Australian Recent Release: The Breeding Season by Amanda Niehaus.
“Astonishing. The writing is visceral and affecting, the sentences muscular and beating with a linguistic pulse which makes the book feel like a live creature. The Breeding Season is a creature that might in turn, rip your heart out or blanket you in a comforting hug. Craft like this is rare and magical.” – Krissy Kneen, author of Wintering.
As couple Elise and Dan struggle to cope with their grief, the rains come to Brisbane. Elise is a scientist, and believes isolation and gruelling fieldwork will heal her pain. Dan is a writer, and he begins to question the truths of his life, looking to art for answers. Elise and Dan must find a way to break free of their grief entrapped minds and learn how to forgive themselves and each other before time runs out.
The Breeding Season is a forensic, poignant exploration of the complex crossroads between art and science, sex and death, and the agonising intricacies of love.
Kids Recent Release: Miss Kraken by Nicki Greenberg.
The minute we saw Miss Kraken, we all knew it was going to be a bad year.
She’s strict, she’s irritable, she’s weird. But despite the kids misgivings, Miss Kraken might just have a surprise or two waiting for them.
“A hilarious tale of bad behaviour and unexpected consequences.” – Allen and Unwin.
Tasmanian Recent Release: An Unconventional Wife by Mary Hoban.
Brilliantly researched and engaging, Mary Hoban tells the story of Julia Sorrell, the granddaughter of a Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania. Vivacious and warm-hearted, her marriage to Tom Arnold in 1850 thrust her into one of the most respected families in England, and introduced her to a circle that included George Eliot and Lewis Carroll. With these family connections, Julia’s presence has been documented in many famous lives, however her presence is a mostly silent one. Mary Hoban’s extraction and examination of these documentations reveals the story of a remarkable woman who simultaneously defied and embraced convention. This book is a fascinating contribution to women’s history.
As Claire Wright states, “In An Unconventional Wife, Mary Hoban has given us an inconvenient heroine: a woman hobbled by her times, champing at the bit, going nowhere but telling us everything … the story of Julia Sorrell demands recognition of – and respect for – a woman who would otherwise be lost to history. Utterly charming.” – Scribe Publications.
Tasmanian Classic: Dear Writer: The Classic Guide to Writing Fiction by Carmel Bird.
Twenty-five years after the first edition was released, one of Australia’s most well loved story-tellers, Tasmanian born Carmel Bird, published a new edition of her classic writing guide. Written in a series of letters to an aspiring writer, Dear Writer is accessible, witty, generous and filled with warmth, humour and useful exercises to try. Dear Writer will be a comfort and a joy to all writers aspiring, emerging or experienced.