For some years now, I've made my first Monday Musings of the year, a "new releases" post. As in previous years, my list is mostly drawn from the Sydney Morning Herald, whose writers do a wonderful job of checking out publishers large and small, but I have found a couple of extras on my own! Also, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Some New Releases in 2021
Monday musings
Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2020
Once again I am devoting my last Monday Musings of the year to the Australian Women Writers Challenge*. Last year in my opening paragraph, I wrote that I loved the sound of 2020 - and I wished you all a wonderful year to come in whatever form you would like that to take. My, oh my, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2020
Monday musings on Australian literature: Summer picks 2020
For a few years now, I've shared ABC book journalists' top Aussie reads of the year, but this year I'm doing something a little different. I'm sharing picks from three different sources. Most of these include non-Australian books, but I like to share them in a Monday Musings post and focus on the Aussie books … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Summer picks 2020
Monday musings on Australian literature: New England Writers’ Centre
I thought I had finished my round-up of Australia's writers' centres with my post on the Australian Writers Centre, but then I came across a rather interesting - and active - regional one, and would like to share it with you (as well as document it here). It is the Armidale-based New England Writers Centre … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: New England Writers’ Centre
Monday musings on Australian literature: Nonfiction November
Every November for a few years now, a group of bloggers have coordinated a focus on nonfiction for bloggers in November. They set up a plan of topics, one per week, with a different blogger being responsible for each week, as follows: Leann (Week 1) (Shelf Aware), Julie (Week 2) (Julz Reads), Rennie (Week 3) … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Nonfiction November
Monday musings on Australian literature: “Returning novels”
In his review of Tara June Winch's The yield (my review), Jonathan Shaw (Me fail? I fly!) writes that "Ellen van Neerven, in a review in the Australian Book Review, describes The Yield as a ‘returning novel’". I loved this way of framing the novel, so I checked the review. Van Neerven, who has featured several times on this … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: “Returning novels”
Monday musings on Australian literature: Political biography
With the US election going, going ... but not quite gone it seems ... and with a new biography of President-elect Joe Biden, Joe Biden: The life, the run, and what matters now by Evan Osnos, hitting the bookstands, I thought it might be apposite to consider the political biography in Australia. By "political biography", … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Political biography
Monday musings on Australian literature: “You don’t walk away until the work is done”
This is a different type of Monday Musings, but its relevance will become apparent, I promise you! It's inspired by Julia Baird's Phosphorescence which I read a couple of weeks ago. In my review, I mentioned that one of the book's four main sections is devoted to failure and imperfection, but I didn't share much … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: “You don’t walk away until the work is done”
Monday musings on Australian literature: Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
Yes, you read right. This week's Monday Musings on Australian Literature focuses on an award established by the Swedish government, but it is an international award. Established in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (as you'll have guessed), the prize is five million SEK, making it, says Wikipedia, the richest award in children's literature and one of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
Monday musings on Australian literature: Supporting genres, 2: Short stories
When I started this little sub-series, I wondered how to describe it - genres or forms or genres and forms? In the end, I chose "genres" on the assumption that we could define it very loosely to include forms. I hope this works. After all, the content is more important than the name! I decided … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Supporting genres, 2: Short stories
Whispering Gums 