Culture
Books
‘I tell people I’m a poet, they’re shocked it’s a viable job’: Jazz Money
Jazz Money is one of the headliners for a month-long celebration of the best in Australian verse, as an official poet laureate looms on the horizon.
- by Lenny Ann Low
Latest
How these five Brisbane writers have changed the literary landscape
From Trent Dalton to Melissa Lucashenko, Brisbane is blessed with a host of Australia’s best writers.
- by Jason Steger
What do you call it when a helpline doesn’t help?
As the muzak played, I pondered the broken promise of the word’s meaning.
- by David Astle
Book of the day
Review
Enjoyed White Lotus? Here’s a novel that has fun skewering privilege
Emily Perkins’ new novel Lioness delivers a courageous if unsettling message.
- by Gretchen Shirm
Has history ‘defanged’ Martin Luther King’? This biography says yes
Jonathan Eig’s new look at the life of the African-American activist argues he was no saint, but a man of courage with a moral vision.
- by Shane White
The 12 best books to read in August
From a young Rupert Murdoch to talking organs - here’s what to read this month.
- by Jason Steger
How many names can a stadium have?
“What the heck is Melbourne Rectangular Stadium?” is a fair question Matildas fans might be asking this World Cup.
- by David Astle
One of ‘the world’s great booksellers’ ends a long chapter at Readings
Mark Rubbo has been at the heart of the Australian book business for nearly 50 years, nurturing Australian writers and writing.
- by Jason Steger
Another quietly riveting, emotionally potent novel from Mark Brandi
The young protagonist in Brandi’s fourth novel Southern Aurora grabs an unusual chance of improving his fortunes.
- by Daniel Herborn
The real story of how Australian media companies amassed their huge power
In Sally Young’s second volume of her history of Australian media, she focuses on newspapers and the coming of television.
- by Matthew Ricketson
Look back without anger: A memoir of abuse at school
Martin Flanagan’s memoir is possibly the most insightful book to so far emerge from the mangled mess of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions.
- by Michael McGirr