Stella Prize Winner, 2014.
Congratulations to Clare Wright, the author of The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, winner of the Stella Prize, 2014.
The Stella Prize is a major literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing.
The prize is named after one of Australia’s iconic female authors, Stella Maria ‘Miles’ Franklin, and was awarded for the first time in 2013. Both nonfiction and fiction books by Australian women are eligible for entry.
The Eureka Stockade. The story is one of Australia’s foundation legends, but until now it has been told as though only half the participants were there.
What if the hot-tempered, free-wheeling gold miners we learnt about in school were actually husbands and fathers, brothers and sons? And what if there were women and children inside the Eureka Stockade, defending their rights while defending themselves against a barrage of bullets?
As Clare Wright reveals, there were thousands of women on the goldfields and many of them were active in pivotal roles. The stories of how they arrived there, why they came and how they sustained themselves make for fascinating reading in their own right. But it is in the rebellion itself that the unbiddable women of Ballarat come into their own.
Groundbreaking, absorbing, crucially important—The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is the uncut story of the day the Australian people found their voice.
Clare Wright is an historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant, and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans, garnered both critical and popular acclaim. The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, her second book, took her ten years to research and write. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and three children.
The shortlist 2014:
Night Games: Sex power and sport by Anna Krien
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane
Boy Lost by Kristina Olsson
The Swan Book by Alexis Wright
The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane
Boy Lost by Kristina Olsson
The Swan Book by Alexis Wright
The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Clare Wright
Read more about the shortlist here.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 6 March 1927-17 April 2014.
Nobel Prize winner and world renowned Colombian novelist and journalist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, died last Thursday, 17 April, aged 87 years. Gabo, as he was affectionately known, has left the world with a wonderful legacy: his books. These were written in a literary style known as magical realism, where the narrative blends magical elements with an otherwise realistic environment. Widely considered as the most influential Spanish writer of the 20th Century, now is the to read, or re-read one his novels-request a copy from the Library.
The Autumn of the Patriarch.
'Over the weekend the vultures got into the presidential palace by pecking through the screens on the balcony windows and the flapping of their wings stirred up the stagnant time inside.'
As the citizens of an unnamed Caribbean nation creep through the dusty corridors of the presidential palace in search of their tyrannical leader, they cannot comprehend that the frail and withered man laying dead on the floor can be the self-styled General of the Universe. Their egocentric, maniacally violent leader, known for serving up traitors to dinner guests and drowning young children at sea, can surely not die the humiliating death of a mere mortal?
Tracing the demands of a man whose egocentric excesses mask the loneliness of isolation and whose lies have become so ingrained that they are indistinguishable from truth, Marquez has created a fantastical portrait of despotism that rings with an air of reality.
No one writes to the Colonel
'The Colonel took the top off the coffee can and saw that there was only one little spoonful left.'
Fridays are different, every other day of the week, the Colonel and his ailing wife fight a constant battle against poverty and monotony, scraping together the drags of their savings for the food and medicine that keeps them alive. But on Fridays the postman comes - and that sets a fleeting wave of hope rushing through the Colonel's ageing heart.
For fifteen years he's watched the mail launch come into harbour, hoping he'll be handed an envelope containing the army pension promised to him all those years ago. Whilst he waits for the cheque, his hopes are pinned on his prize bird and the upcoming cockfighting season. But until then the bird - the Colonel and his wife - must somehow be fed . . .
Memories of my melancholy whores
The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself a gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.'
He has never married, never loved and never gone to bed with a woman he didn't pay. But on finding a young girl naked and asleep on the brothel owner's bed, a passion is ignited in his heart - and he feels, for the first time, the urgent pangs of love.
Love in the Time of Cholera
Florentino Ariza has never forgotten his first love. He has waited nearly a lifetime in silence since his beloved Fermina married another man. No woman can replace her in his heart. But now her husband is dead. Finally – after fifty-one years, nine months and four days – Florentino has another chance to declare his eternal passion and win her back. Will love that has survived half a century remain unrequited?
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Widely regarded as Gabriel Garcia Marquez' best work, this classic novel follows 100 years in the life and death of the mythical South American village, Macondo.
Pipes and kettledrums herald the arrival of gypsies on their annual visit to Macondo, the newly founded village where José Arcadio BuendÃa and his strong-willed wife, Úrsula, have started their new life. As the mysterious MelquÃades excites Aureliano BuendÃa's father with new inventions and tales of adventure, neither can know the significance of the indecipherable manuscript that the old gypsy passes into their hands.
The Autumn of the Patriarch.'Over the weekend the vultures got into the presidential palace by pecking through the screens on the balcony windows and the flapping of their wings stirred up the stagnant time inside.'
