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
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
Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize 2023 Winning Books Launch with Conversation
I have written about Finlay Lloyd's 20/40 Publishing Prize a few times now, so I hope I'm not imposing too much on your precious time. However, this weekend was the launch here in Canberra, and it involved a conversation led by a favourite Canberra journalist, Virginia Hausseger, with the two winning authors. I had to … Continue reading Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Publishing Prize 2023 Winning Books Launch with Conversation
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)
Novellas in November 2023: Week 2, What is a novella
The thing about these annual memes is that the questions became somewhat the same, which is fair enough as new bloggers appear on the scene as do new ideas. However, my challenge is whether I have anything to add to what I have written about novellas before? The answer is not a lot, but I … Continue reading Novellas in November 2023: Week 2, What is a novella
