[TOC:ul In this story] There is an argument to be made that the writing of the beat generation has had a detrimental effect on the literary pretensions of male writers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Bukowski, Kerouac and their ilk are often …

[TOC:ul In this story] Just as the unnamed narrator does in this Caribbean intrigue, Mischa Berlinski lived in Haiti for four years, writing a novel and snoozing in a hammock while his wife worked for the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Except here, …

[TOC:ul In this story] Graeme Simsion’s first two novels, the sparky and quirky comedy romances The Rosie Project and its sequel The Rosie Effect, have been the biggest Australian literary success story in recent memory. So expectation …

[TOC:ul In this story] Cathy McLennan’s first job as a law graduate was in Townsville’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, an experience that steered her in the direction of advocacy for Indigenous Australians and now, 20 years …

[TOC:ul In this story] Science fiction writing has regrettably little prominence in Australia. A snapshot of fiction here betrays a depressing 20th-century nostalgia focusing on the broken family unit and rural inertia. It is as if tech-assimilated contemporary …

[TOC:ul In this story] Australian literature: overly earnest, derivative, desperate to be taken seriously. Discuss. Alternatively, here’s Ryan O’Neill.  You have to admire O’Neill’s delicious bravura. He’s been one of the few short fiction …

[TOC:ul In this story] As electronic music behemoth Moby points out in his afterword, rock star memoirs are usually ghostwritten, which is what he originally intended to do with Porcelain. Moby’s real name, however, is Richard Melville Hall …

[TOC:ul In this story] Despite constant reminders that Australian culture is soaked in alcohol, a substance that causes immense harm, it is rare to find a book willing to tackle the complexity of the problem. Many may not want to hear what first-time …

[TOC:ul In this story] In a twist on the creative nonfiction trend of authors weaving themselves into “plucked from the headlines” narratives, veteran author Arnold Zable performs his own masterclass in literary shadowboxing, in The Fighter. …