Former editor of literary journal Meanjin, Jim Davidson, made damning remarks about ownership of the magazine, its takeover by Melbourne University Press and interference by management, in a speech about the history of Meanjin -- with all the management listening from the front row, reports W H Chong.
Sex, drugs, suicide, misogynistic high school shenanigans - nothing is out of reach in Brendan Cowell's bold coming-of-age novel. Cowell uses strong language but only skims the surface dramatically, writes Angela Meyer.
So-called "faceless" union man Paul Howes has bold visions for the future of the ALP, but sadly you won't find them in his new book, writes Greg Jericho at Grog's Gamut.
Get the scoop on Sarah Palin's latest memoir/manifesto America By Heart, a week before it's officially made public. It includes her laughing about misspelt Tea Party signs, talking about Australian Idol and her thoughts on her daughter Bristol's teen pregnancy.
He may not be as hot as the inflammatory James Wood, or as icily cool as J M Coetzee, the only critic to have won the Nobel and two Bookers, but Ron Charles has many virtues as a book reviewer that draw him close: he is judicious but merciful; rigorous but generous, says W H Chong.
Much has been made around the traps of the fact that Colm Tóibín published a story in his last collection that used the word empty (and words deriving from it) fourteen times, though no one has bothered to acknowledge that the story in question was about an Irish bank robber trying to move a Rembrandt […]
The proliferating trade of bootleg books in Peru generates tens of millions of dollars every year, with dodgy vendors often selling up to three times as many books as official retailers. The publishing industry has been forced to respond, with varying degrees of success, writes Daniel Alarcon.
Departing Meanjin editor Sophie Cunningham has told Crikey she only met Melbourne University Press (MUP) chairman Alan Kohler once during her three year reign and that she was locked out of formal discussions about the publication's future.
The Empty Family is far from ‘nice’– rather, this collection is a rich, inviting global airport lounge of a book from Colm Tóibín, a great craftsman of our age, writes Genevieve Tucker
Literary blogger Angela Meyer loves the sweet stink of old books but decides they can co-exist with e-readers after test driving the new Sony Reader Pocket Edition.
