In our nature: Robbie Arnott on ‘The Rain Heron’
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
The Rain Heron (Text, June), Robbie Arnott's follow-up to his 2018 debut Flames, blurs the line between reality and myth as its isolated protagonist is drawn to a soldier on...
Spheres of influence: Ronnie Scott on ‘The Adversary’
Monday, 3 February 2020
Ronnie Scott’s debut novel The Adversary (Hamish Hamilton) follows an unnamed protagonist as he navigates gay friendship and wrestles with self-doubt over the course of a hot Melbourne summer. Scott spoke...
Among the animals: Donna Mazza on ‘Fauna’
Thursday, 31 October 2019
Donna Mazza’s novel Fauna (A&U, February) is set in a near-future in which a woman is enticed into an experimental program that mixes her embryo with genetically edited cells. Reviewer...
Following the impulse: Anna Krien on ‘Act of Grace’
Thursday, 29 August 2019
Almost a decade in the making, Anna Krien’s debut novel, Act of Grace (Black Inc., October), is described by reviewer Brad Jefferies as ‘an ambitious and compelling study of trauma’....
Sharing the truth: Stephanie Wood on ‘Fake’
Thursday, 30 May 2019
Fake (Vintage, July) is journalist Stephanie Wood’s account of her relationship with a man who turned out to be not who he said he was, interweaved with expert opinion and...
Unlikely heroes: R W R McDonald on ‘The Nancys’
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
R W R McDonald’s debut novel The Nancys (A&U in June) was highly commended in the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards unpublished manuscript prize. Reviewer Fiona Hardy spoke to the author...
Generational exchange: Melanie Cheng on ‘Room for a Stranger’
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Melanie Cheng’s debut novel Room for a Stranger (Text, May) follows the unlikely friendship between an elderly Australian woman and an international student from Hong Kong. Reviewer Carody Culver spoke...
Written in the stars: Minnie Darke on ‘Star-crossed’
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Minnie Darke’s Star-crossed (Michael Joseph, March) follows an aspiring journalist who begins to tinker with her paper’s astrology section after learning that her crush consults his horoscope whenever he’s faced with making...
Bound together: Kate Richards on ‘Fusion’
Tuesday, 30 October 2018
Kate Richards’ Fusion (Hamish Hamilton, February 2019) tells the story of conjoined twins, their carer, and an injured stranger who is brought into their isolated bush home. Reviewer Jacqui Davies described...
Bookish backchat: Elias Grieg on ‘I Can’t Remember the Title but the Cover is Blue’
Thursday, 25 October 2018
Author, academic and bookseller Elias Grieg’s debut book I Can't Remember the Title but the Cover is Blue (A&U, December) is an ‘always amusing and often laugh-out-loud funny’ compendium detailing Grieg’s...
A twist of fate: Leigh Sales on ‘Any Ordinary Day’
Thursday, 27 September 2018
Author and journalist Leigh Sales’ third work of nonfiction, Any Ordinary Day: Blindsides, Resilience and What Happens After the Worst Day of Your Life (Hamish Hamilton, October), is an incisive...
Finding home: Fiona Wright on ‘The World Was Whole’
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
With her second essay collection The World Was Whole, Fiona Wright ‘continues to set the standard for the essay form in Australia’, writes reviewer Jo Case. She spoke to the author....
Demons and delusions: Shirley Barrett on ‘The Bus on Thursday’
Thursday, 26 July 2018
Screenwriter and director Shirley Barrett’s second novel The Bus on Thursday (A&U, October) is a ‘psychological conundrum’ that explores ‘the dark undercurrents of rural Australia, isolation and unfulfilled desires’. Set...
The bigger picture: Katherine Collette on ‘The Helpline’
Thursday, 28 June 2018
Katherine Collette’s debut novel The Helpline (Text, September) is a witty and heartfelt story about an insurance probability outcomes mathematician who ends up answering a seniors’ helpline for the local...
Ghost in the machine: Angela Meyer on ‘A Superior Spectre’
Friday, 1 June 2018
Writer and editor Angela Meyer’s debut full-length novel, A Superior Spectre (August), is the first book published under the new Ventura Press imprint for emerging writers, Peter Bishop Books. The...
