AustLit

'Readers know that the very act of reading can transport you away, well beyond the walls of your home. And with millions of Australians in lockdown, it's more important than ever to find a book that'll take your mind on an adventure.' (Introduction)

'Tony Birch believes so strongly in the power of names that he usually can't start writing a word of a short story or novel without naming his characters first.' (Introduction)

'Imagine if shortly after Mark Rothko's death, someone who thought they knew better decided to destroy his iconic paintings. 

'When Australian artist Clarice Beckett died at 48 years of age in 1935, her father burnt a number of her paintings — works that the Art Gallery of South Australia's curator of Australian art Tracey Lock describes as "Rothko-like".' (Introduction)

'Believe it or not, 2021 already has a contender for best Australian show of the year: Stan series Bump, which dropped its first season of 10 half-hour episodes on New Year's Day.' 

'It's hard to quantify just how damaging 2020 has been for the Australian theatre sector.' 

'There are certain works of art that are impossible to ignore, that have a magnetic pull that can be felt from anywhere in a gallery.' (Introduction)

'Jena Lin was a child prodigy: at age eight she was playing classical violin at an adult level, and by the time she was 14 she was performing solo at New York's Carnegie Hall. And then she had a breakdown.' (Introduction)

'On March 15, Australian director Luke Eve was set to marry Spanish actor María Albinana in Valencia, Spain.' 

'2020 started with catastrophic bushfires, but was soon overtaken by a global pandemic that caused unprecedented shutdowns and changes to nearly every aspect of everyday life.' 

'Sydney 2050: Circular Quay has been overrun by mud-encrusted ibises, the city's skyscrapers are mostly underwater, ferries rot in the harbour, and the Sydney Opera House's iconic sails are tipped sideways.' (Introduction)

'In early June, American reality TV show Cops was cancelled after 32 seasons. Live PD, a similar show, has since been canned.' 

'While we're not exactly sure when and how this pandemic will end, things are slowly beginning to return to a semblance of normalcy in Australia.'