I wrote about this award in a Monday Musings back in 2012, but haven't mentioned it much since. Roderick, as I explained in that post, is a somewhat controversial character in Australian literature. However, the award is worth $20,000 and encompasses a wide range of forms and genres, both fiction and nonfiction, so, I thought … Continue reading Colin Roderick Award longlist 2021
Australian literature
Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 2, Eliza Hamilton Dunlop
When I started my Monday Musings sub-series on forgotten Australian writers a couple of months ago, I had a few writers in mind, including the first one I did, Helen Simpson. However, a couple of weeks ago, The Conversation published the latest in their Hidden Women of History series, and the subject was an Irish-Australian … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Forgotten writers 2, Eliza Hamilton Dunlop
Malcolm Knox, Bluebird (#BookReview)
Malcolm Knox's sixth novel, Bluebird, comes with some impressive endorsements. On the front cover is "Charlotte Wood, author of The weekend", while the back features "Christos Tsiolkas, author of Damascus and The slap" and "Adam Gilchrist, former test cricketer and beach-goer". Hang on, Adam Gilchrist? What the? Some of you will know why, but I … Continue reading Malcolm Knox, Bluebird (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Refugee literature
I had planned another post for this week, but that can wait, as Lisa (ANZLitLovers) has reminded me that it is Refugee Week, and I thought that should take priority. Lisa has posted on a book relevant to the week, and includes in her post a link to a reading list of books she provided … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Refugee literature
Miles Franklin Award 2021 shortlist
I haven't posted on the Miles Franklin Award since 2019, and I didn't post this year's longlist when it came out last month, but, despite my woeful record - I've yet to read any on the longlist - I felt it was about time I returned to Australia's best known literary award. Unfortunately, I was … Continue reading Miles Franklin Award 2021 shortlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: Return of The Age Book of the Year
Early in my retirement, I spent quite a bit of time creating and editing articles on Australian literature in Wikipedia. I focused on a couple of subject areas in particular, Australian women writers and Australian literary awards. One of the awards I worked on was the well-regarded The Age Book of the Year Awards. They … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Return of The Age Book of the Year
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading and publishing, pandemic-wise
In his 1946 essay, "The prevention of literature", George Orwell named "the unwillingness of the public to spend money on books" as one of the threats to literature. I commented in my post that I didn't know how that stood now in England, but that I thought Australians were currently buying books. The week's Monday … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading and publishing, pandemic-wise
Monday musings on Australian literature: Memorable Australian fictional families
A bit of a fun post this week that I hope will engage you, regardless of where you live or what you read. This post is a sort of companion to one I wrote back in 2017 on Memorable Australian characters. I've had this post in mind ever since then, but have kept putting it … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Memorable Australian fictional families
Monday musings on Australian literature: Eco-literature
Over the weekend, I reviewed local Canberra author Irma Gold's debut novel, The breaking, and described it as belonging to the eco-literature "genre". I thought it might be interesting to explore this field a little more. Definitions I'll start with definitions, because, does it really exist? Wikipedia doesn't have an article for eco-literature, but it … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Eco-literature
Irma Gold in conversation with Sarah St Vincent Welch
Like many bookshops, Muse Canberra offers a wonderful program of book events. Unfortunately, I get to very few, but I did get to this weekend's conversation between local poet (among other things) Sarah St Vincent Welch and Irma Gold about Gold's debut novel The breaking (my review). Irma Gold, reading from her novel The breaking, … Continue reading Irma Gold in conversation with Sarah St Vincent Welch
Whispering Gums 