AustLit

'On the face of it, bringing Trent Dalton’s 471-page debut novel, Boy Swallows Universe, to the stage sounds impossible. The Brisbane-based author summarises his initial response to playwright Tim McGarry – who approached him with a proposal to adapt his massive manuscript before the book had even been published – as “good luck to you, mate”.'  (Introduction)

'As a teen in late-80s Brisbane, Andrew Stafford discovered punk and it changed his life.' 

'A memoir of music, madness and love from the author of the cult classic Pig City.

'For Andrew Stafford, music was a way up and a way out. There was just one little problem- he couldn't play. Because those who can do and those who can't review, he carved out a niche writing about it instead. 

'This is the story of a self-confessed wannabe's life- of growing up in public, of family, of falling in and out of love, and music, sweet music, everywhere.

'Written with enormous heart and a thumping rhythm, Something To Believe In is an uncompromising, inspiring book for anyone whose life has been saved by rock & roll.'  (Publication summary)
 

' In late 2014, Greg Roberts, a semi-retired journalist, was birdwatching along River Road in his local patch of Yandina on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It was an area he thought he was familiar with. He'd known the freshwater wetlands near the eastern edge of the road to be a haven for a number of threatened species for two years, and had been lobbying the local council for its protection.' (Publication abstract)

'McGahan, who has died aged 52, arrived on the literary scene with a semi-autobiographical classic of Australian dirty realism.'

'While the show mostly sidesteps the truly nasty side of the former Queensland premier’s regime, its references to the present day are uncanny.'

'A 10th anniversary edition of this cult classic with a new introduction

'From cult heroes the Saints and the Go-Betweens to national icons Powderfinger and international stars Savage Garden, Brisbane has produced more than its share of great bands. But behind the music lay a ghost city of malice and corruption.

'Pressed under the thumb of the Bjelke-Petersen government and its toughest enforcers – the police – Brisbane’s musicians, radio announcers and political activists braved ignorance, harassment and often violence to be heard.

'Pig City’s reputation has grown in the decade since its first publication. In 2007, Queensland Music Festival staged the book as an all-day music event, headlined by the first performance in nearly 30 years by the original line-up of the Saints.

'This updated 10th anniversary edition features a scathing new introduction by the author, assessing the changing shape of Brisbane, its music, and troubling developments since the return of the state of Queensland to conservative governance.' (2014 Publication summary)