Stella Prize longlist 2022, a good year for poetry
1 March 2022
Unlike the Miles Franklin Literary Award, which honours only works of fiction by Australian writers, the Stella Prize recognises writing across all genres, be it fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, graphic novels, biographies, historical writing, short story collections, novellas, and poetry.
In addition to the fiction and non-fiction works named on the Stella Prize longlist for 2022, Stone Fruit by Montreal, Canada based Australian cartoonist Lee Lai becomes the first graphic novel to be included on the longlist.
But it is the poets who have a made a mark this year, claiming four of the twelve slots on the longlist. Take Care by Eunice Andrada, Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen (cover featured above), Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki, and The Open by Lucy Van, are all in contention for the prize.
If one of the poetry titles wins, or Lai’s graphic novel, it will be a first for the Stella. A shortlist consisting of six titles will be unveiled on 31 March 2022.
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Australian literature, graphic novels, literary awards, poetry, Stella Prize
Australian actors overlooked at Screen Actors Guild Awards 2022
1 March 2022
Australian actors Cate Blanchett, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sarah Snook, and Nicole Kidman, missed out being recognised in this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, after being nominated in a number of SAG categories. Here’s hoping those in line for an Oscar fare better on 28 March.
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The 2022 Stella Prize longlist
28 February 2022
The 2022 Stella Prize longlist was announced today, and includes the following twelve books:
- Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego
- The Open by Lucy Van
- Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki
- Permafrost by SJ Norman
- Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
- Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss
- Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down
- No Document by Anwen Crawford
- She Is Haunted by Paige Clark
- Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
- Take Care by Eunice Andrada
- Coming of Age in the War on Terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah
The Stella Prize, which was established in 2013, is a literary award celebrating the writing of Australian women. The shortlist will be announced on 31 March 2022.
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Australian literature, literary awards, Stella Prize
Tim Winton critical of fossil fuel industry arts sponsorship
28 February 2022
Perth based Australian writer Tim Winton, and four times Miles Franklin Award winner, has spoken out against the over reliance the local arts community has on sponsorship from the fossil fuel industry, during a speech at Perth festival’s Writers Weekend.
“I do want us to acknowledge how things still work here … how captive [the arts and cultural sectors] are,” he told the Writers Weekend audience. “I suspect that to some of the folks who were involved in decisions around that production, all of them good people I’m sure, the dissonance just wasn’t audible. And that just shows you how normal it is, how safe the fossil giants still feel here in the wild west.”
Winton singled out a performance of Become Ocean, an orchestral composition by John Luther Adams, scheduled for Saturday 5 March at the Festival, which has already attracted the ire of a local activist arts group on account of sponsorship arrangements for the performance.
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Australian literature, Tim Winton
Again, Rachel, Marian Keyes
28 February 2022
Readers of Irish author Marian Keyes‘ Walsh Family Series of novels first made the acquaintance of Rachel Walsh in 1997, in Rachel’s Holiday. Rachel was twenty-seven, and not in a good place. She’d just broken up with her boyfriend, Luke, and had been placed in rehabilitation by her family on account of her substance abuse.
Fast forward to 2021, and Rachel’s world is a better place. In fact, she has come full circle. She now works as a councillor at the facility she was admitted to twenty-five years earlier. Further, she’s in a happy relationship, and is getting along nicely with her mother and siblings. All up, everything seems to be going exceedingly well for Rachel. But her reverie is shattered by an out of the blue call from an old flame, in Again, Rachel (published by Penguin Books Australia, February 2022).
Just when she thought she had everything sorted out, and was settled, Rachel finds her life turned on its head. What is she to do? Follow her heart, and her ex, and venture back into a time and place she thought she’d left behind? Or remain in the predictable now? How fragile, it seems, is the life we believed to be firmly established…
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fiction, Marian Keyes, TBR list, writing
Sissy, a film by Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes
26 February 2022
Cecilia (Aisha Dee) runs into old school mate Emma (Hannah Barlow) after ten years, and is invited to her hen’s weekend. But the reunion quickly takes a turn for the worse, as old tensions resurface, in Sissy, trailer, directed by Australian actors and filmmakers Hannah Barlow, and Kane Senes.
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film, Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes, trailer
Wordle, a one word conversation starter
26 February 2022
In a time where there are perhaps few safe, neutral, topics of small talk — even the weather is off bounds in some circles — it’s reassuring to know that Wordle is something we converse about in most situations, says Amelia Lester, writing for The Sydney Morning Herald. Provided of course whoever we’re talking to is familiar with the word game.
That leaves one subject to carry us all forward through parties and get-togethers with people we’ve never met before, or whose names we can’t quite remember, or friends of friends we’re not sure whether we like. That subject is Wordle. The world hasn’t been so united since late March of 2020, when Tiger King gripped the globe. Why is Wordle entrancing? The reason must surely be: it makes us feel smart. It’s easier than a crossword, but scratches the same itch.
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A few ways to help the people of Ukraine
26 February 2022
The invasion in Ukraine is upsetting and unsettling. Even though some of us may be at a great distance from the hostilities, there are still things we can do to assist. Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo, of Simple Speaker, has put together a list of suggestions.
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The Film Adaptation Test of a book
25 February 2022
Telling an author you read their book is the greatest compliment they can receive, according to American poet Lee Ballentine. Anyone taking five to six hours out of their time to read a book cover-to-cover must have — in most cases — thought highly of it. The title evaded the did not finish pile: that’s saying a lot.
As an additional compliment, you could tell the author you’ll read their novel again. But with so many books in the world, who has the time to repeat read a title? Instead it might be better to say their book should be made into a film. It’s a way of saying your novel is so good, more people need to experience it, so let’s get it into cinemas. For most authors that’s probably an affirmation; it’s my guess many quietly hope their work will result in a movie.
It’s more than a commendation though. It’s an endorsement that discharges a reader from the obligation to pick up the book again. But it also makes for a useful metric in assessing a novel. If a book is worthy of being adapted for the big screen, it’s probably a good story. It’s something that should be put before a wider audience. And if not, perhaps you could settle for telling the author you read their book, and leave it at that.
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Bacon butties, the perfect reading companion
25 February 2022
If the fillings of the sandwiches we have for lunch are our only concern, we do indeed live in the lucky country.
While bacon and egg rolls have long been a favourite Australian snack, bacon butties — or, you prefer, sarnies — sandwiches filled with little more than bacon and butter, are apparently becoming more popular in Sydney cafes.
The bacon sarnie (or “butty” if you’re in Northern England) has long been sidelined in Australia in favour of the bacon and egg roll despite massive popularity in the UK. English truck drivers scoff bacon sarnies by the side of the road; Prince Harry once ordered a plate load for a post-wedding party.
I’ll probably stick to my regular coffee-only order in the morning, but for bacon buttie aficionados this sounds like good news.
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