Last month, I reviewed Darren Rix and Craig Cormick's book Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People, but I didn't say all I'd like to have said. And I won't achieve that here either, but I did want to focus on a … Continue reading Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai (2, some literary connections)
Collaborative authors
Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai
What most struck me as I got into the flow of Darren Rix and Craig Cormick's book Warra Warra Wai: How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People was that I was reading something that felt like a model for a new way of telling Australia's … Continue reading Darren Rix and Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai
Corey Tutt and Irma Gold, with Jessica Tedim, Come home Bigibila (#BookReview)
The recently published children's picture book, Come home Bigibila, is a gorgeous book for several reasons, but the most important of these is that it's a good read. If it weren't that, the other reasons would fade away! So, let's start there. Come home Bigibila tells the story of Bigibila, a baby echidna who is … Continue reading Corey Tutt and Irma Gold, with Jessica Tedim, Come home Bigibila (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Magabala’s reading list for “50 Years Deadly”
NAIDOC Week 2026 finished yesterday, but, as I sometimes do, I am bookending the week with NAIDOC-dedicated Monday Musings. For this year's concluding one, I'm sharing the reading list selected by Magabala to support this theme. They wrote on their Facebook Page that the theme: marks a significant milestone: five decades of strength, Culture, resilience … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Magabala’s reading list for “50 Years Deadly”
Monday musings on Australian literature: First Nations children’s picture books
NAIDOC Week 2026 started yesterday, and as has become my tradition, I am devoting my NAIDOC Week Monday Musings to celebrating First Nations writers in some way. Each year has a theme, and for 2026 it is "50 Years Deadly", celebrating five decades in which NAIDOC Week has celebrated the voices of First Nations communities. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: First Nations children’s picture books
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)
Wayne Bergmann and Madelaine Dickie, Some people want to shoot me (#BookReview)
Having finally read Wayne Bergmann and Madelaine Dickie's Some people want to shoot me, I am not surprised that it has been shortlisted in the Nonfiction category of this year's Western Australian Premier's Book Awards. It is moving; it is clearly written; and it is informative about big issues. Wayne Bergmann is a Nyikina* man … Continue reading Wayne Bergmann and Madelaine Dickie, Some people want to shoot me (#BookReview)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Collaborative story-telling between First Nations Australian and white writers
National NAIDOC Logo (2025) NAIDOC Week 2025 started yesterday, and as I have done for many years now, I am devoting my NAIDOC Week Monday Musings to celebrating First Nations writers in some way. This year is a particularly special year because it marks NAIDOC Week's 50th anniversary, 50 years it says, "of honoring and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Collaborative story-telling between First Nations Australian and white writers
PS Cottier and NG Hartland, The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin (#BookReview)
Earlier this month, I posted on a conversation with the winners of the 2024 Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize, P S Cottier and N G Hartland, who wrote The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin, and Sonya Voumard, who wrote Tremor. On the surface, these books look very different, but conversation facilitator, Sally Pryor, found some … Continue reading PS Cottier and NG Hartland, The thirty-one legs of Vladimir Putin (#BookReview)
Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize 2024 Winning Books Launch with Conversation
I mentioned the nonfiction winner of the 2024 Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize, in this week's Monday Musings, but saved the full winner announcement until after I attended the launch at a conversation with the winning authors this weekend. The participants This year, as publisher Julian Davies had hoped, there was a prize for fiction … Continue reading Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize 2024 Winning Books Launch with Conversation
Whispering Gums 