‘There is a great love affair with the word’ – Jane Curry, Ventura Publishing What a terrific, and truthful sentiment with which to kick off the latest addition to Sydney’s literary festival scene – the inaugural Writers in the Park, held yesterday in a rather soggy Centennial Park. There is a love affair with the word. Of that I had…
They say books find you when you need them. When ‘Confessions of a Once Fashionable Mum’ found me, I was in desperate need of a laugh – and that’s what this book delivered. Author, Georgia Madden, takes us deep into the cringe-worthy and difficult moments of new motherhood, via the ‘once fashionable’, Ally Bloom. Ally’s first year of motherhood is…
So – why have I called this one ‘the seesaw edition’? Well, basically because I’m going to start on a bit of grim (reading) note, but end firmly on a high (writing) note.
Here goes..
Short Reads: Oh my goodness! This week, I found this quite extraordinary article from Jo Case, pondering whether her memoir ‘Boomer and Me‘ killed her marriage. Recently, I wrote a small memoir piece about a 40th birthday weekend away, which I showed to my husband to read. Let’s just say that he was left wondering if he had attended the…
When I first heard about Sunni Overend, I knew I had to know more, for two reasons 1) Her book ‘March’ sounded like so much fun 2) Since self-publishing, Sunni has gone on to secure a two-book publishing deal with Harper Collins. ‘March’ is the story of Apple March, an aspiring fashion designer whose career ambitions have come unstuck due…
I do not believe in ghosts or fairies or aliens. But I do believe there’s a type of magic around reading and writing. Perhaps ‘fate’ is a better word for it. How else to describe the way books find you when you need them most? Or how you can write a story where later you discover connections, or establish truths,…
The best short story writers manage to say a lot, using a little. If you want to see what I mean, you need to read the work of Claire Aman, a writer from northern NSW who writes the most moving short stories, in a most economical and restrained fashion. (Read one of them here – Queensland Bluegrass – I GUARANTEE…
Every so often a writer comes along who reminds you of the immense possibilities of language. Myfanwy Jones is that kind of writer. The way she works with imagery. The way she structures her sentences. The way she creates characters who are real but slightly magical. It’s just so… energising. You can read in more detail my thoughts about Myfanwy’s…
I have to admit I was a bit shocked when I found out that Eliza Henry-Jones is only 25 years old. Her debut novel, In the Quiet, is wise and insightful. Many people (including me) have described it as ‘quiet’ – but it’s quiet in a way that makes you want to lean in to really hear what’s being said.…
Pick of the web: Unless you have been living under a rock (or not in Australia) you would no doubt have read/heard/listened to commentary on the Adam Goodes booing affair. For my mind, most of it has been a load of wasted hot air, from mostly white people who’ve never experienced a day of discrimination in their lives. But one…