AustLit

'Wheeler interviews Jeanine Leane, the prize-winning author of Purple Threads and Dark Secrets After Dreaming: AD 1887-1961. Leane talks about her works and writing as an aboriginal Australian author.' (Publication summary)

'Brown examines Kevin Hart's For Marion, My Sister, a poem that struggles with the absence of the poet's sister. The work is preoccupied with the possibilities of language and imagination, the desire for connection and the uncertain return of those who have passed away.' (Publication abstract)

'Turk shares her memory of her sister 10 years after she died. Her family celebrated her sister's 21st birthday in their home and she was found dead in the river a week after.' (Publication abstract)

'Gregory David Roberts's semi-autobiographical novel Shantaram has been an Australian bestseller since its original publication in 2003. Marketed largely as nonfiction, Shantaram presents a fictionalized version of the author's experiences as a criminal on the run, particularly his adventures in the Mumbai underworld. Magner critiques Shantaram based upon reviews from newspapers and periodicals along with online fan responses to account for its robust readership. She saysa s an exemplar of a contemporary Australian bestseller, Shantaram is instructive from a number of angles, raising questions about genre distinctions and the workings of taste as well as drawing attention to the practices of publishers, consumers, and fans.' (Publication abstract)

'In the course of reading Graham Robb's excellent biography of Victor Hugo, Edgecombe have stumbled on two details that might have found their way into The Tree of Man by Patrick White. Here, Edgecombe considers two Hugolian moments in the novel.' (Publication abstract)