Category Archives: From the Editors
From the Editors
Who likes short shortlists? (On the sausagefest problem)
The Miles shortlist has been announced, and one thing you can’t call it is predictable. The first thing that comes to mind is how short it is, with just three books selected from a nine-book longlist: Bereft by Chris Womersley (might I boast, a contributor to KYD … Read more
From the Editors
Kill Your Darlings is looking for an Online Intern
That’s right: we’re looking for an Online Intern. This is an exciting opportunity to join our team, and to have extensive and practical experience in the publishing industry. The position is voluntary and the intern will report directly to the Online Editor. Expressions of interest are requested by … 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
Northern Lights, Madness and Mayonnaise: The Truth about Writers’ Retreats (Part 2)
A few months after I met Peter Bishop of Varuna Writers’ House, I received an email inviting applications for residency at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre in Western Australia, another retreat where writers may find ‘a space’ in which to progress their writing. Like Varuna, KSP … Read more
From the Editors
Northern Lights, Madness and Mayonnaise: The Truth about Writers’ Retreats (Part 1)
Everyone has their reading habits. There are the ‘thou-shalt-not-crack-the-spine’ folks who read like perverts, peeking between narrowly opened pages. There are those who open books like they’re skinning rabbits, ripping the cover right around and ravaging any semblance of binding. There are the origami-ists, the ‘I-must-dog-ear-this-novel-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life’ readers, … Read more
From the Editors
Hunches and the historical novel
I have always tried hard not to mysticise the creative process. To me, imagination, although precious and powerful, is not supernatural; ideas come to us through a process of conscious and subconscious suggestion. Writers draw upon facts, or experience; they write from a position of knowledge or … 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
