AustLit

'The December issue has arrived and rounds out the year in customary style: a stockingful of reviews, essays, interviews, and our annual ‘Books of the Year’ feature, in which thirty-eight ABR critics highlight their year’s most memorable reads. Paul Muldoon reviews Bruno Latour’s eco-philosophical fable, After Lockdown. While Latour takes inspiration from the termite, Krissy Kneen considers the ways of the dugong in her Calibre Prize-shortlisted essay, a poignant exploration of identity, bodies, and death. In politics, Morag Fraser reviews Judith Brett’s collection of essays and Frank Bongiorno reflects on Noel Pearson’s life in the public eye. The issue looks at fiction by Simone de Beauvoir, the Booker-shortlisted Anuk Arudpragasam, Garry Disher, and Inga Simpson. The literary careers of Gillian Mears and Gerald Murnane are retraced by Brenda Walker and Peter Craven, respectively. Traipsing from Dante’s inferno to China to Western Sydney, the December issue will keep even the most intellectually gluttonous reader sated through the festive season.'   (Publication summary)

'With its feast of commentary and criticism, the November issue of ABR exemplifies the ‘art of more’. Judith Brett peers beneath the prime ministerial veneer with three of the nation’s top journalists, while Helen Ennis’s essay ‘Max Dupain’s dilemmas’, commended in this year’s Calibre Essay Prize, plumbs the depths of the great Australian photographer’s self-doubt. Stephen Bennetts contextualises Paul Cleary’s blow-by-blow account of the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation’s native title victory over Australia’s third-largest mining company. Further afield, ABR continues its coverage of the Middle East with Samuel Watts’s essay diagnosing the tensions between American domestic and foreign policy and Kevin Foster’s review of Mark Willacy’s exposé on Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan. The issue features reviews of new fiction by Christos Tsiolkas, Emily Bitto, Alison Bechdel, and Violet Kupersmith, work by some of Australia’s most exciting young poets – not to mention the latest by Delia Falconer, Yves Rees, Adam Tooze, and much, much more!' (Publication summary)

'The October issue of ABR brings together some of the country’s finest critics on the latest political and cultural developments. In our cover article, David Jack offers a trenchant critique of the privileging of ‘bare life’ in state responses to the pandemic. Morag Fraser reads Tim Bonyhady’s latest book on the politics of visual culture in Afghanistan, while James Curran assesses the recent history of Australian–American diplomatic relations. It is a blockbuster fiction issue with reviews of the latest offerings by Sally Rooney and Jonathan Franzen by Beejay Silcox and Declan Fry, respectively. Booker Prize shortlisted novels by Damon Galgut and Richard Powers are also examined. David McCooey follows poet Sarah Holland-Batt as she ‘fishes for lightning’ in her criticism, and there are new poems by Ann Vickery and Alex Skovron. The issue also looks at work by Maggie Nelson, Jeanette Winterson, Nicolas Rothwell – and much, much more!' (Publication abstract)

'From Plato to plutocrats, the September issue of ABR brings together the best and worst of the cultural moment. In our cover feature, Joel Deane casts his eye over the ‘ugly truth’ of Facebook’s contemptuous exploitation of users, while in a thought experiment inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Oliver identifies more worthy candidates for space travel than Branson and Bezos. Megan Clement reports from Paris on the pass sanitaire and Diane Stubbings reviews Peter Doherty’s plague-year dispatches. Sheila Fitzpatrick is our Critic of the Month and was a judge in this year’s Calibre Prize, for which Anita Punton’s ‘May Day’, printed in this issue, came runner-up. We also feature reviews of new fiction by Jennifer Mills, Colm Tóibín, and Laurent Binet, and new poetry by Toby Fitch, John Hawke, and Song Lin – as well as much, much more!' (Publication summary)

'The August issue offers readers a feast of fiction, along with the magazine’s usual probing commentary and criticism. The issue features all three stories shortlisted for the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, as well as reviews of new books by Rachel Cusk, Tony Birch, Bill Birtles and ABR Rising Star Sarah Walker. In non-fiction, Stephen Bennetts highlights one of the overlooked contexts for the debate over Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu, while Michael Dwyer recounts Australian journalists’ enduring fascination with China. The risks of border crossing are also weighed by Elisabeth Holdsworth and Seumas Spark in their reviews of recent books on the history of transportation. Brenda Walker and Jim Davidson pay tributes to the achievements of Hazel Rowley and Robin Boyd, respectively, and there are poems by Joan Fleming, John Kinsella, and Laurie Duggan – as well as plenty more!'(Publication summary)

