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

Finlay Lloyd’s 20/40 Prize 2024: Shortlist announced

And, the interesting literary awards keep coming. In November 2022, I announced the creation of the new 20/40 Publishing Prize by the local-to-my-region independent, non-profit publisher, Finlay Lloyd. A year later, in October 2023, I announced the inaugural shortlist, and soon after that, the winners, Rebecca Burton's Ravenous girls (my review) and Kim Kelly's Ladies’ … Continue reading Finlay Lloyd’s 20/40 Prize 2024: Shortlist announced

Novellas in November 2023: Week 4, The short and the long of it

This week's question is the Novella version of Nonfiction November's Book Pairings. It goes like this Pair a novella with a nonfiction book or novel that deals with similar themes or topics. I am doing several pairings with Jessica Au's novella Cold enough for snow (my review), because although it's a "little" book, it's so … Continue reading Novellas in November 2023: Week 4, The short and the long of it

Novellas in November 2023: Week 3, Broadening my horizons

This week's question is new to me, and I like it. It goes: Pick your top novellas in translation and think about new genres or authors you’ve been introduced to through novellas. I love this question because it feels like I've read almost more novellas in translation than English language novellas. Is this because translation … Continue reading Novellas in November 2023: Week 3, Broadening my horizons

Kim Kelly, Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room (#BookReview)

Early in the month I reviewed the first of the two winners of Finlay Lloyd's inaugural 20/40 Publishing Prize, Rebecca Burton's Ravenous girls (my review). It was set in Sydney in the 1980s. Now, as promised, I bring you the other winner, Kim Kelly's Ladies' Rest and Writing Room. It is also set in Sydney, … Continue reading Kim Kelly, Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room (#BookReview)