Get to know the SPN Book of the Year shortlist

Monday, 22 November 2021 Books+Publishing

The winner of the 2021 Small Press Network (SPN) Book of the Year Award will be announced this Friday, 26 November during the annual SPN Independent Publishing Conference. Each Monday, in the lead-up to the conference, Books+Publishing has shared reviews of each of the shortlisted books so you can get to know them better. In this last instalment, B+P shares the final two reviews.

Collisions: Fictions of the future (ed by Leah Jing McIntosh, Cher Tan, Adalya Nash Hussein & Hassan Abul, Pantera Press)

The SPN Book of the Year judges write that Collisions is ‘an extraordinarily creative’ anthology of short fiction from Liminal magazine. ‘The introduction establishes the foundation of the collection, grounding it in Australia’s history of colonial conflict and violence. The stories in the collection intersect with this foundation in myriad ways, expertly exploring the notion of connection and belonging, the relationship between history and fiction and the future of the self and the body. With a broad range of backgrounds, each writer infuses their identity into their work, giving us stories that move away from the white norm but still present the Australia we all live in.’

Jessica Lewis writes in her review for B+P:

Liminal magazine’s first anthology is a platform for writers of colour to challenge and reimagine life in contemporary society. The 16 voices in Collisions: Fictions of the future question the spaces in which people of colour exist, the volatility of these spaces for LGBTQIA+ people, and how age and the passing of time interact with love, loss, death and hope. This collection introduces speculative visions of our future, both harrowing and hopeful. Composed of three parts, ‘Bodies’, ‘Momentum’ and ‘Contact’, Collisions contains work that merges, skirts and shifts genres and forms, completely immersing the reader in each story. In ‘Bad Weather’ Bryant Apolonio explores past and present through side-by-side storylines of the Asian diaspora. ‘Suburban Graveyard’ by Victor Chrisnaa Senthinathan is a funny yet dark exploration of a family who leases their backyard as a graveyard when space for dead bodies runs out elsewhere. In ‘Wish You Were’ Claire G Coleman explores a disturbing technological future that asks the question: Who owns you, even once you are dead? This collection is a triumph of Australian minority writing that would be loved by anyone wanting to explore the realities of our past, present and future through an oft overlooked lens. The anthology lures the reader in with luscious prose then tempts them to stay with voices of experience. Collisions: Fictions of the future is an experimental and essential snapshot of diverse Australian voices at their most unique and vulnerable.

We Are Speaking in Code (Tanya Vavilova, Brio Books)

According to the judges, ‘We Are Speaking in Code is a warm, engaging and thought-provoking collection of essays reflecting the immigrant experience. Extremely funny and joyful, this book is also thoughtful and insightful, discussing family heritage and how knowledge can be lost across generations, while also exploring Vavilova’s coming of age. Pushing understandings of subjectivity, Vavilova’s beautiful writing is also wonderfully engaging and intensely personal, drawing the reader in to relate to each emotion while simultaneously keeping them at the edge of every experience.’

Kelsey Oldham writes for B+P:

Across the 13 personal essays that comprise We Are Speaking in Code, Sydney writer Tanya Vavilova searches for her place in the world, caught between the identities of middle-class Russian–Australian migrant, writer trapped in the cogs of late capitalism, and self-described ‘late bloomer’ and ‘closet homosexual’. In each essay the minutiae of Vavilova’s everyday life—from underemployment in a white-collar job to the challenges of dating and making friends—contrast with her rich inner world. While she appears to ‘pass’ as ‘normal’ in her day-to-day life, the author’s feelings of not fitting in spill out onto the page, resulting in a compelling character study of someone trying to navigate the strangeness and banality of life. ‘There is no natural light in my office, just a giant floating fluorescent square above my head,’ writes Vavilova. ‘I wait to be beamed back to my home planet.’ Intensely nostalgic for the simpler time of childhood, she retreats into reminiscences about her beloved late babushka, childhood movies and TV shows, and Australian snack food in the 90s, in essays that brim with warmth, colour and life. These contrast with the title essay, placed second-last and forming a loose narrative climax to the book, in which Vavilova documents a recent trip back to Russia. Here, she reflects on the impossibility of recapturing that sense of childhood innocence, finding instead a drab, grown-up reality that only amplifies her alienation. A thoughtful meditation on belonging, We Are Speaking in Code paints an intimate and candid self-portrait of a person grappling with the expectations of adulthood and society.

The winner of the 2021 SPN Book of the Year Award will be announced this Friday as part of the Independent Publishing Conference. You can read more about the shortlisted books here and find information on stocking the titles here.

Category: Daily Newsletter Feature Features