'Welcome to the July issue! This month we celebrate the awarding of the Calibre Prize to Theodore Ell, whose essay, ‘Façades of Lebanon’, provides a powerful eye-witness account of the Beirut explosion. The issue also explores current crises in humanitarianism with an aid worker’s frontline report from Syria and Maria O’Sullivan’s review of Alexander Betts’ book on international asylum seeker policies. And turning our attention to the racial cleavages in contemporary Australia are Paul Muldoon’s essay on the risks and rewards of Victoria’s Yoo-rrook Justice Commission and Mindy Gill’s review of an anthology of stories from Western Sydney. There are also reviews of new novels by Larissa Behrendt, Stephen Orr, and Laura Elizabeth Woollett, new poetry by Eunice Andrada, Judith Bishop, and Peter Goldsworthy – and much more!' (Publication summary)

'ABR has added an eleventh issue in 2021 – at no extra cost to subscribers – brimming with commentary, review essays, and creative writing. Ilana Snyder contextualises the recent turmoil in Israel and Palestine; Hessom Razavi turns our attention to the plight of refugees detained by Australia; Declan Fry examines the writings of Stan Grant; James Boyce laments the state of salmon-farming industry in Tasmania; and Martin Thomas revisits Patrick White three decades after his death. Elsewhere, explore a new short story by Josephine Rowe; poetry by Omar Sakr, Sarah Holland-Batt, and Derrick Austin; and much more.

'This issue is generously funded by Matthew Sandblom and Wendy Beckett’s Blake Beckett Fund.' (Publication summary)

'Welcome to the May issue! Our cover story is devoted to the stubborn persistence of poverty and social inequality in Australia. Glyn Davis (CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation) draws on the writings and example of Hugh Stretton to ask why poverty continues to be handed down from parent to child. Historian Lisa Ford reviews Bain Attwood’s major new book on sovereignty, property, and native title. Stuart Macintyre’s examines the prolific Sheila Fitzpatrick’s study of postwar migration to Australia. James Ley is underwhelmed by Harold Bloom’s posthumous book – ‘a bloated mess’. We review novels by Haruki Murakami, Jamie Marina Lau, Pip Adam, and Emily Maguire. Francesca Sasnaitis is also impressed by the new memoir by Krissy Kneen, who is also our Open Page guest.' (Publication abstract)

'Welcome to the April issue! In our cover story, ABR theatre critic Tim Byrne examines the ways in which Australian theatre companies are coping after lockdown and the strategies they are implementing to welcome back audiences. Senior journalist (and new ABR Board member) Johanna Leggatt reviews Alan Rusbridger’s new book in which the former editor-in-chief of the Guardian offers an uneven attempt to demythologise journalism. Shannon Burns examines Steven Carroll’s fictionalised look at the life of the woman behind the notorious French novel Story of O. Claudio Bozzi, a legal academic, looks at whether the election of Joe Biden has given cause to hope that the position of Science Advisor to the President of the United States might be returned to a position of influence after years of neglect under Donald Trump. Other reviewers include Robert Dessaix, Andrea Goldsmith, Barry Hill, Kim Mahood, and Zora Simic.' (Publication summary)

'Welcome to the March issue of Australian Book Review. Highlights include young Melbourne historian Samuel Watts’s shocked response to the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, to which he brings a needed historical perspective, reminding us that this was not the first time that racists and insurrectionists sought to disrupt the democratic process. Peter Tregear – at a time of great stress and uncertainty in the higher education sector – reviews a new history of Australian universities. Sarah Maddison reviews Henry Reynolds’s new book, in which he calls for ‘truth-telling’ about Australia’s history. Gerard Windsor reviews Murray Bail’s new memoir, He. Beejay Silcox reviews Kazuo Ishiguro’s new novel, Klara and the Sun, and we also review fiction by Trevor Shearston, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Karen Wyld. Paul Kildea writes about the new production of Bitten’s opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Adelaide, and Michael Morley recalls the night he met John le Carré.' (Publication summary)

