A guest blog post from Corella Press Corella Press, a teaching press based in Brisbane, is known for publishing work that is playful, disruptive and inclusive, providing hands-on opportunities for students at The University of Queensland. Against the turbulent backdrop of a global pandemic, this year Corella Press has published Death of a Nom de … Continue reading Corella Press: The Power of Indie Publishing Amidst a Global Pandemic
With the publication date for Mer just around the corner, we sat down with the author Samantha Mansell and asked her about her creative process and some of the inspirations for her work. Sign up to attend the Nov. 17 launch here! Mer as a collection of stories really departs from our traditional understanding of … Continue reading Chatting about Mer with Samantha Mansell
Debating the utility and function of book reviews—especially the reviews in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian—is a near constant presence in the contemporary Australian publishing field. These debates typically centre around three distinct themes: reviewers should not review the books that their friends wrote; who is the reviewer writing for (is it … Continue reading Unfortunately, Book Reviews Actually Matter
Let me start with a disclaimer – I’ve been living in Melbourne for the last year and haven’t been able to visit my local bookshop for a very long time. Our bookshops have all had to move to online sales and local deliveries. As a result, our book-buying practices and reading habits have had to … Continue reading Finding links to community in the bookstore
When I arrived from the UK and settled in Melbourne, I quickly learned to respect coffee and not to make jokes about AFL. I also noticed that Melbourne has an impressive network of local independent bookshops. But how have indie bookshops managed to survive in Australia when they have virtually vanished in the UK and … Continue reading Still Resilient? Can Indie Bookshops Survive Covid-19?
When I checked my phone this morning, I had a text from my sister. It was a video of her daughter – my niece – sounding out the words to her very first picture book: Mix, Mix, Mix, the engrossing tale of Bob the Bug baking a cake. Ordinarily, this is the kind of thing … Continue reading Book Club Zoom Rooms? Online Launches? Melbourne Reading Communities Adapt to a Post-Covid World
Your hero enters the dungeon, exploring every twisting corridor for dangerous traps, valuable clues and endless treasure. Each corner of the crooked stone ceiling is covered in cobwebs. The walls seem to swell as if they’re breathing. Your hero holds up their torch, lighting the otherwise dark path as they approach the main doorway of … Continue reading Writing a Critical Hit
What is it that makes the library an important place? Is it its architectural grandeur that engenders an impression of its cultural import? Is it its inextricability from its primary role as a book collection that generates a conduciveness to scholarship? Is it its history as the cornerstone of egalitarian society that makes the library … Continue reading Designing Connection to Collection
Melbourne is known as a City of Literature. The city hosts north of fifty writers festivals, with new ones cropping up every year. Melbourne is home to a plethora of literary journals and Indie bookstores. Writing competitions have become a sport for those who would rather flex a biro than a bicep. These opportunities provide a springboard for locals to expose their work – a tapestry of tales that enrich the nation.
My Gen-Z brain gifted me an eye-opening, isolation-induced epiphany recently: life is relentlessly, unflinchingly episodic.
