Literature

"... this is far from being just an extremely beautiful piece of writing as it’s filled with deep thoughts and hefty substance and it takes a skilled writer like Kate to be able to take the reader by the hand and guide them into a conversation about the actions and attitudes of the colonisers and the consequences for those who already lived here."

Maldon Cycling’s new ride book, Seventeen Gravel Bike Rides - Maldon & Beyond, invites riders to engage in the local landscape, history and ecology while hitting the track ... The new ride book features maps and information to enrich the journey for back road riders.

Photographer Jodie Harris is a finalist in the 2025 National Photographic Portrait Prize ... Jodie is a photographer of Yamatji and Wajari descent and she lives and works on Bundjalung Country in Kyogle ... “Photographic portraiture is something I continue to be drawn to for its enduring power to tell a story.”

Hay Library continues to grow in popularity, with an increase of 24 per cent in borrowers in March compared to the previous month and a slight decrease in April due to the two long weekends. In a comprehensive report to Council, the Library Team Leader noted 11 new members, a registration renewal and a busy month with community activities.

Who will read my books when I die? So many much loved and often read, from my childhood onwards are in the bookcase. So much learned from them, so many dreams and other worlds to travel through.

"The Bluff" is definitely an unputdownable crime novel filled with deception, betrayal and greed. If you’re after a crime thriller that will keep you guessing right to the end and one that gives you plenty of other topics and issues to think about then "The Bluff" should be high on your reading list.

On Monday 31st May 1875 a large group of Greenmount District locals gathered for the opening of the new Emu Creek State School and waited patiently for the official opening by well known politician Mr W. H. Groom ... It is very doubtful if Mr Groom, the first Head Teacher, Cornelius O'Brien or anyone gathered there that day, would have guessed that one of the 40 students enrolled would go on to be one of Australia's most loved writers.

On Friday, October 6, 1972, the unthinkable happened when two men kidnapped seven pupils and their 20-year-old teacher from a little isolated country school in rural Victoria. This school was a little granite building known as Faraday State School 797.

Baden Scholefield ... This latest work, “The Flame Trees”, is set in the remote coastal town of Broome during the heyday of pearling.

Batty’s Bush Bible is the creation of filmmaker and outback traveller David Batty. Some may be familiar with David’s name via his work on ABC’s docudrama series, Bush Mechanics, and this guidebook is written in the same humorous, irreverent and informative style.

Western Heritage Group's new book, Country, Ancestors and Responsibility records information that Elders shared with us in the 1980s, showing that five Aboriginal Culture Groups have ancient cultural ties to the Willandra Lakes region. That's a unique way of belonging; but there's an outreach to non-Aboriginal people too.

Yanchep author Calum Greenall, who writes children’s picture books will be at Perth Upmarket next Sunday with signed copies of his books ... His already published books include Sam’s Stormy Night and Barry’s Broken Dam – they’re part of a series of four that go together.

The legacy of Australia’s most enduring cookbook, The Barossa Cookery Book, is being honoured with the launch of the companion edition, Rolling Up Their Sleeves. The creative inspiration of Those Barossa Girls, Sheralee Menz and Marieka Ashmore, Rolling Up Their Sleeves explores the remarkable history of the iconic cookery book, which was compiled in 1917 as a war fundraiser.

Author Carmel Bird delighted a packed room of around 30 people on Monday 2 March, in an event hosted by the Maldon Athenaeum Library. She spoke about her writing processes and her inspirations, going back as far as her childhood.

Honor Auchinleck. What would acclaimed author Elyne Mitchell have said about the 2025 MSRBF Art and Photography and Elyne Mitchell Photo Story Awards’ theme ‘The Man or the Myth’? As her daughter I will tell you some of what I remember. Elyne spoke to people on both sides of the High Country - in the Monaro and the Upper Murray - who remembered Banjo Paterson.

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!