For book lovers, the figure of the writer holds a powerful appeal – someone with the everyday and yet almost alchemical ability to turn dry words into stories that resound with readers across miles, or even centuries. So it's no surprise that memoirs sharing what that experience is like from the writer's side are eagerly snatched up by readers.
In case you missed them, here's a round-up of some of our favourite memoirs and biographies that explore the lives of great Australian and international writers, and shed light on their creative practice. And if you make your way through this list and you're still keen for more, checkout our collection here!
Always Home, Always Homesick
Hannah Kent
In 2013, Hannah Kent launched onto the literary scene with her debut novel, Burial Rites, which topped bestseller charts and received accolades both local and international (Kent was shortlisted for the Stella Prize, the Voss Literary Prize and the Women's Prize for Fiction, and she took home the People's Choice Awards at the Australian Book Industry Awards, Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the Davitt Awards!). Now, in her first nonfiction release, Kent shares how she first discovered the true story that inspired Burial Rites, and how a student exchange to Iceland shaped her relationship with history and storytelling.
Always Home, Always Homesick is both the story of Kent's own writing, and a love letter to Icelandic traditions of creativity and storytelling. It's a heartfelt and inspiring read that will have you re-examining your favourite books and your own relationship with art and stories.
Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume I
Helen Garner
Helen Garner is an Australian writer who needs no introduction to Melbourne readers – she's been a local icon since her debut novel Monkey Grip was released in 1977 and quickly became a cult classic. But in more recent years, she's been taking readers by storm with her diaries, which have been released as three volumes covering her life from 1978-1998. Garner is a remarkable person with a distinct and charismatic voice, which makes these insightful diaries a particularly engrossing read. The first volume, Yellow Notebook, charts the period after Monkey Grip was first released and provides unique insight into Garner's rising literary stardom and her writing practice.
Regardless of whether you've already read everything Garner's released or you only know her work by reputation, these diaries are a rewarding read!
Jane Austen's Bookshelf
Rebecca Romney
Jane Austen's novels have been read and celebrated for over 200 years, but there were many female writers that came before her who haven't kept history's attention. This unusual biography explores not just the life of Jane Austen, but the women whose work inspired her and who were well known in their time, but have since disappeared from our bookshelves.
Rebecca Romney is herself a rare book dealer, who was inspired to write this book when she came across a beautiful edition of Evelina by Frances Burney, one of Austen's favourite authors. After reading Burney herself, Romney could see how the other woman's work had influenced Austen's writing, and became curious to learn what other novels Austen had read and been inspired by. So Romney used Austen as a jumping-off point to discover other pioneering authors of the 18th and 19th centuries, who most readers today wouldn't have heard of. The result is this insightful biography that explores the life and work of not just Jane Austen, but also Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Hannah More, Charlotte Smith, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Piozzi and Maria Edgeworth.
Three Wild Dogs and the Truth
Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak was known in Australia for his novels even before The Book Thief launched him into the international spotlight, after which it was over ten years until Zusak's next novel, Bridge of Clay, was released to the world. Now his first nonfiction book sheds light on that chapter of Zusak's working life, as he grappled with unexpected success and how to start something new while in the shadow of The Book Thief.
But Three Wild Dogs and the Truth isn't just a book about writer's block and the struggles of creative work – it's also a heartfelt story of family, and a memoir about three chaotic, poorly behaved, but powerfully loveable dogs. Whether you're a dog person or not, or even if you've never read a Zusak book, this is a rewarding reflection on work, family and the joys and tribulations of a full life; as our reviewer said: 'It's a perfect read for dog lovers, fans of his work, and everyone else as well'.
Inconvenient Women
Jacqueline Kent
This inspiring book brings together the stories of women writers in 20th century Australia who used their writing to fight for their political beliefs.
From Oodgeroo Noonuccal, a First Nations poet whose 1964 book We Are Going was the first book traditionally published by an Indigenous writer, and who was a fierce campaigner for Indigenous rights; to Ruth Park, who's debut novel The Harp in the South provided unprecedented insight into widespread poverty in Sydney and inspired statewide reform, Kent brings together the stories of Australian women who made noise about important issues and became pivotal to creating change.
Kent tracks Australia's history of passionate writers, who battled the prejudice and injustice that sought to minimise their power and influence, and who paved the way for the iconic campaigners of today.
Novelist as a Vocation
Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is well known internationally for his thoughtful and often surreal novels and short stories, but if you didn't already know, he's also an equally compelling nonfiction writer. Novelist as a Vocation is his guide to the craft of writing, covering his own writing career from its early days to his current status as an internationally celebrated talent; it also explores Murakami's view on the realities of writing as a career and what it means to be 'a novelist'.
Regardless of whether you yourself are a writer, this thoughtful reflection on creativity in all its forms will inspire you, and make you see your favourite writers in a new light.
The Prime of Life
Simone de Beauvoir, translated by Peter Green
The Prime of Life is the second volume of Simone de Beauvoir's autobiography, offering powerful insight into the life and work of one of the 20th century's most iconic feminists. Charting her life from her twenties to her fourties and including pivotal moments that shaped her writing, this personal work adds a new layer of understanding to the books and essays of de Beauvoir's that English-language readers are more familiar with.
First published in 1960 but now re-released as part of Penguin's Modern Classic range – alongside the first volume of de Beauvoir's autobiography – contemporary readers can discover the incredible interior world of this seminal feminist, and gain insight into the philosophical and literary scene of Paris in the 20th century.
Survival is a Promise
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Audre Lorde was a trailblazing American writer, who self-described as a ‘black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet’ and challenged injustice and oppression through her writing. In Survival is a Promise, we get a never-before seen view of the icon, drawing on the full depths of Lorde's archives and manuscripts to provide an intimate and well-researched look at Lorde's life and work.
Gumbs particularly examines how writing became a tool for Lorde to survive in a world that was often attacking her on many fronts, and how art can both nuture those that society ignores and be a tool for the dispossessed to fight back and get their voices heard. This is a stirring book about a remarkable woman, that will leave you itching to take action.