'Welcome to our summer issue – the first of 2021. On our cover is Peter Porter, to complement the five poems shortlisted in the 2021 Porter Prize. This year’s shortlist is wonderfully diverse, with poets from Australia, Canada and the United States. Elsewhere, Jon Piccini reviews two very different readings of the Palace Letters. Timothy J. Lynch lauds Barack Obama’s memoirs as the best presidential memoirs since Ulysses S. Grant’s, but notes a certain elephant in the room – Donald Trump and the spectre of Trumpism. Louise Milligan is our Open Page guest this month, and Beejay Silcox reviews Milligan’s new book, Witness, a searing account of the brutal cost of seeking justice in this country – especially for witnesses. Tim Byrne considers the early, rambunctious years of Nick Cave. We also review new novels by Garry Disher, Ceridwen Dovey, Dennis Glover and Anna MacDonald.' (Publication abstract)

'Welcome to our last issue for 2020. What a turbulent year it’s been – but also a rousing one for ABR, as the Editor reports in Advances. Highlights of the issue include our perennial favourite, Books of the Year: 33 ABR critics nominate some of their favourite books. The list forms a testament to the resilience of great writing even during a pandemic. Meanwhile, Morag Fraser, reviewing two new edited volumes, imagines what Australia might look like after Covid-19. Nicholas Jose reviews the second volume of Helen Garner’s inimitable diaries, and Frank Bongiorno reviews the new collection of writings from Don Watson. Anna MacDonald finds much to admire in Josephine Rowe’s short tribute to the late Beverley Farmer, and Brenda Niall relishes the task of revisiting the short stories of one of Australia’s greatest writers, Shirley Hazzard. Paul Giles – our Critic of the Month – writes about William Faulkner.'(Publication summary)

'Welcome to the November issue! On our cover is a very young Hessom Razavi, the ABR Behrouz Boochani Fellow. In his cover article, Hessom relates his family’s trials after the Iranian Revolution, their flight to Australia, and his awareness of the immense ordeals facing refugees in Australia’s immigration centres. Tony Hughes-d’Aeth examines regional differences in Australian writing and considers the ways regional factors can influence authors. Gideon Haigh is underwhelmed by Book Woodward’s new book, Rage, and asks if Trump’s presidency has rendered traditional journalism impossible. James Ley finds much to admire in Richard Flanagan’s new novel, as does Beejay Silcox with Elena Ferrante’s first novel since the Neapolitan quartet. Susan Wyndham reviews the new novel by Craig Silvey, who is the subject of Open Page. And Judith Bishop is our Poet of the Month.' (Publication summary)

'Welcome to the October issue! Our commentary material continues to grow. This month we have four major features on issues of great moment: race and the US presidential election; the pandemic and political freedom; and Twitter and cancel culture. Michael L. Ondaatje reflects on Trump’s failed courtship of black voters. Timothy J. Lynch reviews three scathing books about Trump and finds them equally wanting in terms of any explanations for Trump’s political predominance. Journalist Johanna Leggatt laments the threat posed by Twitter to the work, freedom, and reputations of journalists and writers. Finally, Paul Muldoon – in our cover piece – looks at the relationship between freedom and security and the complexities of the Victorian government’s response to the pandemic. We also review new novels by Ali Smith, Gail Jones and Steven Conte. Jane Sullivan considers Alex Miller’s memoir of Max. And Richard Fidler is our Open Page subject!' (Publication summary0

'Our winter double issue features two superb meditations on family, gender, mourning and becoming. Yves Rees is the winner of this year's Calibre Essay Prize. 'Reading the Mess Backwards' is a story of trans becoming that digs into the messiness of bodies, gender and identity. ABR Rising Star Sarah Walker writes beautifully about losing her mother and the difficulties of commemoration during a pandemic. James Ley has a virtuoso pastiche of Philip Roth in his review of the Portnoy trials. Sophie Cunningham reviews Richard Cooke's book on Robyn Davidson. Plus poems by Gwen Harwood, Jaya Savige, and Stephen Edgar – and much more!' (Publication summary)

'The April issue of ABR appears at a time of enormous crisis and seclusion around the world. Never has good journalism or creative writing been more important. In 'Coronavirus and Australian Book Review', the Editor outlines how the magazine is responding to Covid-19. Elsewhere in the issue, Jenny Hocking (Gough Whitlam's biographer) writes about John Kerr and the Palace Letters, and Johanna Leggatt laments the likely closure of AAP, with its ominous consequences for media diversity and investigative journalism. We have reviews of new books by Felicity Plunkett, Cassandra Pybus, Tom Keneally, Lydia Davis, and many more.' (Publication summary)