I’m picky when it comes to crime novels. If there isn’t a delightful balance between character, believability and suspense, I’m apt to put the book down and forget about it. Thankfully, Good Money by J.M. Green balances all of these elements. Green is a debut author whose book was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s…
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A new study into Australian authors has found that it’s slim pickings when it comes to book earnings—especially for female authors. The Macquarie University study, headed by cultural economist Distinguished Professor David Throsby AO, surveyed over 1,000 Australian authors about their earnings and practices. On average, authors make $62,000 in total per year. Although nearly…
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At Myth Busting Women and Literature, a collaborative event between Feminartsy and Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres in Canberra, three local women writers addressed a number of myths that seem to perpetuate the discourse of women in literature. Each panellist tackled their individual topic with humour and intelligence, drawing out the particular nuances present in…
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Margot McGovern is a Lip book reviewer and emerging author. Her manuscript, Neverland, was selected in the 2015 Text Prize Shortlist. Lip had a chat to Margot about her story, writing, and why writing YA novels is the best kind of writing. Tell us about your novel. Neverland is the story of Kit Learmonth, a…
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Lip is delighted to announce the shortlist for the 2015 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction! In no particular order, the shortlisted entries are as follows: After Hours by Sophie Overett Excerpts by Ali Zayaan Fota by Danielle Binks Harbinger by Stevi-Lee Alver Round by Katelin Farnsworth Vegetables by Clara Johanna The winners of the 2015…
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Unlike ABC’s Q&A, the panel for the Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction is chockers with excellent women. Over the last few weeks, Lip has been getting to know our judges so you can meet the writers who will be reading your work. For our last instalment we are featuring Lorelei Vashti, author of Dress, Memory. What are you working on in…
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Unlike ABC’s Q&A, the panel for the Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction is chockers with excellent women. Over the next few weeks, Lip will be getting to know our judges, so you can meet the writers who will be reading your work. This week we are featuring Melissa Lucashenko, author of Mullimbimby. What have you got planned for…
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Every now and then, a Twitter hashtag gets real. It exposes injustice. It strips back a culture to bare experience. On the feminist scene we’ve heard stories from thousands of women through #everydaysexism and #yesallwomen – the newest hashtag to make waves is #writingwhilefemale. It’s the brainchild of Foreign Soil author, Maxine Beneba Clarke. ‘Despite…
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Starting at midnight, November 1 and ending at 11.59pm on November 30, hundreds of thousands of people across the world started writing their novels in honour of National Novel Writing Month. I was one of them. For those that don’t know, National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is an annual international challenge where participants sign…
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That great storytelling can have huge effect upon a reader – that books can allow us the possibility of transportation, escape, discovery – is why so many people braved the uninviting weather to come to the National Young Writers Festival 2014 launch on a rainy Tuesday night. That, and for the chance to hear Zimbabwean…
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Within the chaos of Melbourne’s Federation Square, there sits a modest caravan. Beyond the rounded windows the square is full of people. You can hear the clip-clopping of befeathered clydesdales leading grinning tourists in gilded carriages. You can smell the petrol fumes of heavy traffic, and watch a cheeky busker crack a whip and…
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‘There’s still an elephant in the room,’ says Francesca Ohlert. We’re speaking on the phone about novels. And writers. And culture. And the fact that when we consider major Australian novelists (Tim Winton and Christos Tsiolkas, for example), men come to mind. You see, there is gender inequality in writing. The elephant in the room…
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The Bookshelf Diaries takes a peek into the reading life of writers, readers and book lovers. Estelle Tang reveals her favourites, her inspirations, and her ‘to-buy’ list. What are you reading right now? Wayne Koestenbaum’s My 1980s and Other Essays. Where did you buy it? The Strand Bookshop in NYC. What’s in your to-read pile?…
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Writing is a lonely job, unless you’re a drinker, in which case you always have a friend within reach. – Emilio Estevez Romance and legend surround the solitary life of a writer. We imagine inspired musing with a companion glass of red; frantic midnight typing in the back room while insight and lamplight spear through a…
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