“It’s got Baby written in wispy orange lettering on the side. It’s bluish-white, with dirty bits at the water line, and the sea clinging at its little hips like low-waisted pants. There are bigger boats around it, but Baby catches the sun better… “Baby appears gradually from behind all the bigger, more robust boats, dancing…
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The Doll Factory is the intoxicating story of a young woman who aspires to be an artist, and the man whose obsession may destroy her world for ever. The Doll Factory, the debut novel by Elizabeth Macneal, is a powerful story of art, obsession and possession. London. 1850. The Great Exhibition is being erected in…
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Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing you to our stellar line-up of judges for the 2019 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. Today, meet author, Melanie Joosten. * The Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction calls for stories by women, female-identifying and non-binary writers. What’s your view on diverse representation in publishing? Publishers need to do…
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Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing you to our stellar line-up of judges for the 2019 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. Today, meet author, Alison Evans. * The Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction calls for stories by women, female-identifying and non-binary writers. What’s your view on diverse representation in publishing? The world is…
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Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing you to our stellar line-up of judges for the 2019 Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction. Today, meet writer and literary agent, Danielle Binks. * The Rachel Funari Prize for Fiction calls for stories by women, female-identifying and non-binary writers. What’s your view on diverse representation in publishing?…
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Dyschronia by Jennifer Mills is a wonderfully charming, yet melancholic novel that had me wanting to know what happened next. Different stories from different points of time intertwined to create a beautifully sad account of one girl’s life. While I will admit I had to attempt to read this novel twice before I was…
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“I think all women carry something of a rebellion inside them that often goes unexpressed. Because we think we are not in the race – or game, or whatever the sporting analogy is – we have a sense of anarchy that I think is an advantage. In times like these it threatens to erupt. It…
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With the rigorous research involved and the potential for disagreement and criticism, what could be more difficult than writing the biography of an historical figure? The answer? Writing the life of an historical figure on whom the historical record is completely silent. In the latter case, academic rigour must be balanced against a refined imagination…
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When you first see Rebecca Shaw’s neon-coloured book, ‘No to Feminism: 70 Reasons Why Femism is Bad for You’ on the shelf, do yourself a favour and don’t judge too soon. Take a copy down, hold it in your hands, and flip through a couple of pages. Better yet, peruse Shaw’s witty, tongue-in-cheek introduction and…
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Fight Like a Girl is a rousing memoir-meets-manifesto by Clementine Ford. Though casual in tone, it is persuasive and confronting. Ford shares her experiences as a woman claiming her space in the world and exposes the brutality of life as a woman, which we are raised to be oblivious to. You finish the book angry…
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The Science of Appearances, the third novel from Melbourne author Jacinta Halloran, is the story of two thirteen-year-old non-identical twins and the very different ways they find themselves in the wake of their father’s sudden death. Set in rural Victoria, in a town called Kyneton, and then in Melbourne, in the wake of WWII, this…
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Walking into the playground, early on in primary school, two of my friends got into fight. There was hair pulling, slapping and screaming. A crowd gathered, cheering them on. “You fucking bitch,” yelled one, using the colourful language we were just starting to learn. “You’re a monkey,” said the other. Watching on, I had never…
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Emma Cline’s debut novel, The Girls, is a coming of age story set in extraordinary circumstances. Based on the true events of the Charles Manson family, The Girls follows Evie Boyd, a fourteen-year-old girl on the cusp of adolescence, as she is drawn into the inner circle of a soon-to-be-infamous cult. The research that has…
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From its inception as a (widely panned) movie, through to the iconic TV show and comic book series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS) has proven to be an ‘undying’ piece of pop culture. Celebrated for its punning protagonist Buffy Summers and her ‘Faith’-ful Scooby Gang, BTVS is canonical in its portrayal of female strength. In…
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