Denotes website entries with audio interviews
Allen & Unwin, Australia, 2022
Cover design and illustration by Louisa Maggio
This is a book that could easily slide into sentimentality, but it never does. It’s a rich and real story about finding oneself through finding a parent, and hence putting a life story that has too many missing pieces back into place.
Artist Lorena Carrington and writer Sophie Masson have founded a tiny publishing company called Pardalote Press, with the aim of producing tiny but beautiful things.
Hachette, Australia, 2022
Cover design by Christabella Designs
Cover images courtesy of Shutterstock
When we read a Sophie Green novel, we know that the ‘good people’ will come off okay and that the less attractive ones have a good chance of getting their comeuppance. Knowing this in no way interferes with our enjoyment of the stories. There are times when, contrary to real life, we have need of this assurance.
The Theatre, Belconnen Arts Centre
18 -27 August 2022 at 7pm
Dylan Van Den Berg, Palawa playwright who lives in Canberra makes his directorial debut with his new play Ngadjung (Ngunnawal for water), a dystopian environmental drama featuring a First Nations cast, Lisa Maza and Kylah Day. Ngadjung, an important First Nations work written and set on Ngunnawal country, was commissioned by Belco Arts in 2019.
Big Sky Publishing, Australia, 2022
Catherine McCullagh’s latest World War 2 historical fiction takes us to the wilds of the Cornish coast.
Storytorch Press, Australia, 2022
This is a beautifully gentle, poetically written picture book about the wonder of small things.
Self-published, Australia, 2022
Cover design, artwork and internal design by Franziska Stern
This is an assured debut from adult fantasy writer Lauren Searson-Patrick. It delivers all that is expected of the genre – a quest story, rich in characters and with meticulous world building.
Humble House Gallery
93 Wollongong Street, Fyshwick, ACT
Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm
Until 6 September 2022
Petros Papoulis shows mastery of technique and a capacity to evoke stillness in the meticulous, meditative works in this exhibition. They are drawings, mixed media works and paintings, inspired by the artist’s visits to regional and more distant water bodies.
Barbie spoke to Petros Papoulis about Near Water
Continue Reading“Petros Papoulis – Near Water”
Artistic Director Jeanne Ryckmans
Festival Director Paul Donohoe
Various Venues
10 to 14 August 2022
The festival presents 160 local, national, and international writers, journalists, commentators, and leading thinkers in 70 events at venues including the Museum of Australian Democracy, National Museum of Australia, National Press Club, and Kambri Cultural Centre at the Australian National University.
Hachette, Australia, 2022
Cover design by Debra Bilson
Cover photographs Stocksy, Franckreporter/Getty Images and Shutterstock
It’s an online true crime chat group that creates the jokey moniker for the case at the heart of this book, and that is its title.
Wednesday Addams Killed Evie (WAKE) is an acronym, callous and with no regard for truth, which insists upon the guilt of Mina, the sister of a missing girl Evelyn McCreery (Evie).
Affirm Press, Australia, 2020
Cover and internal Affirm Press
Cover illustrations Sylvia Morris
What a huge pleasure this book is! It has everything we want from magical realism – the archetypal struggle between good and evil, a pair of plucky youngsters who embark on a series of quests and overcome danger and fear in the process, a silver tongued villain who really is a nasty piece of work, human frailty and optimism, family love, quirky humour and a marvellous setting in a place we all want to visit i.e. The Grandest Bookshop in the World.
An exploration of Canberra in oils and mosaics
Strathnairn Homestead, 90 Stockdill Drive Holt ACT
27 July – 21 August 2022
Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm
This exhibition is based on Val’s discovery of some of the beautiful natural places we have in the Canberra region – rivers, lakes, suburbia and parks. She has spent the past two years during Covid composing the paintings and mosaics for this exhibition.
Dendy Cinema Canberra
Repeat screening Friday 29 July at 6.30pm
Burmese/Rakhine Language with English Subtitles
91 mins, awaiting classification
In a remote corner of Rakhine state, Myanmar, a Buddhist midwife and her Rohingya Muslim apprentice form an unlikely alliance amidst escalating ethnic violence.
Macmillan, Australia, 2022
Cover design by Deborah Parry Graphics
Cover photographs Doug Steley B/Alamy Stock photo and iStock
This is a book about concealment – a body, a crime, community and personal secrets and injuries held from the past. While it is a police procedural and its plot stems from the classic crime trope of a missing child, it is, for me, much more an intimate and perceptive portrait of a small town and how its secrets have long trails.
The Street Theatre
15 Childers Street, Canberra
5pm, Friday 29 July 2022
120 minutes
This work is a product of The Street’s First Seen program. It is a contemporary exploration of the asylum seeker experience in Australia, Barren Ground interprets The Tempest’s timeless themes of dislocation, forgiveness and redemption.
