Boys Behaving Badly

Fri 22 Feb 2013

From our early history to recent times, sex and misogyny have been intrinsically linked to ideas of manhood. Novelist Jon Doust and historian Frank Bongiorno consider issues around what it means to be a man in our culture and how these attitudes have changed over time.
Chair: Jane Cornes

Poets Vs Novelists Debate

Fri 22 Feb 2013

Who is more likely to make us swoon? Poet or novelist? We pitch poets against novelists to find out who’s the better lover on the written page? Speaking for the poets: Peter Heller, Ailsa Piper and Ali Alizadeh. Speaking for the novelists: Annabel Smith, Kunal Basu and Stephen Scourfield. Chair: Jon Doust

NEW POST, NEWS AND OTHER THINGS, like WIGS

There has not been a blog here on this blog for some time. Why not?

Two reasons:

1 - I have started writing another novel
2 - I have been writing grant applications to help support the writing of another novel.
3 - 
Ok, three reasons.
3 - The Albany Advertiser, through the West Australian, stopped paying me to write a column. Sad, I know, but 'cause I had been a professional columnist for over 20 years I got used to the idea of being paid to write one. (And now here's one for nothing, as was the last post.)

For those of you in Albany, or nearby, or intending to visit, next weekend would be ideal. 

The Albany Comedy Club, in conjunction with Bookmark, is putting on a night of true story telling in the Albany Town Hall.

Full details:

SUNDAY 24, FEBRUARY
7PM - 8.30PM
ALBANY TOWN HALL
$20
FOOD INCLUDED
AND CASUAL
CONVERSATION

And the author story tellers:

Lawrence Norfolk (UK)
Lawrence Norfolk is the bestselling author of three historical novels, Lemprière's Dictionary, The Pope's Rhinoceros and In the Shape of a Boar. His latest novel, John Saturnall's Feast, charts the course of one man's life from steaming kitchens to illicit bedchambers, through battlefields and ancient magical woods. Expertly weaving fact with myth, Lawrence Norfolk has created a rich, complex and mesmerising story of seventeenth-century life, love and war.

Gus Gordan (NSW)
As an anthropomorphic author and illustrator, Gus Gordon’s stories always feature animals that take the place of people, allowing him to explore human character traits and quirks with a delightful humour. Set in New York, his latest picture book, Herman & Rosie, is a story about friendship, life in the big city, and following your dreams.

Ailsa Piper (Vic)
Ailsa Piper has worked as a writer, theatre director, teacher, radio broadcaster, speaker and actor. Her first novel, Sinning Across Spain: A Walkers Journey from Granada to Galicia, follows Ailsa’s 1300km journey across Spain on foot. On her back, she carried an unusual cargo – a load of sins donated by friends and colleagues - her aim, to carry the sins to holy places, and so buy forgiveness, whilst celebrating the mysteries of faith, the possibilities for connection, and the beautiful act of setting one foot down in front of the other.

Steven Poole (UK)
Steven Poole is the author of Trigger Happy and Unspeak. He has written extensively on books and culture for The Guardian and other publications. His latest book, You Aren’t What You Eat discusses our obsession with food: where it comes from, where to buy it, how to cook it and - most absurdly of all - how to eat it. A subtle and erudite polemic, his novel argues that we're trying to fill more than just our bellies when we pick up our knives and forks, and that we might be a lot happier if we realised that sometimes we should throw away the colour supplements and open a tin of beans!

Jon Doust (WA Albany)
Jon Doust has had diverse careers including jobs in banking, the media, retailing, farming and comedy. These days he is best known as a writer, professional speaker, big ideas inspirer and community projects facilitator. Jon’s latest book, To The Highlands, is the sequel to his first novel Boy on a Wire and follows Jack Muir as he now grapples with life as an expatriate in Papua New Guinea six years before independence.

Virginia Jealous (WA Denmark)
Virginia Jealous’ poetry collection, Things Turned Upside Down, was released by Picaro Press in 2011. An Australian poet, freelance travel writer and former emergency relief worker, Jealous is preoccupied with how ‘outsiders’ continue to shape the world of others. She is currently an Asialink Writer-in-Residence at Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla, India.

Sharon Huebner (Vic)
Sharon Huebner is a writer, performer and visual artist. She works in the media of photography, improvised performance, story-telling and mutli-media installation. Sharon has been privileged to hear and record stories as part the Koorie Family History Service and Koorie Heritage Archive project at the Koorie Heritage Trust Inc. Sharon is currently undertaking her doctoral research (PhD) at the Monash Indigenous Centre at Monash University.

Anne de Courcy (UK)
Anne de Courcy is a well-known writer and journalist. In the 1970s she was Woman's Editor on the London Evening News and in the 1980s she was a regular feature-writer for the Evening Standard. She is the author of seven books. Her most recent book The Fishing Fleet is the untold stories of young English women who went to India at the height of the Raj in search of marriage.

Dianne Wolfer (WA Albany)
Dianne Wolfer’s writing is inspired by her travels and passions: from different cultures and the environment to friendship, being brave and taking chances. She is the author of 14 books for teenagers and young readers, her latest books are Light Horse Boy and Granny Grommet and Me.

Isobelle Carmody (Vic)
Isobelle Carmody first began telling stories to her brothers and sisters at home. She started her first book, Obernewtyn, when she was only fourteen and since then she has written some of our greatest works of fantasy. Isobelle has also written and illustrated many books for younger readers. Metro Winds and Green Monkey Dreams, two utterly engrossing short story collections, were published in 2012.