our best, such as Helen Garner and Chloe Hooper.
• 5 classic ANZ authors to discover: my guest post that starts from the point of view of authors, but suggests a title or two for each as well. It focuses, I’m afraid, on Australian writers, though one was born in New Zealand!

Kim’s Triple Choice Tuesdays are always worth checking out. In them she asks her chosen blogger to name three books: a favourite, one that changed his/her world, and one that deserves wider recognition. The Aussie bloggers featured (so far) this month are:

• Kirsten Krauth, author of just_a_girl (my review)
• Book to the Future (Michelle McLaren), whose plan is to read (and review) a book from every year of the 20th century in chronological order
• Alan Carter, crime novelist who was born in England but emigrated to Australia in 1991

These links provide just a sample of what has been happening over at Reading Matters this month. To see more, check out this link to all posts for the month …

Thanks Kim for hosting another month promoting our literature – and for the opportunity to write a guest post. I look forward to next year’s event!