If you like Thea Astley, you will like her Selected Poems (University of Queensland Press). However, arguably the book is more of an academic work rather than a collection of great poems. The poems serve a purpose, to provide an x-ray into her mind. It is an autobiography of her life in intimate moments. The […]
Read More Thea Astley: Selected PoemsAt this year’s Brisbane Writers Festival I was fortunate to moderate the memorable session, People in the Margins. Melina Marchetta, Melanie Cheng and Tony Birch discussed their recent novels The Place on Dalhousie, Room for a Stranger and The White Girl respectively to explore the lives of people living on the margins of society. These […]
Read More Brisbane Writers Festival 2019 Tony Birch, Melina Marchetta & Melanie ChengInside the CBCA Shortlist Author-poet Lorraine Marwood won the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction in 2010 for Star Jumps. Her new verse novel Leave Taking (University of Queensland Press) is of similar quality and has already shared the winning prize in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards (Patricia Wrightson Price). Both books are set […]
Read More Leave Taking by Lorraine MarwoodThere is some exciting Australian poetry being published at the moment. Vagabond Press is one of the most exciting publishers in the Asia Pacific. It is scooping awards with its strong stable of poets and innovative book design. Vagabond is publishing four collections in July. Enfolded in the wings of a great darkness by Peter […]
Read More New Australian PoetryInterview with Pip Harry The Little Wave (UQP) is a verse novel for older children that draws the reader in through its realistic characters and spare but warm language. Thank you for speaking to Paperbark blog, Pip. Thanks for having me! Why have you written a book for children after three successful YA novels? I […]
Read More Pip Harry and The Little WaveI am very interested in the work of Elizabeth Stead, niece of Christina Stead who wrote the Australian classic The Man Who Loved Children. I relished Elizabeth’s 2007 novel, The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles, set on an island that reminded me of somewhere in Papua New Guinea, although the place was unidentified. Elizabeth Stead […]
Read More The Aunts’ House by Elizabeth SteadInside the CBCA Shortlist Steven Herrick has a stunning list of verse novels, poetry and prose for children and young adults. His books have been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia awards multiple times and my favourite of his works, The Spangled Drongo, won the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards for children’s literature. I […]
Read More The Bogan Mondrian by Steven HerrickRaising Readers Megan Daley is a champion of Australian children’s literature and the authors and illustrators who create these quality Australian books. She is well-known as a blogger – Children’s Books Daily – and has won several awards, including the national Dromkeen Librarian’s Award. Her first book Raising Readers: How to nurture a child’s love […]
Read More Raising Readers by Megan Daley
