Sydney Writers' Festival
‘Not well received’ at Harvard, these two writers maintain the rage
Writer Tony Birch reflects on how Miles Franklin Award-winner Kim Scott has intrigued and inspired him.
- by Jane Gleeson-White
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Our safe, white scene has rules if you want to be a ‘multicultural’ writer
Spare a thought for the authors who don’t look like their publishers in the middle-class literary world.
- by Amra Pajalic
The letters between two great writers revealing their hidden stories
Years of correspondence between Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower reveal much about their unusual friendship.
- by Gail Jones
His book was rejected 13 times, now it’s a hit TV show
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel The Sympathizer won him a Pulitzer Prize and employs cinematic tropes, but that doesn’t stop him being a fierce critic of the Hollywood machine.
- by Kurt Johnson
This classy detective novel marries weighty concerns with playful delight
Steven Carroll’s latest novel represents a shift in genre after his prize-winning books about T.S. Eliot.
- by James Bradley
The Instagram sensation who’s rewriting art history without the men
With her online following, podcast and bestselling book, Katy Hessel has become an art-world superstar. But she’s not without her critics.
- by Gabriella Coslovich
I may never eat fish again after reading this new book
James Bradley’s epic non-fiction book Deep Water explores the world’s oceans and our interconnectedness with them. And it may change your thinking about many things.
- by Kylie Northover
This mesmerising work of non-fiction that will inspire awe and make you weep
James Bradley explores humanity’s past, present and possible futures through the lens of the world’s oceans in his new book Deep Water: The World in the Ocean.
- by Bianca Nogrady
At its heart, Bruce Pascoe’s Black Duck is a love story of both people and Country
Author Tony Birch reviews a deeply philosophical book by Pascoe and his partner Lyn Harwood about their personal growth and the need to live humbly with the land.
- by Tony Birch
Is this debut novel a sly satire, or just an earnest train wreck?
Bri Lee’s debut is easy to mock, but it certainly isn’t a boring read.
- by Beejay Silcox
When an investigative journalist turns to crime, it’s a ‘sheer delight’
Louise Milligan’s first crime novel tells a dark and enjoyable story.
- by Sue Turnbull