So, the biennial, immersive, memorable Reading Matters 2013 conference is over. This is not a comprehensive, professional recap (see Danielle Binks’ posts here and Zac Harding’s here for that)—this is more a view from the trenches with tasteful photography. Ahem. I prepared the shit out of this event (that’s what I have to do to […]
Category: Reading
In which I namedrop…
It’s Reading Matters 2013 next week! Imagine the little bumblebee-girl in Blind Melon’s ‘No Rain’ video clip (you’re lost, you dance to a different beat, nobody understands you) then, by chance (or by purchasing a ticket), you stumble into a field (or the RMIT building) and discover your people. It’s a pretty awesome lineup […]
Rant: Honesty or diplomacy? That is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to band with fellow YA writers To deflect the slings and arrows of adult criticism Or to take arms against shitty writing and wooden people (and glitter) And by opposing it (or them) end them. Sorry, Shakes. If there’s one question I hate to be asked, it’s this: […]
Rant: book bloggers harm literature…
So says the chair of Man Booker prize judges, Peter Stothard. You can read The Guardian article here. I don’t usually weigh in on the arguments spawned by articles like this. I’ve been a journalist and I know how spin works: put a sting in the title, irk the minority, kick back and enjoy the […]
Is reading overrated?
This question will be posed to a panel of authors, including me, at the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival in August. I imagine the discussion will be decidedly against—like asking a scarecrow if he really needs all that straw. Well, yes. The essence of the scarecrow is in the straw (I’m gunning hard for the Bad […]