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Robert Dessaix and China
During Writers’ Week last month, many of the writers on the program were outraged to learn of the plight of their fellow guest Robert Dessaix. The celebrated author of A Mother’s Disgrace and Arabesques was scheduled to fly to China at the conclusion of Writers’ Week, having been invited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to take part in Shanghai’s International Literary Festival, along with writers such as Les Murray and Alexis Wright. China then banned Dr Dessaix from entering the country because of his HIV status. Ironically or not (was there a punitive link here, Robert Dessaix wondered in public), he was replacing Frank Moorhouse, who had withdrawn from the festival because of the imprisonment of Chinese writers. Led by Michelle de Kretser and Charlotte Wood, one hundred Australian authors and commentators protested at this offensive and unenlightened decision, as did ABR and the Australian Society of Authors. China’s discriminatory policy was widely criticised, even in China.
ABR Poetry Prize
Of the almost 400 entries we received, the judges – Ian Donaldson, Morag Fraser, and Peter Rose – have shortlisted five poems in the 2010 ABR Poetry Prize, and these appear in this issue. The shortlisted poets are Diane Fahey, Anthony Lawrence, Philip Salom, Jillian Pattinson and Ynes Sanz. The winner, who will receive $4,000, will be announced in the May issue.
Long Miles
This year the judges have longlisted a dozen novels for the Miles Franklin Award, worth $42,000. They are Patrick Allington’s Figurehead, Brian Castro’s Bath Fugues, Peter Carey’s Parrot and Olivier in America, Jon Doust’s Boy on a Wire, David Foster’s Sons of the Rumour, Deborah Foster’s The Book of Emmett, Glenda Guest’s Siddon Rock, Sonya Hartnett’s Butterfly, Thomas Keneally’s The People’s Train, Alex Miller’s Lovesong, Craig Silvey’s Jasper Jones and Peter Temple’s Truth. Patrick Allington, who won the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship in the 2010 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, writes for us in this issue. Sonya Hartnett is our featured subject on Open Page (page 64).
Calibre Prize
The Calibre Prizes are almost upon us. We look forward to publishing the winners of the Calibre Prize for an Outstanding Essay and the new category – Young Calibre – in the May issue. Canberrans and those visiting the National Library on Sunday, 30 April will get a sneak preview when ABR, the National Library and CAL’s Cultural Fund present a day of papers and discussions about the art of essays and the role of essays in our cultural life. Featured writers will include Robert Dessaix and previous winners of the Calibre Prize, including Kevin Brophy and Jane Goodall, who shared the 2009 prize. This is a free event, but bookings are essential. Please contact the NLA on (02) 6262 1271 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. See page 5 for more details.
Three more giveaways
Last month’s various giveaways were snapped up tout de suite. We have three more this month, including, for ten new subscribers, signed copies of Les Murray’s new collection, Taller When Prone (Black Inc.), which David McCooey reviews on page 12. We also have ten more tickets to national concerts by the outstanding Australian Chamber Orchestra. To be eligible, new and renewing subscribers need to subscribe for at least two years. In addition, twenty-five renewing subscribers will receive a double pass to the new film about the Tolstoys, The Last Station. Current subscribers can renew at any stage of their sub-scription to be eligible.
Print on Demand Fast-developing print on demand technology may not generate as many headlines as e-books and digital publishing, yet it too is poised to increase access to our literature. HarperCollins Australia now offers one hundred and forty previously out-of-print titles ‘on demand’ through local booksellers. The POD books are printed on the same paper stock as regular Harper-Collins releases and are slightly cheaper. Featured novelists include ABR FAN Poll nominees Jon Cleary, George Johnston, Katherine Susannah Pritchard and Kylie Tennant, with more titles, non-fiction included, being added each month. The choice between buying from an antiquarian bookshop, Amazon or traditional booksellers has never been so easy, or difficult.
The Beaumont case
Few people who were around on Australia Day 1966 will forget the disappearance of the three Beaumont children in Adelaide. Now Stephen Orr has written a novel based on this astonishing crime. Gillian Dooley, on page 14, reviews Time’s Long Ruin: ‘a fine novel ... convincing without being predictable.’ Dr Dooley will be in conversation with Stephen Orr at 3.30 p.m. on Friday, 9 April (Noel Stockdale Room, Flinders University). Fridays at the Library is co-hosted by Flinders University and ABR. These are free events, and light refreshments are served.
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