The Michael Crouch Award is part of the National Biography Award (NBA) suite of prizes. I have written about the NBA before, but have never specifically focused on the Michael Crouch Award. But first, a quick recap … the National Biography Award has been going since 1996, and celebrates excellence in life writing, that is, … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Michael Crouch Award| Whispering Gums
Like many, I was astonished when I read Elizabeth Harrower’s The watchtower (my review), upon its publication by Text Classics in 2012. Astonished not so much for its writing, though that is excellent, but for its subject, which is what we’d now call coercive control. The astonishment comes from the fact that The watchtower was … Continue reading Helen Trinca, Looking for Elizabeth: The life of Elizabeth Harrower (#BookReview)| Whispering Gums
Nearly three years ago, I reported on a new literary prize, the 20/40 Publishing Prize which was being offered by the non-profit publisher, Finlay Lloyd. It has now been awarded in both 2023 and 2024, and preparations for announcing the 2025 winners are well under way. Briefly, the aim of the award is to “encourage … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Finlay Lloyd’s 20/40 Publishing Prize, progress report| Whispering Gums
I haven’t announced the Prime Minister’s Literary Award shortlists for a few years, but for various reasons, including the fact that there is a Poetry section which works nicely with this month being National Poetry Month (see my Monday Musings), I’ve decided to share this year’s shortlists. Creative Australia’s page for the announcement says they … Continue reading Prime Minister’s Literary Awards Shortlist 2025, announced| Whispering Gums
National Poetry Month – in Australia – is now five years old, and once again it is spearheaded by Red Room Poetry, which should not need any introduction by now to regular readers here. This year it runs a bit over a month, from 30 July to 3 September. As before, they have appointed Poetry … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: National Poetry Month 2025| Whispering Gums
Gertrude H. Dorsey’s short story is the third in the anthology Great short stories by African-American writers, which my American friend Carolyn sent me. It presented an unexpected challenge. Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne) The biographical note at the end of the anthology is one of the shortest provided by the editors. It goes: Who was … Continue reading Gertrude H. Dorsey (Browne), An equation (#Review)| Whispering Gums
Over the years I have started several Monday Musings sub-series, some of which I’ve nearly completed (such as those on writers centres and on supporting genres) while others are still continuing (like Forgotten writers). Today, I’m introducing a new one. It was inspired by an email I received the other day from Terri-ann White of … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Quiet achievers 1, Terri-ann White of Upswell Publishing| Whispering Gums
It’s the last month of winter, and I can’t wait for it to be over. It’s been colder than usual here (though not as cold as some of your experience in winter I realise). However, I do like the Six Degrees meme, so let’s get straight to it. If you don’t know how this #SixDegrees … Continue reading Six degrees of separation, FROM The safekeep TO …| Whispering Gums
When my reading group chose our books for the second half of the year, the shortlist for the Miles Franklin Award had not yet been announced. However, wonderfully, the three books we chose from the longlist, all ended up on the shortlist. One of those was Winnie Dunn’s debut novel, Dirt poor Islanders. It is … Continue reading Winnie Dunn, Dirt poor Islanders (#BookReview)| Whispering Gums
Around ten years ago, I wrote a post on National Arbor Day. It was inspired by a Library of America story. The thing is that then I didn’t, and I still don’t hear, about Arbor Day anymo…| Whispering Gums
The Canberra launch of Irma Gold’s latest book, her second novel Shift (my review), was a joyful affair that reminded me of other launches of books by Canberra writers, such as Karen Viggers&…| Whispering Gums
If Australian writer Irma Gold suffered from Second Book Syndrome while writing her second novel, it certainly doesn’t show. Her debut novel, The breaking (my review), is well-written and a g…| Whispering Gums
5 posts published by Whispering Gums during July 2025| Whispering Gums
Titles are intriguing things, and we don’t always pay them the attention they deserve, but the title of Australian writer Andrea Goldsmith’s ninth novel, The buried life, is worth think…| Whispering Gums
There’s something special about reading a good, engaging history – and this is how I’d describe debut author Michelle Scott Tucker’s biography Elizabeth Macarthur: A life at…| Whispering Gums
Well, let’s see how I go with this post on Percival Everett’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel James. I read all but 30 pages of this novel before my reading group’s meeting on 27 May…| Whispering Gums
Well, this Six Degrees I am in the wilds of north Queensland, somewhere in Cape York. I scheduled this two weeks ago, as I was expecting reception to be poor. I hope to visit your chains, but if I …| Whispering Gums
10 posts published by Whispering Gums during June 2025| Whispering Gums
Like my last forgotten writer, Ruby Mary Doyle, today’s writer, though also a prolific contributor to newspapers in her day, has slipped into the shadows. Neither Wikipedia nor the Australian…| Whispering Gums
Books, reading and more ... with an Australian focus ... written on Ngunnawal Country| Whispering Gums
You may have heard the announcement by Sean Manning, of Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint in the US, that he will “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”. Australian medi…| Whispering Gums
