Melancholic Meanderings through 'The Vanished Land'

Richard Zachariah’s Vanished Land is an ode to what once was within the picturesque Western Districts of Victoria. His rich language frames anecdotes of rose-tinted childhood musings alongside despairing soliloquies on the modern state of the once majestic region. With a balance and pace that immerses the reader within the author’s thoughts and understanding, Zachariah opens up a world that has been lost. A keen July wind touches us. I’m standing at the entrance…

Low-angle shot of the Miles Franklin Award

The Miles Franklin announcement is not far away. This award is arguably the most important on the Australian literary scene. In his Brief Take on the Australian Novel, Jean François-Vernay structures his approach by borrowing from another popular art form: film. Here we have his 'Low-angle shot of the Miles Franklin Award'. In line with the wishes of Stella Franklin, who bequeathed almost all of her estate estimated at £8,996 to establish this literary prize, the Miles Franklin…

A great big book about a great small city

Last Thursday marked the celebration and re-launch of City Streets, a chronicled answer to the past 75 years of Adelaide’s architecture. As author Lance Campbell says, it's a great big book about a great small city. We were hosted at the beautiful Living Choice Fullarton and joined by many of our Wakefield Press authors and friends, including the event's emcee, Keith Conlon. And to top it all off, we had some fantastic Coriole sparkling! The…

Love your Bookshop Day

'What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.' ― Neil Gaiman In an age of Internet sales a humble bookshop could seem archaic. In a march to digitise and automate, something so small as a bookshop could be considered an afterthought. Yet, those of us who frequent shelves and bookstalls, who know…

Author Profiles – Christine V. Courtney

Christine V. Courtney’s first career was as a professional dancer, moving from Adelaide to Britain to dance with the Ballet Rambert and directing her own small ballet company before returning to Australia to work as a teacher and producer. She first visited Venice while leading fine arts tours to Europe in the 1980s. The city provided the inspiration for her first book, Venetian Voices. What is your favourite memory from your time in dance? My favourite…

Author Profiles – Michael McGuire

Award-winning journalist Michael McGuire has worked for more than twenty years at the Australian in Sydney, and the Adelaide Advertiser where he is now senior writer. He has also dabbled in state and federal politics. His first foray into fiction, Never a True Word, has been called 'a political novel for our times' (Australian). What were you like as a child? Did you ever get into trouble? Mostly okay, I think. There were two parts to my childhood.…

Flying our Aboriginal Flag

For NAIDOC Week, we are sharing this story from Phoebe and Savannah Brice, two of the many inspirational activists in Breaking the Boundaries. We live in South Australia in a small, close-knit community about 200 kilometres north of Adelaide. Phoebe Our story started in 2007 when our Mum explained to us what being Aboriginal meant. She told us we were different from other people. When we asked how, she said, ‘It’s simply because our skin colour is different and…

Author Profiles – Stephen Orr

We decided it was time to bring back our popular author profiles, and who better to start with than Stephen Orr. Stephen Orr is the award-winning author of six novels, including Time's Long Ruin, The Hands, Hill of Grace and Dissonance. Peter Goers has called him South-Australia’s finest novelist. A fascination with the dynamics of families and small communities pervades his fiction and non-fiction. He contributes essays and features to several magazines, journals and newspapers. Stephen's short…

An introduction to Ashton's Hotel

Rhondda Harris came across something fascinating when researching in the State Records of South Australia at Gepps Cross for an archaeological dig at the old Adelaide Gaol: a long-lost journal written by the gaol's first governor, William Baker Ashton. But we'll let Rhondda introduce the journal herself through this short preamble from her book, Ashton's Hotel. This includes an excerpt from the journal itself which, yes, may contain some 'mistakes'. As Rhondda says in the book, 'I have turned off the autocorrect and…

Venetian Voices: Richard Wagner

Christine V. Courtney's Venetian Voices takes you on a stroll over bridges and under cloisters, following Venetian locals and visitors as they pass through centuries. On Saturday 24 June, Wakefield Press is joining with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra to launch Venetian Voices with a unique afternoon of music and poetry. Graham Abbott (ABC Classic FM) will be conducting members of the orchestra in a Venetian-inspired program, interspersed with readings from Christine. Tickets are $50 and include Coriole wine, Venetian antipasti…

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