Australian
writing
came
into its
own in
the
1890s,
when a
strong
nationalistic
movement
leading
up to
eventual
federation
in 1901
produced
writers
such as
Henry
Lawson
and the
balladeer
A.B.
"Banjo"
Paterson,
who
romanticized
the bush
and
glorified
the
mateship
ethos,
while
outstanding
women
writers,
such as
Miles
Franklin
and
Barbara
Baynton,
gave a
feminine
slant to
the bush
tale and
set the
trend
for a
strong
female
authorship.
In the
twentieth
century,
Australian
novelists
have
come to
be
recognized
in the
international
arena,
Patrick
White
having
been
awarded
a Nobel
Prize in
1973,
and
Peter
Carey
the
Booker
Prize in
1988.
More
recently,
writers
who have
made a
name for
themselves
within
Australia,
such as
David
Malouf
and Tim
Winton,
have
begun to
arouse
curiosity
further
afield.
These
days,
Australian
writing
is
flourishing:
as in
the USA,
the
short
story
thrives
in
Australia,
with
popular
magazines
such as
Australian
Short
Stories
and
literary
journals
such as
Meanjin
,
Southerly
,
Westerly
and
Heat
providing
a forum
and
exposure
for
short
fiction,
essays,
reviews
and new
and
established
writers.
Eagerly
read
anthologies,
with an
emphasis
on
women's
writing
and
multiculturalism,
are
constantly
being
published;
for a
taste of
the
latest,
the
annual
Picador
New
Writing
is worth
seeking.
The big
prizes
in
Australian
fiction
include
the
Vogel
Prize
for the
best
unpublished
novel
written
by an
author
under
the age
of 35,
and the
country's
most
coveted
literary
prize,
the
Miles
Franklin
Award.
You'll
be
surprised
at the
range of
titles
available
in
Australian
bookshops
, though
be
prepared
to pay
more
than you
would at
home. A
good
website
to check
is that
of
Gleebooks
(
www.gleebooks.com.au
), one
of
Australia's
best
literary
booksellers,
with a
whole
host of
recent
reviews;
specific
titles
can be
ordered
via
email (
books@gleebooks.com.au
) and
posted
out.
We've
given
the
publishers
of each
book,
where
available,
in the
United
Kingdom
(UK),
the
United
States (US),
and
Australia
(Aus)
where
applicable;
obviously,
most
Australian-interest
books
are more
widely
available
in
Australia.
O/p
signifies
an out-of-print
- but
still
highly
recommended
- book
which
you will
probably
be able
to find
in a
library.
University
Press is
abbreviated
as UP.
Travel
and
travel
guides
Bill
Bryson
Down
Under
(Black
Swan UK;
Doubleday
US).
Characteristically
dry
humour
in this
outsider's
view of
national
character,
though
Australians
will
find
Bryson
relies
overmuch
on
stereotypes.
Bruce
Chatwin
...
read
more >>
Autobiography
and
biography
Julia
Blackburn
Daisy
Bates in
the
Desert
(Minerva
UK;
Random
US). For
almost
thirty
years
from
1913,
Daisy
Bates
was
Kabbarli,
"the
white-skinned
grandmother",
to the
Aboriginal
people
with
whom she
lived in
the
desert....
read
more >>
Society
and
culture
Richard
Baker
Land is
Life:
From
Bush to
Town -
the
Story of
the
Yanyuwa
People
(Allen &
Unwin
Aus).
The
Yanyuwa
people
inhabited
the Gulf
of
Carpentaria
before
the
Europeans
arrived,
but most
now live
in the
town of
Booloola,
1600km...
read
more >>
History
and
politics
Patsy
Adam-Smith
The
Anzacs
(Penguin
Aus).
Gleaned
from
diaries,
letters
and
interviews,
this is
a
classic
account
of
Australia's
involvement
in World
War I,
with a
special
focus on
the
campaign
that has
become
part of
the
Australian...
read
more >>
Ecology
and
environment
Tim
Flannery
The
Future
Eaters
(Reed
Books
Aus).
Palaeontologist
Flannery
here
poses
that as
the
first
human
beings
migrated
down to
Australasia,
the
Aborigines,
Maoris
and
other
Polynesian
peoples
changed
the
region's
flora
and
fauna
in...
read
more >>
Contemporary
fiction
Thea
Astley
The
Multiple
Effects
of
Rainshadow
(Penguin
Aus). On
an
Aboriginal
island
reserve
in 1930,
a white
woman
dies in
childbirth,
and her
husband
goes on
a
shotgun
and
dynamite
rampage.
The
novel
traces
the
effects
over the
years...
read
more >>
Australian
classics
Barbara
Baynton
Bush
Studies
(Collins/Angus
&
Robertson
UK;
HarperCollins
US;
Angus &
Robertson
Aus). A
collection
of
nineteenth-century
bush
stories
written
from the
female
perspective.
Rolf
Boldrewood
...
read
more >>
Poetry
and
anthologies
Phillip
Adams
and
Patrice
Newell
The
Penguin
Book of
Australian
Jokes
(Penguin
Aus). An
excellent
introduction
to the
Australian
sense of
humour,
divided
into
twenty
sections
close to
the
nation's
heart,
among
them "A
Sporting...
read
more >>
Aboriginal
writing
Faith
Bandler
Welour,
My
Brother
(Wild &
Wooley
Aus
o/p). A
novel by
a
well-known
black
activist
describing
a boy's
early
life in
Queensland,
and the
tensions
of a
racially
mixed
community.
John Muk
Muk
Burke
...
read
more >>
Specialist
and
wildlife
guides
Jack
Absalom
Safe
Outback
Travel
(Five
Mile
Press
Aus). A
new
edition
of the
bible
for
Outback
driving
and
camping,
full of
sensible
precautions
and
handy
tips for
preparation
and
repair.
Jean-Paul
Bruneteau
...
read
more >>
