Literature

Jackie Noonan. Standing proudly at the heart of the Wycheproof community is a remarkable former school building which has been beautifully restored to honour academic heritage while offering new life inspiration as the home to an impressive local history museum collection ... One could say there was no better place to host the recent book launch of “Wycheproof and District – The Way it Was”, as here it felt especially fitting; the space embodied the very heritage and pride that Prof’s work captures.

A talk by Professor Barry Golding about the First Nations history of Mount Tarrengower attracted a large and engaged audience at Maldon Community Centre on Sunday 8 December. The event was one of a number of talks about the hills featured in his new book: Six Peaks Speak: Unsettling legacies in southern Dja Dja Wurrung Country.

Late November 2024 a small crowd gathered in Donald Shared Shop to attend a book launch of one of the shop’s vendors. Samantha Davies has written over 30 novels, and most are available to purchase at Donald’s Shared Shop.

Tania Cheung. Ten-year old Jack Warburton’s love of nature and mountain biking inspired an award-winning short story about two brothers who ride from Albany Skate Park to the Olympics. The year four Denmark Primary School student was placed third in the middle primary division of the Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers.

The History Society has received a copy of a book "Mining Towns and Schools in Outback NSW’, "dedicated to the men, women and children who endured tremendous social and physical hardships in outback NSW during the 1800’s and first half of the 1900’s". Author John Selwood compiled the book after a 40 year teaching career, which started at a one teacher school at Afterlee…

Researching the Robodebt controversy couldn’t have been easy – journalist Rick Morton faced the challenge and wrote a book about it. Morton will discuss his new book Mean Streak in a special conversation with author Melissa Lucashenko in Kyogle...

Overlockers and sewing machines, hot glue guns and paper mâché formations worked overtime last week to prepare costumes for the 2024 Book Week Parade at Barham’s Riverside Park. For those time-restricted or creatively impaired, it was a flying trip to costume shops to gather all the bibs and bobs needed to help bring book characters to life!

An innovative creativity workshop for young people is coming to Corryong next month. Parallel Wilds is an immersive a cutting-edge 3D creative writing platform for youth, empowering self-identity in the natural world and a speculative universe on the future of species and wilderness, set in the year 2050.

Rural libraries make up 81 per cent of all public libraries in Ukraine. In the near future, the number of these libraries may be reduced by 5 times. Libraries have failed to become attractive and profitable in a market economy. However, no one has tried to make them so.

The festival is just over one week away! For those who haven't yet joined us, or perhaps are curious about what a day at Byron Writers Festival holds, we extend a warm invitation. Each year the Byron Writers Festival is where a community of readers and inquisitive minds gather.

What makes Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait unique? And what is it like to be a Torres Strait Islander in contemporary Australia? Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, compiled by poet and author Samantha Faulkner, showcases the distinct identity of Torres Strait Islanders through their diverse voices and journeys.

Hebe (Barbara) Morgan died at Bethanie nursing home, Yanchep on June 13 at the age of 95. For the past 50 years, Barbara was a dynamic and influential presence in the Yanchep community. As well as being an acclaimed author, she founded the Yanchep Community school in 1976, wrote music reviews for The West Australian...

The author of the renowned ‘Silver Brumby’ series of books, Elyne Mitchell, has been nominated to have a park named after her. Wodonga Council is seeking feedback on a proposal for the Elyne Mitchell Park to be established in the Kinchington Estate on the southern outskirts of the city.

The upcoming Words in Winter festival promises diverse sessions exploring crime, ideology, farming, self-publishing, history, and memory. Attendees will delve into the impacts of crime in small communities, the influences of political ideologies, the journey of saffron farming, the intricacies of self-publishing, Melbourne’s history and ancient memory techniques applied in the modern world.

Australians bought 69.8 million new books in 2023, 70.9 million in 2022, and 65.4 million in 2021. In a world where there is so much competition for our attention, Australians continue to read, and we continue to read books written by Australians. Now, you can access the books you want to read through the new ARR.News Bookstore.

Warwick Fry. 'Talking' to some (but not all) AI bots can be like talking to salespersons, call centres, MBAs and marketing executives ... The evolution of AI is leading thinkers (and novelists like Gibson) to revisit philosophical questions like what is consciousness, free will, identity? These are fields of enquiry which have been lacking since the commercialisation of academia ...

Acclaimed children’s author Rory H. Mather is set to brighten up winter school holidays in Southern Downs Regional Libraries when he visits to take mums, dads and kids on an adventure through his captivating children’s books.

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.

Susannah Begbie grew up in Eden Monaro, practises as a rural doctor, and has written a prize-winning debut novel, The Deed, set in the Riverina. Australian Rural & Regional News contributor, Aedeen Cremin, strongly recommends The Deed, which she concludes is "ultimately a morality tale - a highly enjoyable one" and was able to quiz Susannah about her work, her characters and some plot choices.

A black comedy that becomes a feel-good novel? Hard to believe, but this book manages it and does so with style and charm. At first sight the characters are cartoonish ... Why would we want to read about them? Well, it’s worth doing because the first quick sketch is filled out with a sure hand, adding relief, light and shade and very soon the reader can identify with at least some of the characters. It’s still a cartoon, but now a cartoon for a lovely tapestry set in a fertile landscape.

I can see you admiring my library, You’re most welcome to stand there and look, But if you want our friendship to last past today, You won’t ask to borrow a book. “Oh! I’d love to read this one,“ you chortle, As you pull out the best from the rack ...

Nancy Whittaker. Imagine the possibilities when four creative artists let their imagination have its way. And the imaginative approach of world-renowned children’s author, Jen Storer ... Kareen Anchen Cascade Art Gallery Director wrote that in "The Power of Imagination": Einstein famously stated, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”