Not Black Books

Dylan-Moran

If, like me, you have always loved reading, the idea of owning your own bookstore may also be your idea of heaven.

I have been in customer service all my life, yet I have never worked in a bookshop before. I have worked at independent cinemas and theatres, I have worked in menswear and wine sales, but not in a place that would make me the happiest: selling books. Although working at the Cinema Nova was fantastic, the diet wasn’t great (choc tops and popcorn). Getting to watch as many films as you want and being able to choose the emptiest cinemas to do it in was brilliant. (However, as a result, I now hate sharing cinemas with other people.)

Then there was the TV show Black Books. That was truly the dream writ large – or rather, medium-sized – in my lounge room. To be Bernard Black, to own a bookshop where you can curse at the customers, drink wine and smoke cigarettes all day and just read while you ignore the customers you aren’t yelling at. Sounds idyllic.

(Well, not so much these days, now that I’ve given up the cigarettes and recognise the link between too much alcohol and depression. And I’m an early riser, so all that’s left of that dream is yelling at or ignoring customers, and reading.)

Today I am working in a bookshop. It is not my own and I am not yelling at or ignoring customers. And it’s by no means a conventional bookshop, because it is the bookshop attached to a publishing house, Wakefield Press, an independent Adelaide publisher. I didn’t mean to end up here and my role is not really bookshop assistant, but I am here in the bookshop and I will assist you if you come in.

I wish I had worked in a bookshop earlier in my life. To be surrounded by books is a lovely thing. Wakefield’s director of marketing and the author of the delightful Boomer and Me spends a day a week working at Imprints in Hindley Street. Does she need to, between all her writing of reviews and working here at Wakefield and working on her own book? Probably not, but she cherishes her time there among the books and the book buyers.

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One thing I have found working in retail is that you tend to end up shopping where you work. I drank a lot of wine when I worked as a fine wine assistant and I still have ties from when I worked in menswear. Ending up with more books doesn’t seem such a bad thing. 

Today I was planning to take home Stephen Orr’s This Excellent Machine. It has had some great reviews! But someone has put The Hawke Legacy out on display and sentimentality draws me to that one instead.

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Emma Sachsse is an Adelaide-based writer who can sometimes be found looking after the reception desk/bookshop at Wakefield Press, or slinging our books to gift shops and other nooks & crannies around Adelaide.

ANZAC Day titles for the historian in us all

ANZAC Day is a solemn reminder to generations young and old of the pain and loss of war. But with the number of surviving veterans declining, it’s important for younger generations to keep their memory alive. With that in mind, here are five historical titles to read this ANZAC Day.

 

Don Longo, Pens and Bayonets: Letters from the Front by soldiers of Yorke Peninsula during the Great WarPens and Bayonets, Don Longo

Pens and Bayonets gives voice to the young Australia soldiers who volunteered to fight for our freedom in the Great War. They answered the call willingly, with many thinking it may be all over before they got there. How wrong they were. Author Don Longo gathered many of the moving letters sent to the fronts, and set them in their historical context, to bring these soldiers back to life.

 

 

Allison Reynolds, Anzac Biscuits: The power and spirit of an everyday national icon

Anzac Biscuits, Allison ReynoldsAnzac biscuits, baked in Australia and New Zealand for over a century, have a powerful connection to the national identity and culture of both countries. But what is the story of this national icon? Were they eaten by troops during the First World War? When did coconut make an appearance?

Author Allison Reynolds traces the origins of the humble Anzac Biscuit, delving into war files and family cookbooks to investigate the provenance of this extraordinary everyday biscuit.

 

 

Cheryl Williss, Miss Marryat’s Circle: A not so distant past

Miss Marryats Circle, Cheryl WillissIn 1915, the second year of the Great War, Mabel Marryat joined the newly-formed League of Loyal Women. Mabel was active in the League’s emergency corps, ‘women who are prepared to give their service in any need that may arise’.

This book gives voice to the women of South Australia’s first 110 years of European settlement and opportunity to reflect on the changing position of women in society. But the spotlight shines on Mabel. Her long and devoted community service – particularly to her ‘Diggers’ – was extraordinary.

 

Sharon Cleary and Robert Kearney, Valour and Violets: South Australia in the Great War

Valour & Violets, Sharon Cleary and Robert kearneyClose to 35,000 South Australians enlisted for service overseas during the Great War. Around 5500 never came back. Countless more returned with physical and psychological injuries that would affect them for the rest of their lives.

Drawing on the work of the many who have written on the subject previously, Valour and Violets provides a wholly South Australian perspective on the impact of the Great War on individuals, on families and on our state’s coastal, regional, and outback communities.

 

Melanie Oppenheimer, Margaret Anderson, and Mandy Paul, South Australia on the Eve of War

Sa on the Eve of War, multipleIn August 1914 South Australians – much like their fellow Australians around the country – enthusiastically displayed their patriotism when war was announced. It’s a story we know well, but what do we know of South Australia in the lead up to the First World War? What was it like to live there at the time? What were South Australians talking about?

