Vale Craig Ruddy, artist and past Archibald Prize winner
6 January 2022
Sydney born Australian artist Craig Ruddy, who’s painting of late Australian actor and dancer David Gulpilil, won the 2004 Archibald Prize for portraiture, died on Tuesday this week, from COVID-19 complications. A sad loss for the Australian art community.
RELATED CONTENT
art, Australian art, Craig Ruddy
Find a RAT, a Rapid Antigen Test kit in Australia
4 January 2022
Find a RAT in Australia, is a great and timely initiative by Melbourne based Australian application developer Matt Hayward, to help people locate Rapid Antigen Test kits to self-test for COVID-19.
With people in some locations reporting waiting several hours, sometimes longer, to take a PCR test, and waiting days instead of hours for the result because of the strain some test providers are under, a Rapid Antigen Test may be the only option some people have.
In recent days though RAT kits have become difficult to find, not to mention at a reasonable price, but hopefully Find a RAT will assist in locating them.
RELATED CONTENT
Dymocks Top 101 books 2022 poll
4 January 2022
Voting is open in the Dymocks Top 101 books poll for 2022, across categories including fiction, young adult, fantasy, crime, and non-fiction. I can’t see a closing date for voting, so if you wish to participate, do so now.
Update: results of the poll have been posted.
RELATED CONTENT
Flicker Fest 2022, showing at Bondi Beach
4 January 2022
Flicker Fest, the world’s favourite short film festival (if I may say so…) takes place this year at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, from Friday 21 January, to Sunday 30 January 2021. This year’s event seems to have a Great Gatsby feel… dig out your glad rags, and get ready to party hard.
RELATED CONTENT
Australian film, film, film festivals
Jenny Hewson, literary agent, talks contracts, rejection, and writer’s voice
4 January 2022
London based literary agent Jenny Hewson spoke to Jemma Birrell in late 2020 as part of the Tablo Publishing Secret Life of Writers podcast series. Topics discussed included contracts, rejection, and writer’s voice, a pivotal aspect of the writing process, but one that can be overlooked.
RELATED CONTENT
A short story about the Trailhead ant colony
31 December 2021
The life and times of the Trailhead ant colony, which thrived for some twenty years, in this work of fiction written in 2010 by American biologist and writer E. O. Wilson, who died on 26 December 2021.
But now a second crisis arose. The candidate royals began to quarrel among themselves for control. They converged on the brood chambers and jostled for position there. They struggled to climb on top of their rivals. The winners in these encounters seized their opponents’ legs and antennae and dragged them away.
I don’t know if it’s a childhood fascination I had with ants, but this depiction of the fictitious Trailhead Colony reads like a family drama set in a royal household.
RELATED CONTENT
Goodreads most anticipated books of 2022
31 December 2021
Books may be the only constant in an unpredictable world. The good news: there’s no shortage of them, and this list of Goodreads members most anticipated books of 2022, is another place to seek out reading suggestions.
RELATED CONTENT
Rabbit Hole short story contest 2022
31 December 2021
Rabbit Hole, a digital library of short stories is hosting another short story contest for writers in the new year. Recent additions meanwhile to their repository include Shouting and Weeping Creatures, by California based American sci-fi and horror writer Anna Ziegelhof, a story told from the point of view of a planet not unlike Earth.
RELATED CONTENT
Puff: Wonders of the Reef, a documentary by Nick Robinson
30 December 2021
Puff: Wonders of the Reef (trailer), traces the journey of a baby pufferfish, aptly named Puff, as he searches for a home on the Great Barrier Reef. The film is directed by Adelaide based documentary filmmaker Nick Robinson, and narrated by Rose Byrne. Looks stunning.
RELATED CONTENT
film, Nick Robinson, Rose Byrne, trailer
What writers wish they knew before they started writing
30 December 2021
Australian author Allison Tait recently asked sixteen local Children’s and Young Adult writers what they wish they’d known before commencing their publishing careers. There’s a lot of good stuff here, but this insight from Canberra based author Jack Heath, takes the cake:
I saw myself as a social commentator – but I realise now that I was a novelist. People didn’t like me, they liked my novels. I should have spent my time working on my books, rather than play-acting as a celebrity. In a broader sense, I should have focused on writing, rather than being a writer.
RELATED CONTENT