As an aspiring Lady Writer (or as feminist writer, Inga Muscio, provocatively calls herself, a ‘Word C*nt’), I was intrigued by author, Maureen Johnson’s Twitter project for her followers to ‘Redesign book covers by Literary Dudes, imagining they have been reclassified as by and for women.’ Johnson’s project, ‘Coverflip,’ shows us how there is a…
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This month we revisit the work of Gwen Harwood (1920–1995), a great Australian poet who wrote many astounding pieces, a number of them feminist, which continue to resonate today. Harwood’s poetry criticized idealised concepts of motherhood and exposed the frustration and isolation faced by women, especially young women with children. She wrote under a variety…
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I’ve never read a book quite like Melissa Lucashenko’s Mullumbimby. With most books I read, there are aspects which will remind me of something else I’ve read, or make me think of another author I’ve read. And it could just be that because I’m still working my way through the millions of published books which…
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If a stranger were to follow you around for a day, how would they describe your life? Do you imagine a twenty-first century styled gossip columnist approach or could you, like author Carrie Tiffany, produce an account of people’s habits, whether good, bad, disturbing or tragic, with the same detached interest of a bird-watcher? Tiffany’s…
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Neil Gaiman has been the latest person in the writing industry to speak out about the future of the book. As the article states, the audience at the London Book Fair weren’t all that happy about what he had to say. From my perspective, I feel as though finally, somebody well-known and established within the…
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Floundering is the debut novel of Melbourne writer Romy Ash, and is a powerful story of a tragic family reunion in an Australian outback setting. It is a tale of a loss of innocence as a wayward mother with no plan, direction or destination, seeks to reclaim her two children. Narrated by the younger brother,…
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The Emerging Writer’s Festival (EWF) is for writers. Midnight scribbler? For you. Aspiring novelist? For you. Screenwriter? Cartoonist? Got short stories published? For you. For you. For you. In its tenth year, the festival brings together newcomers as well as old hats in the media world (e.g. John Safran and Elmo Keep) to present a…
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I can only vaguely remember the first time I flew on a plane. I had just turned five, and I was flying to Darwin with my Mum and my brother. I remember being so excited about flying on a plane for the very first time, but that’s about it. I can’t remember anything of the…
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Reconstructing Amelia is a mystery thriller by new author, Kimberly McCreight. It opens with tragedy. High achiever, Amelia Baron, has thrown herself off the roof of her elite Brooklyn private school, Grace Hall, after being accused of plagiarising an assignment. Her mother, though, is convinced that Amelia did not take her own life (and didn’t…
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‘Dear fingernails…I’m sorry it took me so long to realise your cracks and peels were beautiful and alive. I’m still coming to realise that my cracks and imperfections are beautiful, too.’ This is an excerpt from Attention: People with Body Parts, a collection of words offered by various contributors to the project, now published in…
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I feel privileged to review this unassuming little gem of a chapbook. It’s a debut collection from a young poet and, as such, it has received reviews that are positive while at the same time mildly condescending, with some reviewers noting that the poet’s voice ‘is still developing’. I’m sure the same could be said…
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The 2009 documentary The September Issue explored the creation of US Vogue’s biggest issue ever. The magazine’s creative director, Grace Coddington, was memorable as a measured counter to Anna Wintour, its enigmatic, ice queen editor. Sadly, the insight into Coddington’s character offered in Grace: A Memoir is far less endearing. The memoir was an opportunity to…
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Next week, on Tuesday 16 April 2013, the winner of the inaugural Stella Prize, the award that celebrates women’s contribution to Australian literature, will be announced. The shortlist is as follows: The Burial by Courtney Collins (Allen & Unwin) Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser (Allen & Unwin) The Sunlit Zone by Lisa Jacobson…
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The whimsical image of a writer brings to mind thoughts of troubled souls shut away in dark rooms, with a piece of paper and a pencil, or a typewriter, pouring their creations onto the page in deep isolation. When the writing isn’t going, that doesn’t matter, the writer can take a walk, or indulge in…
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