Back in 2013, I wrote about the Hazel Rowley Literary Fund which was set up in 2011 by Rowley's sister and friends, in association with Writers Victoria. Hazel Rowley was, as many of you will know, one of Australia's most respected biographers. Her subjects were diverse, and not exclusively Australian. Indeed, most were not Australian, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Hazel Rowley Fellowship
Author: Whispering Gums
Johanna Bell, Department of the Vanishing (#BookReview)
Words can be problematical when it comes to expressing our response to literature, indeed to any of the arts. We are uncomfortable, for example, using the word "enjoy" to express our response to anything that is dark. This is understandable, and yet I think "enjoy" is a perfectly okay word for something that has engaged … Continue reading Johanna Bell, Department of the Vanishing (#BookReview)
Stella Prize 2026 Longlist announced
As I say every year, I don't do well at having read the Stella Prize longlist at the time of its announcement. In recent years the most I've read at the time of the announcement has been two (in 2019). Last year I'd read one. I have read 9 of the 13 winners to date, … Continue reading Stella Prize 2026 Longlist announced
Monday musings on Australian literature: Turning 50 in 2026
No, not me, much as I wish it were! I'm talking books. Today being the day after International Women's Day, I thought to feature women in this week's Monday Musings. But how? Then I remembered that somewhere last year I'd seen a list of books turning 50, so decided to take inspiration from that and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Turning 50 in 2026
Six degrees of separation, FROM Wuthering Heights TO …
And just like that, it's autumn. I can't believe summer here downunder is already over, but this is what happens. Summer comes and goes, and then I have to wait months and months for it to come again. Oh well, Six Degrees will continue, so let's continue get on with it ... but first, the … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM Wuthering Heights TO …
Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker, Spirit of the crocodile (#Bookreview)
Aaron Fa'Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker's Spirit of the crocodile is a children's/YA book, which makes it atypical reading for me. However, I'm not averse breaking my rules occasionally, and so I made an exception for this book - mainly because of its collaborative authorship and its setting. Aaron Fa'aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker have … Continue reading Aaron Fa’Aoso and Michelle Scott Tucker, Spirit of the crocodile (#Bookreview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 17, Beatrice Grimshaw
Of all the writers I've researched for the AWW project, Beatrice Grimshaw is among the most documented, with articles in the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) and Wikipedia, among others. And yet, she is little known today. This post, like most of my recent Forgotten Writers posts, draws on the one I posted on AWW. However, I … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 17, Beatrice Grimshaw
Samantha Harvey, Orbital (#BookReview)
Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novella, Orbital, is one of those novels you want to keep by your side after you've finished it, hoping that its calm beauty and quiet provocations will stay with you just that little bit longer. And here, in this opening sentence, I am channelling the "you" voice that she slips into occasionally … Continue reading Samantha Harvey, Orbital (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Walter Scott Prize
Some of you will have come across the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction already. Brona (This Reading Life) recently posted on it, and I have mentioned it in passing a few times on this blog. Wikipedia provides good overview, as does the Prize's own website, so I am sharing information from both these sites. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Walter Scott Prize
Adeline F. Ries, Mammy: A story (#Review)
Adeline F. Ries's short story "The scapegoat" is the sixth in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers, which my American friend Carolyn sent me. Like the previous author, Emma E. Butler, Adeline F. Ries is barely known. Adeline F. Ries The biographical note at the end of the anthology, like that for Butler, … Continue reading Adeline F. Ries, Mammy: A story (#Review)
Whispering Gums 