As the citizens of an unnamed Caribbean nation creep through the dusty corridors of the presidential palace in search of their tyrannical leader, they cannot comprehend that the frail and withered man laying dead on the floor can be the self-styled General of the Universe. Their egocentric, maniacally violent leader, known for serving up traitors to dinner guests and drowning young children at sea, can surely not die the humiliating death of a mere mortal?
Tracing the demands of a man whose egocentric excesses mask the loneliness of isolation and whose lies have become so ingrained that they are indistinguishable from truth, Marquez has created a fantastical portrait of despotism that rings with an air of reality.
No one writes to the Colonel'The Colonel took the top off the coffee can and saw that there was only one little spoonful left.'
Fridays are different, every other day of the week, the Colonel and his ailing wife fight a constant battle against poverty and monotony, scraping together the drags of their savings for the food and medicine that keeps them alive. But on Fridays the postman comes - and that sets a fleeting wave of hope rushing through the Colonel's ageing heart.
For fifteen years he's watched the mail launch come into harbour, hoping he'll be handed an envelope containing the army pension promised to him all those years ago. Whilst he waits for the cheque, his hopes are pinned on his prize bird and the upcoming cockfighting season. But until then the bird - the Colonel and his wife - must somehow be fed . . .
Memories of my melancholy whores The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself a gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.'
He has never married, never loved and never gone to bed with a woman he didn't pay. But on finding a young girl naked and asleep on the brothel owner's bed, a passion is ignited in his heart - and he feels, for the first time, the urgent pangs of love.
Love in the Time of CholeraFlorentino Ariza has never forgotten his first love. He has waited nearly a lifetime in silence since his beloved Fermina married another man. No woman can replace her in his heart. But now her husband is dead. Finally – after fifty-one years, nine months and four days – Florentino has another chance to declare his eternal passion and win her back. Will love that has survived half a century remain unrequited?
Widely regarded as Gabriel Garcia Marquez' best work, this classic novel follows 100 years in the life and death of the mythical South American village, Macondo.
Pipes and kettledrums herald the arrival of gypsies on their annual visit to Macondo, the newly founded village where José Arcadio BuendÃa and his strong-willed wife, Úrsula, have started their new life. As the mysterious MelquÃades excites Aureliano BuendÃa's father with new inventions and tales of adventure, neither can know the significance of the indecipherable manuscript that the old gypsy passes into their hands.
Ten Books for Anzac Day... Lest we forget.
Ten books to teach kids about the meaning of ANZAC Day.
My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day, by Catriona Hoy (picture book)
This picture book for the very young is a simple, moving look at Anzac Day through the eyes of a little girl. She goes to the pre-dawn Anzac Day service with her father where they watch the girl s grandfather march in the parade. This beautifully illustrated book explains what happens on Anzac Day and its significance in terms a young child can understand It is an excellent introduction to this highly venerated ceremony, and poignantly addresses the sentiments aroused by the memory of those who gave their lives for their country.
My Australian story: Kokoda by Alan Tucker
Anzac Biscuits by Phil Cummings & illustrated by Owen Swan
Notable Book in the picture book category of the 2014 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Awards.
Rachel is in the kitchen, warm and safe. Her father is in the trenches, cold and afraid. When Rachel makes biscuits for her father, she adds the love, warmth and hope that he needs. This is a touching story of a family torn apart by war but brought together through the powerful simplicity of Anzac Biscuits.
Rachel is in the kitchen, warm and safe. Her father is in the trenches, cold and afraid. When Rachel makes biscuits for her father, she adds the love, warmth and hope that he needs. This is a touching story of a family torn apart by war but brought together through the powerful simplicity of Anzac Biscuits.
Memorial, by Gary Crew & Shaun Tan
I was only nineteen by John Schumann, ill. Craig Smith
John Schumann's unforgettable lyrics about the Vietnam War are etched in our memories and into our history books. Now they've been warmly brought to life by one of Australia's best-loved illustrators.
Gallipoli by Kerry Greenwood ill. Annie WhiteIt was 1914 and Dusty and Bluey are headed for adventure. They were ANZACS, members of the Australian Light Horse, on their way to the Great War. The story of Bluey and Dusty is a story of family and friendship. It is the story of Gallipoli.
A foal is born at midnight, on the homestead side of the river. Coal black. Star ablaze. Moonlight in her eyes. On October 31, 1917, the 4th and 12th Regiments of the Australian Light Horse took part in one of the last great cavalry charges in history. Among the first to leap the enemy trenches was Lieutenant Guy Haydon riding his beloved mare, Midnight. This is their story.
