Monday musings on Australian literature: Quiet achievers 1, Terri-ann White of Upswell Publishing

Over the years I have started several Monday Musings sub-series, some of which I've nearly completed (such as those on writers centres and on supporting genres) while others are still continuing (like Forgotten writers). Today, I'm introducing a new one. It was inspired by an email I received the other day from Terri-ann White of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Quiet achievers 1, Terri-ann White of Upswell Publishing

Monday musings on Australian literature: Vale SPN or?

Late last year I went looking for the 2024 winner of the Small Press Network’s Book of the Year (BOTY) Award, originally called the MUBA (Most Underrated Book Award). It is/was an annual award highlighting ‘authorial and publishing excellence by small and independent publishers’, and is/was open to any book released by an SPN member … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Vale SPN or?

Monday musings on Australian literature: Spineless Wonders

For a small, specialist, independent publisher, Spineless Wonders has appeared on my blog more times than you might expect, sometimes in passing, sometimes as the publisher of an author I've reviewed, and a few times in posts on publishing and publishers. All that, I've decided, has earned them their own post. The first - and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Spineless Wonders

Monday musings on Australian literature: Fremantle Press

Given I am currently in Fremantle, I felt it appropriate to give a little shout out to one of the first independent presses I became aware of, back in the 1980s, the Fremantle Press. Then it was called the Fremantle Arts Centre Press, and it published one of my favourite authors at the time, Elizabeth … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Fremantle Press

Monday musings on Australian literature: Two new indies

This month - February* - has been designated #ReadIndies month by two British bloggers, Karen (kaggsysbookishramblings) and Lizzy (Lizzy's Literary Life). The rules are simple: "read anything you like, in any language you like, as long as it was published by an independent publisher". This is not a difficult reading month for me to take … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Two new indies

Finlay Lloyd: Celebrating 10 Years of Publishing

This weekend I attended a delightful event run by the National Library of Australia's bookshop. It was an afternoon of author readings to celebrate the 10th anniversary of independent small publisher Finlay Lloyd, which is based in Braidwood, about an hour's drive from here. It is run by two men, author Julian Davies and artist Phil Day. … Continue reading Finlay Lloyd: Celebrating 10 Years of Publishing

Monday musings on Australian literature: Who is publishing THE interesting books?

I had another post planned for today, but it can wait, because this morning writer-artist-feminist and out-of-the-box-thinker Sara Dowse made a provocative comment on my review of Australian love stories, which was edited by Cate Kennedy and published by the well-known Inkerman & Blunt. Oops, did I say well-known? Perhaps that was overstating the case. … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Who is publishing THE interesting books?

Monday musings on Australian literature: Juvenilia Press

Literature enthusiasts are often not happy to just read their favourite authors' novels. They (we) want to read everything written by our favourites. This can include letters, diaries and juvenilia. I have written before about Jane Austen's Juvenilia, including a review of her story Love and freindship (sic). Her early works provide a wonderful insight … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Juvenilia Press

Monday musings on Australian literature: SPUNC has spunk

Yes, come here for your wit. I bet I'm the first one to have thought of that line! SPUNC*, in case you haven't heard of them and you probably haven't, is the Small Press Network (in Australia). The acronym actually stands for Small Press Underground Networking Community. It was formed in Melbourne in 2006 and … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: SPUNC has spunk