A reading list for Emerging Writers’ Festival 2019
Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) is just around the corner (19–29 June). Here are 10 books to read in preparation.
Highway Bodies by Alison Evans
Bodies on the TV, explosions, barriers, and people fleeing. No access to social media. And a dad who’ll suddenly bite your head off – literally. These teens have to learn a new resilience… Highway Bodies is a unique zombie apocalypse story featuring a range of queer and gender non-conforming teens who have lost their families and friends and can only rely upon each other.
Find out what events Alison Evans is appearing at here.
The Fragments by Toni Jordan
In 1930s New York, famous novelist Inga Karlson dies in a mysterious warehouse fire, taking every copy of her much-anticipated second novel with her. In 1980s Brisbane, bookseller Caddie goes to a museum to look at the now-famous singed fragments, the only parts of the book left behind. While there, she meets a mysterious older woman who can somehow quote the book that no-one’s ever read. From EWF Ambassador and bestselling author Toni Jordan.
Find out what events Toni Jordan is appearing at here.
The Shining Wall by Melissa Ferguson
In a ruined world, where wealthy humans push health and longevity to extremes and surround themselves with a shining metal wall, privilege and security is predicated on the services of cloned Neandertals, and the exploitation of women in the shanty towns and wastelands beyond the fortress city. The Shining Wall is at once a frightening parable of our unjust world of haves and have-nots, a richly imagined yet thrilling story of technological control and the fight for survival, and a paean to female friendship and power.
Find out what events Melissa Ferguson is appearing at here.
Drawing Sybylla by Odette Kelada
On stage, a woman named Sybil Jones is making a speech about the significance of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’. Behind her sits a panel of writers. One draws Sybil’s likeness in a contemplative daze. The Sybil in the drawing begins to move, taking the writer’s hand, leading her through the drawing into the past; and the real and imagined lives of Australia’s women writers. From prize-winning writer Odette Kelada.
Find out what events Odette Kelada is appearing at here.
Kindred by Michael Earp
A ground-breaking collection of YA short stories by 12 of Australia’s finest writers from the LGBTQIA+ community. What does it mean to be queer? In this powerful #LoveOzYA collection, twelve of Australia’s finest writers from the LGBTQIA+ community explore the stories of family, friends, lovers and strangers - the connections that form us. Collated by Michael Earp and featuring writers such as Christos Tsiolkas, Benjamin Law and Claire G Coleman.
Find out what events Michael Earp is appearing at here.
When One Person Dies the Whole World Is Over by Mandy Ord
A poignant, bright and elegiac work of illustrated nonfiction by Mandy Ord, one of Australia’s most revered comics makers. A record of a year of a life, When One Person Dies The Whole World Is Over is an attempt to pin down time, to capture the most beautiful and fleeting moments that we tend to rush past.
Find out what events Mandy Ord is appearing at here.
The Rip by Mark Brandi
Wimmera author Mark Brandi’s new urban crime novel slowly and masterfully hooks you in…then shocks with the horrific crime and the dread that the characters you care about aren’t going to make it out alive. The Rip is a gritty, compelling look at society’s underbelly, told through the perspective of a young woman living on the streets.
Find out what events Mark Brandi is appearing at here.
Blakwork by Alison Whittaker
Alison Whittaker’s Blakwork is an original and unapologetic poetry collection from which two things emerge; an incomprehensible loss, and the poet’s fearless examination of the present. This stunning mix of memoir, reportage, fiction, satire, and critique heralds the arrival of a powerful new voice in poetry. Alison Whittaker is a 2019 EWF Ambassador.
Find out what events Alison Whittaker is appearing at here.
#MeToo: Stories From the Australian Movement by Miriam Sved
In October 2017, the hashtag #MeToo went viral. Sparking international debate, the movement brought to light controversy surrounding such figures as Geoffrey Rush and Junot Díaz. We’ve seen the #MeToo movement evolve and start to accuse itself - has it gone too far? Is it enough? What does it mean in this country? In this collection thirty-five contributors share their own #MeToo stories, analysis and commentary to survey the movement in an Australian context.