An Anzac tale written by Ruth Starke ; illustrated by Greg Hotfeld (Graphic novel)When Australia pledges its support to Great Britain at the outbreak of World War I, mates Roy Martin and Wally Cardwell are among the first to enlist. But what the friends first thought would be an adventure soon turns to disaster The day after the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, more than 2000 of their fellow Anzacs are dead. As the campaign drags on, life for Wally and Roy and their new friend, Tom, becomes a battle of endurance against a plucky enemy, a hostile landscape, flies, fleas, cold and disease. The story of the Anzac campaign, including the battle of Lone Pine, is interspersed with scenes of Australians at home to show the shift from popular support of the Empire at the start of the war to profound disillusionment as the casualties begin to mount. In this graphic novel, Ruth Starke and Greg Holfeld have combined to create an extraordinary and original work for upper primary students on the subject of Gallipoli and the Anzac campaign.
Meet the Anzacs by Claire Saxby & illustrated by Max Berry.
A picture book series about the extraordinary men and women who have shaped Australia's history, including our brave Anzac soldiers. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is the name given to the Australian and New Zealand troops who landed at Gallipoli in World War I. The name is now a symbol of bravery and mateship.
The Poppy by Andrew PlantSeven deadly sins.... Open book groups
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Come along to our Seven Deadly Sins Open Book Groups for lively discussion and friendly debate with people who share a love of books. Tell us about your book suggestions and discover new books to read.
Unlike most book groups, there are no set books to read. Instead, each member brings along their book suggestions to share and discuss.
Everyone is welcome to attend, bookings are preferred, but not are not essential. 2014 Dates and themes
Talking about book lust. Who is your literary crush? What book genres, characters and authors get your heart racing? Includes romance novels, of course!
Caringbah Library
Wednesday, 21 May @ 2.00pm.
Greed
How many books can you read before this book group? Bring along and many suggestions as you can! Which book have you read that you just couldn't put down? Which authors and series do you devour greedily, always waiting impatiently for their next book?
Engadine Library
Wednesday, 18 June @ 2.00pm
Gluttony
What is the biggest, doorstopper book you have read? Indulge in a discussion about big books and book series, along with gluttony themed books of course, and any other books you want to talk about. The more the merrier. Afternoon tea/supper will be served.
Miranda Library
Wednesday, 16 July @ 2.00pm
Envy
Which books to you wish you could get your hands on? Which books are you waiting to read? Is there a book you wish you had written? Do you like to read debut novels, discovering new authors before anyone else?
Caringbah Library
Wednesday, 20 August @2.00pm
Pride
Have you read a book to make yourself look good? Or are you proud of having finished a challenging book? What award winners and classic titles have you been reading?
Sutherland Library
Wednesday, 17 September@ 2.00pm
Wrath
Do you have an author you love to hate? Or a love/hate relationship with a writer? Do you read crime fiction, thrillers or true crime?
Sutherland Library
Wednesday, 15 October @2.00pm
Make the the effort to come along to this book discussion group, nothing to strenuous, just an enjoyable discussion about books! Tell us about books on your to read list, those books you have been meaning to read, but you just haven’t got around to them. Tell us about your lazy summer reads.
Menai Library
Thursday, 20 November,@ 2.00pm
Ten book Tuesday...books to read over the Easter break.
Tiddas by Anita HeissA story about what it means to be a friend …
Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books … and life, love and the jagged bits in between. Dissecting each other’s lives seems the most natural thing in the world – and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. Best friends tell each other everything, don’t they? But each woman harbours a complex secret and one weekend, without warning, everything comes unstuck.
Izzy, soon to be the first Black woman with her own television show, has to make a decision that will change everything.
Veronica, recently divorced and dedicated to raising the best sons in the world, has forgotten who she is.
Xanthe, desperate for a baby, can think of nothing else, even at the expense of her marriage.
The wardrobe girl by Jennifer SmartAfter the humiliating end of her last relationship, this is just what TV costume designer, Tess Appleby, needs to hear. Sure, a wardrobe assistant on a soap is a step down from her gig at the BBC, but all Tess wants is an easy life . . .
Unfortunately she's barely arrived on set before she's warding off the attentions of the show's heartthrob, Sean Tyler – and, as a consequence, the hostility of its other star, Bree Brenner.
And if the pressures and politics of working on a TV drama aren't enough, she's living with her high-maintenance mother, an ageing celebrity, and her infuriating sister Emma, an aspiring actress.
Still, Tess is certain she can deal with everything they throw at her – until Jake Freeman, her ex-fiancé, the man she last saw eight years ago as he walked away and broke her heart, is named the show's new director…
Fatal Impact by Kathryn FoxWhen a girl's dead body is found in a toy box, forensic physician and pathologist Anya Crichton joins the police hunt in her home state of Tasmania for the child's missing mother and sister.