South Australia on the Eve of War considers unique aspects of the state in this pre-war period, including the political reverberations of Federation, the town planning of what was then Australia’s third-largest capital, Adelaide, and the shifting social positions of women, Indigenous Australians and minority groups.

lest we forget

 

To read more about any of these books, or to find other related titles, find our entire history list here on our website.

To purchase copies of any of these books, visit us in our Mile End bookshop, give us a call on (08) 8352 4455, or find them in our online web shop.

Holden Treasures Takes Us on a Drive Down Memory Lane

Holden Treasures tells the unique story of the first ten Holden models from the 1946 prototypes to the 1966 HR. The chapters feature these Holden vehicles in their current or recent states as well as including historic images of the vehicles in their heyday. It incorporates over 500 outstanding black-and-white photographs and colour slides, all assembled through Loffler’s devoted and persistent research in automotive social history.

Read on for a sneak peek into the pages of this painstaking labour of love by Don Loffler.

From page 110:

Eddie Sams’s ambulance, which began its life as an FJ panel van, is the only one of its kind to have been fully restored. What gives it additional status is that much of the original first-aid equipment was donated by Mrs Victoria Wadey, whose husband, Fred,

 

had been the superintendent/ secretary of the Temora District Ambulance Service in New South Wales and had taken delivery of the ambulance in April 1956. The colourful history of this vehicle is told in my book The FJ Holden. The ambulance is much travelled and is often seen at interstate car shows, where it attracts great attention.

 

From pages 132–134:

‘Igor’ the FB campervan (pictured below in June 2012)

The story of this unique vehicle is best told in the words of Omar Grass, the third owner, who wrote the following description when he was advertising it for sale in 1989: ‘I purchased the van in 1985 for $3000 from a local chap who had bought it from the original owner/builder four years previous to this, so it has had only three owners. The original owner was a retired engineer, who used his low-mileage station wagon as a base for this camper.

‘It’s very evident that everything was done with lots of love, care and attention to detail. For example, the rear end was re-engineered to suit a two-ton Ford Transit double-wheel rear axle, whose propeller shaft connects with a five-speed Toyota Celica gearbox. This is all driven by a Red 179 Holden motor. The brakes are servo assisted with extra large Repco drums on the front.

~

‘The bull bar itself is an engineer’s work of art! It incorporates room for a 10-kilogram gas bottle and two 20-litre jerry cans. It’s a very soundly designed and built car. ‘The camper section is set up as a four-berth and is complete with built-in cupboards, stove, three-way fridge, stainless steel sink, water tank and table. Overall length of vehicle is 171/2 feet (including bull bar).’

After using the van for travelling around South Australia for two years, Omar decided to have some restoration work done on the vehicle by a professional panel worker. Rust and dents were removed from the FB section and all panels were given a bare metal respray. The restorer commented on how little filler there was in the panels. No work had to be done on the rear section. The engine and the gearbox, however, were overhauled, with many new parts being fitted. After four years of ownership, Omar sold the campervan to Gilbert Hallett of Castlemaine, Victoria, who later sold it to Roger and Lesley Johnston of Mount Gambier, South Australia.

From page 140:

During their working lives, the brothers Alex and David Hughes rescued many an early model Holden from impending oblivion, restoring most of them to stock form and creating a few one-off special versions, an example of which can be seen above. The starting point was an HR sedan, making for a smart-looking vehicle.

