Author Archives:
Recommended Reading
Recommended reading: Jo Case
For our special Issue Six ‘Recommended Reading’ series, we’ve asked members of the Stella Prize (now live!) steering committee to recommend their favourite texts by women. Kill Your Darlings Associate Editor Jo Case offers her selection of female writers, from Melbourne historians to New York publicists and … Read more
From the Editors
Over Here at SWF: Mandy Sayer, Elizabeth Stead and Mardi McConnochie on war-time Sydney
One of the things I love about writers’ festivals is the surprises – the authors you’ve never read and don’t know much about who unexpectedly captivate or intrigue you. I’ve had Elizabeth Stead’s novel, The Sparrows of Edward Street, on my bookshelves for months, but hadn’t yet … Read more
From the Editors
The Count at SWF: on the representation of women writers in reviews, prizes and genre writing
I kicked off my Sydney Writers Festival with ‘The Count’, a session on the underrepresentation of women in Australia’s literary pages – and in the literary scene in general. It was chaired by Miles Franklin longlisted author Kirsten Tranter (The Legacy) and featured both The Australian literary … Read more
From the Editors
Women in Print: An International Women’s Day Discussion
Left to right: Rebecca Starford, Sophie Cunningham, Monica Dux, Louise Swinn On the hundredth anniversary of International Women’s Day, over 100 bookish types packed among the shelves of Readings Carlton in Melbourne to hear a panel of Australian literary women talk about the very timely hot … Read more
From the Editors
Sympathy for the devil: in defence of the Tiger Mother
KYD associate editor Jo Case struggles past the media hype to discover the real message at the heart of Amy Chua’s controversial ‘mother memoir’. Once upon a time, motherhood memoirs were carefully painted in pastel hues designed to flatter the artist– if they existed at all. But … Read more
From the Editors
Surprising dilemmas: on being pigeonholed as a writer
It’s interesting, after days of listening to various writers talk, to watch certain themes emerge – particularly the ones you’d least expect. One surprising thread of conversation across the Melbourne and Brisbane Writers’ Festivals was the mixed blessing of finding a niche as a writer. Kathy Charles, … Read more
From the Editors
Five Things I Learned at MWF This Weekend
1. Keep your notebook within arm’s reach at all times On Saturday, KYD were hosting an afternoon of 15-minute events at Magazine – a Yarra-side shipping container, done up like a Fitzroy bar. One of those events featured Estelle Tang (our online editor) interviewing Ben Law and … Read more
From the Editors
Parties, interviews and the gift of the surprising conversation
The Melbourne Writers Festival kicks off today. And if you see an author or publisher looking grey this morning, it’s likely because they stayed too late, drank too much or both at last night’s Text Publishing party, an annual pre-MWF tradition. KYD editor Rebecca Starford left early … Read more
Interviews
Leanne Hall: “You can tell a story in so many different ways”
Melbourne bookseller Leanne Hall won last year’s Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing for her beguiling debut novel, This is Shyness. KYD associate editor Jo Case spoke to her on the eve of the book’s publication – about the book, the tenuous boundary between adult … Read more
From the Editors
Why the internet turned me on (to creative writing)
In the current Overland, Cate Kennedy has published a fascinating essay on the distractions of the internet – and the various ways it impedes creative writing. It encourages a lack of inhibition – and worse, a lack of reflection and analysis. It privileges currency over depth. The … Read more
From the Editors
On women’s writing 2: Miles Franklin, Orange, sausage fests and ‘grimness’
The Miles Franklin longlist for 2010 has been announced – and with only three of the 12 writers women, the signs are ominous that there may be another sausage fest (aka all-male shortlist) this year. In strictly objective alphabetical order, the longlist is: Patrick Allington, Figurehead Peter … Read more
From the Editors
On “Women’s” Writing
International Women’s Day is celebrated this month (8 March). Recently, there have been some really interesting discussions and debates about the gender divisions between male and female writers: whether they in fact exist in this ‘post-feminist’ world and if so, how they present and what those divides … Read more
News
Kafka Minded (by Martin Shaw)
That notable blogonaut Angela Meyer holds a special place in my heart, for every so often she reminds her readers of one of her writerly guiding stars: Franz Kafka. He’s a fixture of my literary pantheon, too: I was perhaps 15 or 16 when I first immersed … Read more
News
Ripples in the pond: A funny old week in Australian publishing
Martin Shaw reports from the Melbourne Prize ceremony and muses on the after-effects of this year’s fiery parallel importation debates. It’s been a funny old week in the usually placid pond that is the Australian literary landscape. On Wednesday morning, the Rudd government – after the mobilisation … Read more
Interviews
Interview with Eleanor Catton (Part 2)
In Part 2 of this excerpt from my recent chat with Eleanor Cattton (author of The Rehearsal – recently shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award 2009), the young New Zealand novelist talks writing routines, the value of reading your writing aloud, and the way appearance or … Read more
Interviews
Interview with Eleanor Catton (Part 1)
The Rehearsal is a finely layered novel of ideas; highly stylised in the telling, but simultaneously populated with an arresting cast of characters who are gifted with razor-sharp dialogue. (‘Sleeping with a minor isn’t exciting because you get to boss them around,’ argues one character, refuting a school counsellor. ‘It’s exciting because you’re risking so much.’) Read more
News
The Car Question
I should preface this blog entry with a disclosure: I am first and foremost a scooter rider. I adore my scooter (yes, she has a name) and whizzing around the city. There is nothing more liberating (and thankfully free of physical exertion) than zipping down the street, wind … Read more
Books
Second-hand bookshops: The top five in and around Melbourne
Being Wednesday, I’m already dreaming about the weekend. And a weekend, in my mind, isn’t a weekend until you’ve browsed at least one second-hand bookshop. Nothing beats that mustiness of old paper; the certain staleness of a shop full of books and book lovers; the slightly dishevelled … Read more
Books
Review: The Believer, September 09
The latest issue of The Believer comes with all the usual goodies we’ve come to expect from this quirky but edifying lit mag: lengthy book reviews, personal essays and clever interviews. Steered by the dynamic team of Heidi Julavits, Ed Park and Vendela Vida, The Believer continues … Read more
Books
Recommended (online) reading: interns, crazy outfits and bad bad reviews
Things have been a little quiet over at KYD headquarters this past week – or at least on the blogging front – because we’ve been super busy organising our first public outing, the Kill Your Darlings Literary Trivia Night, held at The Pumphouse in Fitzroy last night. … Read more
Film
Inglourious Basterds: Violently inspired
Guest post by Michelle Calligaro “When people say there is too much violence in [my books], what they are saying is there is too much reality in life.” Joyce Carol Oates One man being hounded at the moment because of the violence in his art is Quentin … Read more
News
And the winner is …
Thanks to everyone for your comments on our recent blog post, Getting real (and angry) about the sexualisation of girls. It’s great to be part of a vigorous online conversation about the topic, which continued over at The Dawn Chorus, where Mel Campbell responded with some quite … Read more
Books
Getting real (and angry) about the sexualisation of girls
Last week, I was asked to chair a panel discussion on an important new book about the sexualisation of girls, Getting Real (edited by Melinda Tankard-Reist). The main reason I was asked was because a friend of mine is acting publisher at Spinifex Press, and she’s heard … Read more
