Woo hoo, Muse, which is one of my favourite places in Canberra, is running its second Muse Festival this long weekend in Canberra. As last year, Mr Gums and I went to the opening event, Turn me on, last night -and it was different but also good. Different because last year's opener, Women of the … Continue reading Festival Muse 2018: Turn me on
Literary events
Monday musings on Australian literature: Pulp fiction, 1940s to 1970s
This post was inspired by the Pulp Fiction exhibition* at the Canberra Museum and Art Gallery that ran from August to October this year. The exhibition used materials from two collectors, Graeme Flanagan (d. 2015) and James Doig, who also wrote the accompanying booklet. Doig says that Flanagan "amassed one of the most significant collections of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Pulp fiction, 1940s to 1970s
Unbreakable: Conversation with Jelena Dokic
If you are a fan of professional tennis you will probably have heard of Jelena Dokic who hit the world stage during the 1999 Wimbledon Championships. She was just 16 years old, and, as Wikipedia writes, "achieved one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, beating Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-0. This remains the only time … Continue reading Unbreakable: Conversation with Jelena Dokic
Monday musings on Australian literature: Genre Worlds
While reading the GenreCon 2017 twitter feed, which resulted in last week's Monday Musings, I came across the twitter handle @PopFicDoctors. Intrigued, I checked them out and discovered they are behind a research project and manage the website Genre Worlds: Australian Popular Fiction in the Twenty-first Century. The project is being funded by an ARC … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Genre Worlds
Monday musings on Australian literature: GenreCon 2017 by Tweet (#gcoz)
First off, no, I didn't attend this year's GenreCon which took place this weekend past in Brisbane, Queensland. However, I did see many of the tweets that emanated from attendees (using hashtag #GCoz) and found many of them extending beyond the genre focus. So, I thought I'd pass some on. Not all tweeters identified the … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: GenreCon 2017 by Tweet (#gcoz)
Sofie Laguna in conversation with Karen Viggers
What a treat it was to witness a conversation between two lively, intelligent Australian women writers in the company of other writers. I mean, as you can see from the post title, Miles-Franklin award-winning author Sofie Laguna and local writer Karen Viggers whose book The lighthousekeeper's wife has just hit 500,000 copies sold in France! … Continue reading Sofie Laguna in conversation with Karen Viggers
A paradox of empowerment: Kim Scott’s Ray Mathew Lecture
Why was Raimond Gaita's Seymour Biography Lecture booked out, but not Kim Scott's Ray Mathew Lecture*. Both lectures, held at the National Library of Australia, are endowed by generous benefactors and are free. Don't get me wrong. I love that Gaita was booked out, but so should double Miles-Franklin-winner Noongar-author Kim Scott have been. His novel, That deadman … Continue reading A paradox of empowerment: Kim Scott’s Ray Mathew Lecture
Truth, Truthfulness, Self, Voice: Raimond Gaita’s Seymour Biography Lecture
This week Mr Gums, Brother Gums and I went to one of the highlights of Canberra's literary calendar, the Seymour Biography Lecture at the National Library of Australia. It's an annual lecture devoted to life-writing, and was endowed by the Seymours in 2005. This is the third one Mr Gums and I have attended, the first in 2015 being … Continue reading Truth, Truthfulness, Self, Voice: Raimond Gaita’s Seymour Biography Lecture
Canberra Writers Festival, 2017, Day 2, Pt 3: A panel of millennials
Unfortunately - for me, anyhow - this will be my last post on the Festival, as that cold I hoped (unrealistically) to hold at bay would not be held. Consequently, for both my benefit and that of others, I decided to keep my snivelling self at home on Day 3. I'm very disappointed however, as … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, 2017, Day 2, Pt 3: A panel of millennials
Canberra Writers Festival, 2017, Day 2, Pt 2: Two book launches
At last year's festival, I attended a few excellent book launches, and so decided to do so again. Authors need all the support they can get after all. Book launch: Ian Burnet: Where Australia collides with Asia The first of today's two launches was for a book with a very long title, by geologist Ian … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, 2017, Day 2, Pt 2: Two book launches
Whispering Gums 