Staying with her increasingly erratic mother, Dr Jocelyn Reynolds, Anya fears the long shadow of her sister Miriam's disappearance has finally driven her mother past the brink of sanity. But Anya soon discovers that Jocelyn is keeping a deadly secret.
When tests conclude a virulent strain of food poisoning was responsible for the child's death, the outbreak begins to spread. Anya pairs up with Internal Affairs detective Oliver Parke to unravel the sinister connections between the fatal epidemic, a covered-up study, the shady deals of a multinational corporation and the alleged murder of a local scientist. Anya has strayed into a high-stakes game so dangerous the players will kill to keep it quiet. With time running short, Anya must uncover the truth before she is silenced - permanently.
Snapper by Brian KimberlingNathan Lochmueller studies birds, earning just enough money to live on. He drives a glitter-festooned truck, the Gypsy Moth, and he is in love with Lola, a woman so free-spirited and mysterious she can break a man’s heart with a sigh or a shrug. Around them swirls a remarkable cast of characters: the proprietor of Fast Eddie’s Burgers & Beer, the genius behind “Thong Thursdays”; Uncle Dart, a Texan who brings his swagger to Indiana with profound and nearly devastating results; a snapping turtle with a taste for thumbs; a German shepherd who howls backup vocals; and the very charismatic state of Indiana itself. And at the center of it all is Nathan, creeping through the forest to observe the birds he loves and coming to terms with the accidental turns his life has taken.
The comfort of lies by Randy Susan MeyersFive years ago . . .
Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. When she became pregnant, Nathan disappeared, and she gave up their baby for adoption.
Caroline reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. Now she’s ques¬tioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.
Juliette considered her life ideal: solid marriage, two beautiful sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.
Why can't I be like you by Allie LarkinAt one time or another, everyone has wished they could be someone else. Exploring this universal longing, Allie Larkin follows up the success of her debut novel, Stay, with a moving portrait of friendship and identity.
When Jenny Shaw hears someone shout “Jessie!” across a hotel lobby, she impulsively answers. All her life, Jenny has toed the line, but something propels her to seize the opportunity to become Jessie Morgan, a woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. Lonely in her own life, Jenny is embraced by Jessie’s warm circle of friends—and finds unexpected romance. But when she delves into Jessie’s past, Jenny discovers a secret that spurs her to take another leap into the unknown.
We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy FowlerMeet the Cooke family: Mother and Dad, brother Lowell, sister Fern, and our narrator, Rosemary, who begins her story in the middle. She has her reasons. “I spent the first eighteen years of my life defined by this one fact: that I was raised with a chimpanzee,” she tells us. “It’s never going to be the first thing I share with someone. I tell you Fern was a chimp and already you aren’t thinking of her as my sister. But until Fern’s expulsion, I’d scarcely known a moment alone. She was my twin, my funhouse mirror, my whirlwind other half, and I loved her as a sister.”
Rosemary was not yet six when Fern was removed. Over the years, she’s managed to block a lot of memories. She’s smart, vulnerable, innocent, and culpable. With some guile, she guides us through the darkness, penetrating secrets and unearthing memories, leading us deeper into the mystery she has dangled before us from the start. Stripping off the protective masks that have hidden truths too painful to acknowledge, in the end, “Rosemary” truly is for remembrance.
Coal creek by Alex MillerBobby Blue is caught between loyalty to his only friend, Ben Tobin, and his boss, Daniel Collins, the new constable at Mount Hay. 'Ben was not a big man but he was strong and quick as a snake. He had his own breed of pony that was just like him, stocky and reliable on their feet.' Bobby understands the people and the ways of Mount Hay; Collins studies the country as an archaeologist might, bringing his coastal values to the hinterland. Bobby says, 'I do not think Daniel would have understood Ben in a million years.' Increasingly bewildered and goaded to action by his wife, Constable Collins takes up his shotgun and his Webley pistol to deal with Ben. Bobby's love for Collins' wilful young daughter Irie is exposed, leading to tragic consequences for them all.
Man made boy by Jon SkovronSixteen-year-old Boy’s never left home. When you’re the son of Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride, it’s tough to go out in public, unless you want to draw the attention of a torch-wielding mob. And since Boy and his family live in a secret enclave of monsters hidden under Times Square, it’s important they maintain a low profile.Boy’s only interactions with the world are through the Internet, where he’s a hacker extraordinaire who can hide his hulking body and stitched-together face behind a layer of code. When conflict erupts at home, Boy runs away and embarks on a cross-country road trip with the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde, who introduce him to malls and diners, love and heartbreak. But no matter how far Boy runs, he can’t escape his demons—both literal and figurative—until he faces his family once more.
In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine.
Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.
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