"Once again women have proved that they can triumph over men"! So starts a 1928 newspaper article announcing the winners of the first Bulletin Novel Prize. Hmmm ... fascinating to read this the week we heard that eight of the ten books longlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin Award are by women. I don't like to … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: First winners of The Bulletin Novel Prize
Literary awards
Stella Prize 2015 Shortlist
I rarely write longlist, shortlist and winner posts, but for the Stella Prize I don't mind making an exception. Last month, I posted on the longlist, and yesterday, the shortlist was announced. Maxine Beneba Clarke's Foreign Soil (Hachette): short story collection that I really must read, a debut book Emily Bitto's The Strays (Affirm Press): another debut … Continue reading Stella Prize 2015 Shortlist
Fiona McFarlane, The night guest (Review)
Those of you who followed the literary award season in Australia last year will have seen Fiona McFarlane's debut novel The night guest pop up several times. The more it popped up, the more I wanted to read it - but also the more I thought it would be good to read with my reading … Continue reading Fiona McFarlane, The night guest (Review)
Ellen van Neerven, Heat and light (Review)
It's silly I know, but I had a little thrill at the end of Ellen van Neerven's Heat and light, because not only was the last story set in a place where I spent six of the formative years of my childhood - Sandgate on the northern edge of Brisbane - but one of the characters learnt to … Continue reading Ellen van Neerven, Heat and light (Review)
Monday musings on Australian literature: New prize for experimental NON-fiction
We've all heard of prizes for experimental fiction, I'm sure, such as the new(ish) Goldsmith's Prize won by Eimear McBride's A girl is a half-formed thing in 2013, but have you heard of a prize for experimental non-fiction? I hadn't until I read about Lifted Brow's new prize recently. The Lifted Brow is a Melbourne-based … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: New prize for experimental NON-fiction
Stella Prize 2015 Longlist
As a team-member of the Australian Women Writers' Challenge, I'm particularly interested in the Stella Prize, which, as you probably know, is a prize limited to Australian women writers. The great thing about it, though, is what it isn't limited to - and that is form and genre. The first winner in 2013 was a … Continue reading Stella Prize 2015 Longlist
Monday musings on Australian literature: The challenge of literacy
Today's topic may be a bit serious for Christmas week, but I've decided to go with it anyhow. I was inspired to write it by an article in the online journal, The Conversation. The article, by Deakin University academic Lyn McCredden, was itself inspired by the Prime Minister's Literary Awards at which one of the winners, Richard Flanagan, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The challenge of literacy
Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
I've written about the Prime Minister's Literary Awards before - more than once in fact, as you will see if you click on my link. They were created in 2007 by our then new Labor Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. What heady days they were. These were, at the time, Australia's most lucrative literary awards, and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
Monday musings on Australian literature: The Voss Literary Prize
Did the title of this post grab your attention? It grabbed mine so dramatically when I came across it that I immediately abandoned my plans for today's post - they can wait - to tell you about it. The first thing to say about it is that it's not what you think, if indeed like me … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: The Voss Literary Prize
Monday musings on Australian literature: Guest post by Dorothy Johnston, writer and Barbara Jefferis Award judge
Literary awards, their role and import, have come under frequent discussion here at Whispering Gums. So, when writer Dorothy Johnston, whose The house at number 10 and Eight pieces on prostitution I've reviewed and, more relevantly, who was one of the judges for this year's Barbara Jefferis Award, suggested a guest post on the Award, I was … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Guest post by Dorothy Johnston, writer and Barbara Jefferis Award judge
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