And so Meanjin's Tournament of Books rolls on - during a hot Australian summer that has been characterised by terrible fires and floods. "I love a sunburnt country" but this is ridiculous. Anyhow, the tournament's semi-finals have been played and the best short stories (sorta) have won. Here they are: Semi-final 1: Thea Astley's 'Hunting … Continue reading Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012 (2013), Semi-finals

Methinks our Meanjin Tournament of Books judges partied a little too much over the silly season because it has taken a few weeks for the second round to be judged. However, the judging has now concluded and the eight stories have been reduced to four, as follows: Round 2 Match 1: Thea Astley's 'Hunting the … Continue reading Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012 (2013), Round 2

With this post, we finish the first round of this year's Tournament of Books, so here goes ... next post will look at Round 2. Match 7: Henry Lawson's "The drover's wife" defeated Cate Kennedy's "Static" Like most Australians I've read Lawson's "The drover's wife". It's probably one of Australia's most anthologised stories so it … Continue reading Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012, Matches 7-8

As I promised in my first post on this year's tournament - whether you wanted it or not  - I'm back with a progress report on the tournament. And, I must say, I'm rather thrilled with the results to date. I haven't read all the contenders so my reaction is more than a little subjective … Continue reading Meanjin’s Tournament of Books 2012, Matches 3 to 6