Posted in April 2012 …

Apr 30 2012
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VINTAGE KIDS CLASSICS

Random House have just announced a range of children’s books in their continuing Vintage Classics series. They’ve had great success with their excellently designed modern classics for $12.95, and this new range will come in at $9.95. As always, they’ll go up against Penguin, whose Puffin Classics share a price point (but whose titles are a little more run-of-the-mill). Here are a few of my favourite covers from the new list:

The series is due for publication in August. You can find the complete list here.

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Apr 29 2012
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SUNDAY DIVERSIONS

So if you’re not exploring the exciting Brisbane literary site Stilts then you really should be. The brainchild of a bunch of QUT graduates (also my fine alma mater), it’s grown into an excellent resource of essays, reviews, fiction and general goings-on about town. Over the next month or so, a bunch of Brisbane writers have read each others’ books, and are posting responses. My response to Mei Yen Chua’s “Brisbane’s Budget Bites” has just gone live, and is a brand new piece of fiction from me called All The Time. You can read it here.

And if you still have time left in the week, why not have a listen to 56 hours of David Foster Wallace.

And speaking of DFW, here’s The New Yorker’s pretty excellent take on the recent Pulitzer Prize for Fiction scandal.

Have a good week, errybody!

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Apr 26 2012
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SMOKING CAN MAKE YOU SEE DOUBLE

PanMacmillan, May 2012

HarperCollins, August 2011

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Apr 25 2012
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A BIT OF NEWS

So sometime while I was asleep last night, my book, The Ottoman Motel was shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize! I’m completely stunned and deeply honoured to be part of what is an excellent shortlist. Special congratulations must go to my Australian compatriots Mette Jakobsen, Cory Taylor and Jeanine Leane, who join me on the shortlist for the Pacific Region. Mette, Cory and myself are all published by the wonderful folks at Text Publishing, whose commitment to finding new literary voices continues to be richly rewarded. Jeanine’s book is published by University of Queensland Press (whose offices are just across the river from me) and was the recipient of Winner of the 2010 David Unaipon Award for Indigenous Writing, an award just scrapped by new mayor of Brisbane Campbell Newman. Just another reason to support the new, Newman-Free Queensland Literary Awards. Special mention also to Nic Low, whose short story Rush was shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth Short Story prize.

Here is the list in full:

Commonwealth Book Prize

The Wandering Falcon, Jamil Ahmad (Pakistan), Hamish Hamilton

Patchwork, Ellen Banda-Aaku (Zambia), Penguin Books, South Africa

Rebirth: a novel, Jahnavi Barua (India), Penguin Books India

The Sly Company of People Who Care, Rahul Bhattacharya (India) Picador

The Ottoman Motel, Christopher Currie (Australia), The Text Publishing Company

A Cupboard Full of Coats, Yvvette Edwards (UK), Oneworld Publications

The Book of Answers, CY Gopinath (India), HarperCollins India

Jubilee, Shelley Harris (South Africa), Weidenfeld & Nicolson

The Dancing and the Death on Lemon Street, Denis Hirson (UK), Jacana Media

The Vanishing Act, Mette Jakobsen (Australia), The Text Publishing Company

Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, Shehan Karunatilaka (Sri Lanka), Random House India

Purple Threads, Jeanine Leane (Australia), University of Queensland Press

Sweetheart, Alecia McKenzie (Jamaica), Peepal Tree Press

The Town that Drowned, Riel Nason (Canada), Goose Lane Editions

Dancing Lessons, Olive Senior (Canada), Cormorant Books

The Sentimentalists, Johanna Skibsrud (Canada), William Heinemann

The Dubious Salvation of Jack V, Jacques Strauss (South Africa), Jonathan Cape

Me and Mr Booker, Cory Taylor (Australia), The Text Publishing Company

Pao, Kerry Young (UK), Bloomsbury

HAPPY DAYS!

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Apr 18 2012
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MIDWEEKERY

Seeing as Wednesday is the start of my writing week, I thought I might share with you a few literary diversions to get you through your mid-week (anyone who uses the phrase “hump day” is not allowed to read this blog).

And in final, really sad non-book news, I learned this morning that Levon Helm, legendary member of The Band and amazing musician in his own right, is in the final stages of cancer. His is a voice I’ve loved all my life, and it’s unbearably tragic to hear that it will soon disappear.

Here is the video I will be watching for the rest of the day:

 

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Apr 12 2012
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SYSTEM ERROR

Image

 

Oh man, it’s just been brought to my attention that no one has been able to see my numerous and well-considered posts on here for absolutely ages and I definitely haven’t been ignoring the blog and not writing anything at all. I have contacted my webmaster to see what has happened and once again I can’t stress enough how this was a technical error and nothing to do with me not posting anything for months and months. I mean, here are some of the great posts that you’ve missed and which I have kept no other copies of so no one will ever get to read them:

ACTUALLY, WHAT I SAID WAS THAT FLIPBOOKS WOULD NOT ACTUALLY BE THAT GREAT (23 August 2011)

WHY JULIAN BARNES WILL WIN THE BOOKER PRIZE AND YOU SHOULD PUT $5 ON HIM (15 October 2011)

MY GREAT NEW IDEA FOR A NOVEL WHERE KIDS TRY TO KILL EACH OTHER AS PART OF A GAMESHOW (Repost: Originally posted April 9, 2008)

I HAVE DECIDED TO WITHDRAW “THE OTTOMAN MOTEL” FROM ALL MAJOR LITERARY PRIZES, WHICH IS THE ONLY REASON YOU WON’T SEE IT ON ANY AWARDS SHORTLISTS (31 December 2011)

CAMPBELL NEWMAN TALKS ABOUT HIS FAVOURITE BOOKS (12 January 2012)

JUST TO CLARIFY, LISTS OF INGREDIENTS ON BREAKFAST CEREALS ARE NOT “BOOKS” (13 January 2012)

BEST BOOKS OF FEBRUARY 23, 2012, 11.53AM (23 February 2012)

BEST BOOKS OF FEBRUARY 23, 2012, 11.53AM [UPDATED] (23 February 2012)

NO, I HAVEN’T READ THE NEW MURAKAMI YET, OKAY??! (9 March 2012)

OR THE DAVID FOSTER WALLACE, I MEAN, JESUS, THERE ARE A LOT OF BOOKS YOU KNOW AND I CAN’T READ THEM ALL AND MAYBE I WANT TO READ THE SHORT ONES FIRST DID YOU THINK OF THAT?! (3 March 2012)

NEW AMAZON “KONY” TIPPED TO REVOLUTIONISE E-READING (12 March 2012)

THE 18 BEST PAGE 259s OF MODERN LITERATURE(29 March)

I think that covers it. Again, sorry I kept no copies or drafts of any of these and I definitely just haven’t been slack on updating Furious Horses.

My Apologies.

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