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)
Novellas
Novellas in November 2024, Part 1
This November has been - well, about as busy as usual. I am secretary of an association for which, in November, we present our annual lecture and also hold our AGM. It all takes time and energy. I am therefore planning to combine my Novella in November (run by Cathy of 746 Books and Rebecca … Continue reading Novellas in November 2024, Part 1
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
Michael Fitzgerald, Late (#BookReview)
Australian author Michael Fitzgerald's novel Late owes something to what is known as the alternate (alternative) history genre, or what I call "what if" novels. Here, the underlying story is, what if Marilyn Monroe had not died in 1962 but, instead, had instead escaped Hollywood's oppressive celebrity culture and moved to Sydney, Australia? It's hard … Continue reading Michael Fitzgerald, Late (#BookReview)
Elizabeth Gaskell, Lizzie Leigh AND Cousin Phillis (#BookReviews)
This year, Bill (The Australian Legend) has framed his usual January "Gen" (short for generation) week, as Gen 0. Zero? How can that be? Well, let's get it from the horse's mouth. Bill says, "I am using ‘Gen 0’ as a designation for those writers – necessarily not Australian – whose work influenced, predated or … Continue reading Elizabeth Gaskell, Lizzie Leigh AND Cousin Phillis (#BookReviews)
Rebecca Campbell, Arboreality (#BookReview)
Arboreality, by Canadian writer Rebecca Campbell, won the 2023 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize. However, not being much of a speculative fiction reader, I didn't discover this book through this award. Fortunately, some bloggers I follow, like Bill (The Australian Legend), do follow this genre, and his review convinced me that this climate change dystopian … Continue reading Rebecca Campbell, Arboreality (#BookReview)
Novellas in November 2023: Week 5, New to my TBR
You will of course have realised that November is somewhat over, but in the blogosphere we are pretty flexible - at least I think we are - so I am going to do this final Novellas in November post more than a week into December. The final theme for the month is that we talk … Continue reading Novellas in November 2023: Week 5, New to my TBR
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
Whispering Gums 