There are some people who think happiness is as easy to achieve as typing out a smiley-faced emoji. Ariel Gore knows the reality is far more complex. Her latest book, F*ck Happiness: How the Science of Psychology Ignores Women is a deep and insightful look at the positive psychology movement and where it rests in…
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It is hard to believe that Melting Moments is a debut novel. Not only is the name Anna Goldsworthy a familiar one in the Australian literary scene, but the writing inside this novel is so accomplished that it feels effortless to read. Melting Moments is the story of Ruby, following her from her days as a young woman,…
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Josephine Rowe‘s newest collection of short stories, Here Until August is a slim but beautiful looking collection. It’s striking blue and purple cover makes you want to pick it up. And you should, because what is inside is just as fascinating as out. It begins with the story “Glisk” (winner of the 2016 ABR/Elizabeth Jolley Prize)…
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Practice. Journalism, Essays and Criticism collects and distills the writings of journalist Guy Rundle. An intricate, clever yet funny, and mostly convincing take on all the big politicians, and some sordid Americans along the way, Practice is compiled from his work for Crikey, and various magazines and newspapers, over the years. Opinions on topics ranging…
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Edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke, with Magan Magan and Ahmed Yussuf, Growing Up African in Australia is a new anthology from Black Inc., following on from Alice Pung’s Growing Up Asian in Australia, Benjamin Law’s Growing Up Queer in Australia and Anita Heiss’ Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia. Whilst, Carly Findlay, who also contributed to this…
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In 2005 Nigel Marsh wrote Fat, Forty & Fired about his year embracing life away from the office. In some ways, Jacqueline Raposo’s The Me, Without: My Year on an Elimination Diet of Modern Conveniences is cut from the same cloth. Raposo’s book is both memoir and a case study into her failed life at…
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Alice Pung reckons she grew up not always understanding where she fit in. But, things have changed and she now has a distinctive voice in her writing. The Chinese-Australian author has published her memoirs, several books of young adult fiction, and has had pieces feature regularly in The Monthly. And that’s all when she’s not…
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In Mira Robertson’s debut novel, her eponymous heroine, Emily Dean, is sent to stay with her grandmother and great uncle on their property while her mother recovers from what I can only presume is a nervous breakdown of sorts. It’s most definitely not a farm, as Emily is told by her family, though to the…
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In the early 90’s, a struggling writer is given what turns out to be a life changing opportunity. The daughter of Edna Cramner, a long forgotten war artist, wants to catalogue and share her mother’s work. Convinced there’s a real story there, the biographer ignores her agent’s concerns that it’s a go-nowhere vanity job and…
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A Coveted Possession documents the popularity of the piano in Australia. Once a treasured member of the household, the piano fell out of favour once people became switched on to the likes of radio and television. Michael Atherton’s highly readable and intriguing book explores the rich cultural history behind this, at times, beloved instrument. Atherton, a professor,…
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In San Ginese, life and death live side by side, as do prosperity and poverty, opportunity and desperation, friends and enemies. But filled as it is with bawdy gossip, tall tales, and plenty of manure, The Fireflies of Autumn, and Other Tales of San Ginese is not just a story of hardship and hope, but…
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The idea of a modern-day Atlantis, or large coastal cities flooded by rising sea-levels sounds like the stuff of horror or science fiction films. Instead, The Water Will Come is a frightening, non-fiction book written by Rolling Stone contributing editor, Jeff Goodell. Goodell has written about climate change for over 15 years and is able to distill…
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Each year, Black Inc bring out three volumes which wrap up a selection of the year’s best Australian stories, poems and essays. These collections have been edited by various authors over the years, among them Robert Drewe, Geordie Williamson, Cate Kennedy, Amanda Lohrey, and, most recently, Charlotte Wood. The 2017 collection of short stories was…
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Black Inc’s Writers on Writers series was launched in October 2017 with the publication of its first two books, Alice Pung on John Marsden and Erik Jensen on Kate Jennings. The tag line for the series reads ‘Twelve Acclaimed Writers. Six Memorable Encounters.’ This sums up the idea behind the series incredibly well, which will…
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On Saturday 28th October the Bankstown Arts Centre is to play host to Boundless, a new literary festival bringing together Indigenous and culturally diverse Australian authors, both emerging and established, with readers to help celebrate the changing face of Australian literature. Presented by the NSW Writers’ Centre and Bankstown Arts Centre, Boundless, is a free…
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On the 18th June the shortlist for the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award – an award now in it’s 60th year – was unveiled to the public. And what an exciting shortlist it was, with all five of this nominated authors shortlisted for the very first time! It was also great to see many of…
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