Serena Kirby, ARR.News
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Serena Kirby is a freelance reporter, writer and photographer based in regional Western Australia. With a background in public relations, education and tourism she’s had 30 years experience writing and photographing for local, national and international publications. Her current focus is on sharing stories from the sticks; its people, places and products and the life that lies beyond the city limits. She enjoys living in a small town while raising a tall teenager.
The art of capturing stories within glass
It’s a long way from the small town of Carnarvon in WA’s Gascoyne region to the picturesque Italian city of Venice. But that’s exactly where WA glass-artist Sabrina Dowling Guidici will be heading this September. Sabrina is the only Australian to be exhibiting at this year’s prestigious Venice Glass Week where she’ll showcase a unique glasswork collection titled ‘Saltwaters’ ... inspired by seagrasses found in WA’s World Heritage Site of Shark Bay ...
Review – Red River Road
Red River Road is the third book by author Anna Downes and it’s a psychological thriller that will have you hooked from the very first chapter ... Set along the beautiful Coral Coast of Western Australia the book follows the journey of the main character, Katy, as she travels solo in a camper van while desperately searching for her sister who has disappeared without a trace along the very same route.
Juliet Grist – The economist and the village
“It used to be all about supply and demand; about economic growth. In some ways it still is but in the last decade or so many countries have come to the realisation that just because you're getting economic growth doesn't mean your population is actually benefiting. One of the new schools of thought - and one I’m trying to focus on - is not what the numbers say about economic growth but what’s actually happening at the community level."
Adam Cook – Conversing with the keys
The piano is often considered the ‘King of Instruments’ as no other instrument covers all 88 notes of the frequency range and its number of available octaves is unparalleled. Its versatility of sound is also beyond compare as it can create sounds as soft as a whisper or as loud and rumbling as a thunderstorm. When pianist and composer Adam Cook sits down to play this most revered of instruments something quite magical happens.
Review – The Outback Court Reporter
Through the recounting of various court cases Jamelle provides an insight into the country court system and that of the local reporters who cover the cases. Jamelle spoke to numerous country journalists who acknowledged the difficulty in writing about local people who’ve appeared in court and the retribution they sometimes faced when names and details are published in their local paper.
Torbay Glass Studio and Gallery – The art of glass
From little things big things grow and when Mark Hewson made a stained glass window for his new home in Torbay back in the early 1980s he was unaware that it would mark the beginning of a career that would span more than 40 years. Mark, and his equally-talented wife, Paris Johansen, have now designed, sculptured, moulded and soldered literally thousands of glass artworks.
Getting behind the wheel
Jayden Hockey knows more than most about how to teach new drivers as he does it for a living. But even before he became a driving instructor he’d already had a hair-raising driving job as an ex-police pursuit driver. Jay spent nine years as a pursuit driver with the WA Police Force and the cars he got to drive came with some serious grunt ... So what’s some of Jay’s advice?
Author interview – Jill Griffiths
Author Jill Griffiths describes her debut book, 'What's For Dinner?' as “an exploration of the food on the table and the farming that puts it there and what it all means for people who grow food and those who eat it”. Australian Regional & Rural News reporter, Serena Kirby, spoke with Jill recently to learn more about her background, how the book came about and some of the fascinating things she discovered in the process.
Author interview – Molly Schmidt
Salt River Road, by WA award winning author Molly Schmidt, is definitely a book with a difference. Written with a mixture of prose and poetry, it tells the story of the rurally-based Tetley family in the aftermath of the loss of their mother ... Australian Regional and Rural News interviewer, Serena Kirby, chatted with Molly to find out more about the unique and beautiful techniques she used in the book and the personal experiences that shaped her writing.
Review – Salt River Road
It’s easy to see why Molly Schmidt’s debut novel, Salt River Road, won the City of Fremantle’s Hungerford Award and I feel there will be many awards to follow. Salt River Road is set in the late 1970s in southern WA and while it’s a work of fiction it resonates with truth about loss, grief and navigating teenage-hood after the death of a parent.
