I woke up in cold-ish Toronto this morning to a congratulations message from WordPress telling me that it's 5 years since I joined WordPress. I knew it was coming up this month but hadn't taken note of exactly when. I'd like to have written a more considered post about this landmark but I'm so taken up … Continue reading Five years old today!
Author: Whispering Gums
Canada’s Group of Seven
You've seen me write about Canberra's Seven Writers, a group of seven women who got together to share their writing and support each other. All of them published well-received books - novels, short stories, poetry. Well, I was amused - I'm easily amused - to discover the other day as we explored the Art Gallery … Continue reading Canada’s Group of Seven
Monday musings on Australian literature: Short story awards
You all know by now that I really enjoy short stories. I have not, though, paid much attention here to short story awards, partly because, despite a few recent posts on awards, awards are not a major focus on my blog. However, I was down at New South Wales' beautiful south coast a few weekends … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Short story awards
Australian Women Writers 2014 Challenge completed
Regular readers here know by now that I only do one challenge, and that's the Australian Women Writer's Challenge. As in previous years, I signed up for the top level: Franklin-fantastic. This required me to read 10 books and review at least 6. I have now exceeded this. I will continue to add to the challenge, as … Continue reading Australian Women Writers 2014 Challenge completed
Monday musings on Australian literature: Emerging or debut writer awards
Almost as important for emerging writers as the unpublished manuscript awards, about which I wrote recently, are the awards devoted to new, mostly defined as debut, writers. That is, these awards are for writers lucky enough to have been published - and who knows, some may have won an unpublished manuscript award to get published - … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Emerging or debut writer awards
Preparing to visit friends, Jane Austen style
One of the things we learn through Jane Austen's letters - and indeed through her novels - is how much visiting and travelling people did in the early eighteenth century. They travelled to stay with or help out friends and family; they travelled for health purposes (such as to take the Waters at Bath); they … Continue reading Preparing to visit friends, Jane Austen style
Kirsten Krauth, just_a_girl (Review)
If you've already heard about Kirsten Krauth's debut novel just_a_girl, you'll know something about its confronting nature - and it is confronting, though perhaps not quite in the way I expected. It was both more and less, if that makes sense. However, if you're not Australian, you may not have heard about this novel. Essentially a … Continue reading Kirsten Krauth, just_a_girl (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Juvenilia Press
Literature enthusiasts are often not happy to just read their favourite authors' novels. They (we) want to read everything written by our favourites. This can include letters, diaries and juvenilia. I have written before about Jane Austen's Juvenilia, including a review of her story Love and freindship (sic). Her early works provide a wonderful insight … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Juvenilia Press
Performers and the audience
Have you ever been to a show - a concert, a play, a ballet, for example - and wondered about the performers? How do they relate to each other? What do they do in their spare time? Well, quite coincidentally, two shows I went to last week looked at this question from different angles. First, … Continue reading Performers and the audience
Angela Meyer (ed), The great unknown (Review)
The great unknown is a mind-bending collection of short stories which explores, as editor Angela Meyer says, "the unknown, the mysterious, or even just the slightly off." I was, in fact, expecting more horror, thriller even, which are genres that don't really interest me, but this collection is not that. There are some truly scary scenes … Continue reading Angela Meyer (ed), The great unknown (Review)
Whispering Gums 