This Taste for Silence by Amanda O’Callaghan

Brisbane author Amanda O’Callaghan has crafted a thoughtful, darkly-hued work in This Taste for Silence (UQP). This, her debut collection of short stories seems to be set in both Australia and the UK. The cover, with its still-life arrangement of three flying porcelain ducks and a comfortable but empty (apart from a painting) chair in […]

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller

Ghost Bird is an exceptional YA debut by Wuilli Wuilli woman, Lisa Fuller. It explores the relationship between Stacey and her very different twin Laney, who disappears. Stacey seems to share some of Laney’s experiences through nightmares and she resolves to find her despite times of deeply unnerving danger. Thank you for speaking to PaperbarkWords, […]

Thea Astley: Selected Poems

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 […]

Brisbane Writers Festival 2019 Tony Birch, Melina Marchetta & Melanie Cheng

At 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 […]

Leave Taking by Lorraine Marwood

Inside 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 […]

New Australian Poetry

There 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 […]

Pip Harry and The Little Wave

Interview 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 […]

The Aunts’ House by Elizabeth Stead

I 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 […]

The Bogan Mondrian by Steven Herrick

Inside 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 […]

Raising Readers by Megan Daley

Raising 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 […]