Telling tales: Moreno Giovannoni on ‘The Fireflies of Autumn’
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Moreno Giovannoni’s The Fireflies of Autumn (Black Inc., July) is a collection of loosely connected short stories, describing life in the Tuscan village of San Ginese. ‘[It] reads like top-notch...
Come out swinging: Christian White on ‘The Nowhere Child’
Friday, 27 April 2018
Christian White’s The Nowhere Child (Affirm, July) tells the story of a Melbourne woman caught up in the investigation of a decades-old kidnapping in Kentucky. Reviewer Deborah Crabtree spoke to...
Literary direct action: Meera Atkinson on ‘Traumata’
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
Meera Atkinson’s exploration of the effects of trauma, Traumata (UQP, May), is a powerful, personal memoir doubling as a philosophical treatise. ‘This is a humane, thought-provoking and heartbreaking addition to...
Floral communication: Holly Ringland on ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’
Thursday, 22 February 2018
Holly Ringland’s The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (HarperCollins, April) is ‘a lush, powerful contemporary novel' about female survival in Australia’s Red Centre. Reviewer Claire West spoke to the author....
Shining a light: Laura Elvery on ‘Trick of the Light’
Thursday, 25 January 2018
Laura Elvery’s debut short-story collection Trick of the Light (UQP, March) comprises 24 ‘meticulously crafted’ short stories ranging in style from ‘stark realism to light speculative fiction’, writes reviewer Alan...
Flight of fantasy: Tracy Sorensen on ‘The Lucky Galah’
Thursday, 26 October 2017
Tracy Sorensen’s The Lucky Galah (Picador, March) recounts the lives of ordinary Australians from the 1960s until the 2000s, as narrated by a galah called Lucky. The conceit is handled...
Laughing matters: Tony Martin on ‘Deadly Kerfuffle’
Thursday, 31 August 2017
Writer and comedian Tony Martin’s debut novel Deadly Kerfuffle (Affirm, November) is a ‘rip-roaring ride through suburban Australia, its anxieties, obsessions and weird imaginings’, writes reviewer Chris Saliba. He spoke...
A fine art: Gabriella Coslovich on ‘Whiteley on Trial’
Thursday, 31 August 2017
Arts journalist Gabriella Coslovich’s Whiteley on Trial (MUP, October) investigates the twists and turns in the biggest case of alleged art fraud the Australian criminal justice system has seen. ‘The...
Brief encounters: Chris Feik on ‘Writers on Writers’
Thursday, 27 July 2017
In October, Black Inc. is launching its new ‘Writers on Writers’ series with two titles: On John Marsden by Alice Pung and On Kate Jennings by Erik Jensen. These short,...
Counter narratives: Vanessa Berry on ‘Mirror Sydney’
Thursday, 27 July 2017
Since 2012, Vanessa Berry has been conducting deep dives into the mysterious local histories around Sydney on her blog, and her book Mirror Sydney (Giramondo, October) continues that exploration. ‘Beautifully...
The Fictional Dimension: Bram Presser on ‘The Book of Dirt’
Thursday, 29 June 2017
Bram Presser’s The Book of Dirt (Text, September) is ‘a remarkable tale of Holocaust survival, love and genealogical sleuthing by a grandson intent on finding the truth about his grandparents’...
Myth and legends: Sulari Gentill Q&A
Thursday, 25 May 2017
Sulari Gentill (S D Gentill) is the author of the ‘Rowland Sinclair’ mystery series, as well as ‘The Hero Trilogy’, which retells the Iliad and the Odyssey for a YA...
Modern love: Jean Flynn on ‘Lovesick’
Thursday, 25 May 2017
Jean Flynn’s debut novel Lovesick is the first title from Xoum Publishing’s new romance imprint XO Romance. Reviewer Kat Mayo describes it as a ‘fun romantic comedy’ with a ‘modern...
Many voices: Jennifer Down on ‘Pulse Points’
Thursday, 25 May 2017
Jennifer Down’s first book of short stories, Pulse Points (Text), captures the lives of its characters with ‘an emotional clarity and intensity that is truly impressive,’ writes reviewer Kate McDonnell. She spoke...
Heart to heart: Melanie Cheng on ‘Australia Day’
Thursday, 27 April 2017
Melanie Cheng’s Australia Day (Text, July) is a ‘bittersweet, beautifully crafted collection’ about the conflicts and realisations that occur when people of different backgrounds are brought together. She spoke to reviewer...