Alex writes: It had been in a rollover and was quite damaged. It had such a first-class floor pan that we didn’t like scrapping it. We didn’t like throwing anything away if we could use it for another project, so we decided to make this one into a convertible.

~~~

Some people guess that Don Loffler is the son or relative of a Holden dealer, or a former Holden factory employee, or someone closely connected with the motor trade. He is none of these, but a retired German, Latin and Chemistry teacher, who is enjoying the process of writing books on his passion – the early Holden models and the history behind them.

Born in Kapunda, South Australia, Don gained an Arts degree and two Education diplomas from the University of Adelaide. His late wife, also a graduate with similar degrees from the same university, was his inspiration in the initial years of his book writing, and the tradition is now maintained by his son Michael and daughter Helen.

Don Loffler regards himself as fortunate indeed to be writing three more books featuring all makes of car on Australian roads in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. In addition, he is preparing a third edition of his original book, She’s a Beauty!.

To find out more about the book, or to purchase a copy, visit us in our bookshop at 16 Rose street, Mile End, or find it online

New Release: Adelaide Central Market

Adelaide Central Market book

Wakefield Press’s new book, Adelaide Central Market: Stories, people & recipes, captures the memories and stories of the traders of the past and the current familiar faces that visit the Adelaide Central Market throughout the past 150 years. It shows how important the market is to Adelaide and how it brings together the community with delicious seasonal-driven recipes from stallholders’ families, producers and chefs around the state.Vending machines are great options as they provide the accessibility to the customers to quickly purchase the food and other products. If you are looking for Perths leading vending machine supplier, contact Royal Vending for a free vending machine service for your business or visit https://www.royalvending.com.au/vending-machines-perth/.

This book is filled with incredible stories, recipes and images that demonstrate the world-renowned culture and enlightenment the Adelaide Central Market brings to the city of Adelaide. Here you’ll find delicious seasonal-driven recipes from stallholders’ families, producers and chefs around the state.

Read on for a recipe for a surprisingly simple warm-weather meal from the Summer section of the book. Recipe by Karena Armstrong, Chef at the Salopian Inn, Mclaren Vale.

Garfish with tomato, eggplant and tamarind salad

Preparation time: 25 minutes • Cooking time: 5 minutes • Serves: 6

 

Garfish with tomato, eggplant, and tamarind saladINGREDIENTS  

Salad

  • 2 long eggplants, sliced into 1/2 cm rounds
  • 2 teaspoons salt flakes
  • 3/4 cup (180 ml) vegetable oil
  • 2 punnets (500 g) ripe cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
  • 3 red shallots, finely sliced
  • 2 long red chillies, sliced
  • 1/2 bunch coriander, washed and leaves picked
  • 1/2 bunch Thai basil, washed and leaves picked
  • 1/2 bunch mint, washed and leaves picked
  • 1/2 cup (50 g) fried shallots

Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons)
  • 11/2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Garfish

  • 12 garfish fillets
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Firstly, place sliced eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt, tossing to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes, before rinsing well with water and patting dry with kitchen paper.

Heat oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add eggplant in batches, cooking until soft and golden. Place cooked eggplant on a plate covered in kitchen paper to drain before setting aside in a large mixing bowl.

Add the halved tomatoes, shallots and chillies to the cooked eggplant, tossing to combine. Combine herbs and fried shallots in a separate small mixing bowl.

For the dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Pour dressing over the eggplant and tomatoes, tossing to combine.

For the garfish, heat a barbecue to high or place a chargrill pan or heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Brush garfish with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place fillets skin down on preheated barbecue and cook for 1–2 minutes. Carefully turn the fish and cook for 30 seconds, then remove immediately.

To serve, place cooked garfish on a platter. Add the fried shallots and herb mixture to the eggplant salad, tossing to combine, then pile salad onto the platter with the cooked garfish, drizzling any leftover dressing over the fish.

Adelaide Central Market

Adelaide Central Market: Stories, people & recipes also features trader profiles for every stall in the market, as well as hundreds more delicious seasonal recipes. Our publicist, Ayesha, also has her beautiful ceramics featured in the book. 

Perfect for a Christmas gift for yourself, or the foodie in your life, copies are available now and rushing out of the door. To purchase a copy, visit us in store in our Mile End bookshop, or find the book online. You can also read a larger extract of the book by clicking the link here.

Interested in other cooking titles new and old? Follow the link here to see the rest of our wonderful culinary titles.

 

An interview with: Guthrow Taylor-Johnson, work experience student

Here at Wakefield Press, we often have work experience students learning about the amazing world of publishing. In the past, their work has been largely behind the scenes, but we’re shining the limelight on the students in our interview series. First up is Guthrow Taylor-Johnson.

A bit about Guthrow

Guthrow Taylor-Johnson

Guthrow Taylor-Johnson

Hi, I’m 15 years old and in year 10. As part of my requirement for my year level I chose to do three days of work experience at Wakefield Press. I enjoy reading but also enjoy playing piano, drawing, catching up with friends and watching an unhealthy amount of Youtube videos.

My experience at Wakefield was a great and memorable one and I hope that I was able to help in the few days I was there because editors are very busy people!

What is the first book you ever read?

 Lost in the Snow by Holly Webb, if you are talking about a novel of decent size. I read it in year 2 as part of a class novel and was hooked from that point on.

What attracted you to doing work experience at Wakefield Press?

 The idea of being around books, in a environment where messing up can be erased or backspaced. My mother (being an author) was very encouraging of having my work experience in an environment she was used to and I’ve always been interested in English as a subject, generally performing well in it. When it came down to it, publishing was a choice I was considering as a career and to make sure I understood the environment, expectations and requirements, I thought it would be in my best interests to apply for a two or three day position.

At the end of your work experience, what are your thoughts about working in publishing?

I can’t say I was hooked instantly as I spent the whole day editing. I can understand why this would appeal to people but I am a person who busies himself with other outlets, like playing piano, doing art and a bit of creative writing here and there. If I were to take up publishing as a career I would have to enjoy editing a lot more. Again, My personality is the problem, not publishing, although the stress of missing a mistake was difficult to deal with.

Do you think boys read differently from girls? If so, how? If not, why do you think so many people believe that?

 I think girls definitely read differently to boys because of their upbringing and our society’s expectations of them but as a female or male it’s harder to distinguish this gap. In my opinion some people might be more attracted to romance and others to action, adventure thrillers, although I think this has to do with personality, intelligence and maturity and not with gender specifically. I believe people think that genders read differently because of movies, social media, songs and the way books advertise books. Some books are clearly advertised to women and some to males. I originally had to think whether I knew any women who read romance novels or if that was just how Hollywood advertises books.

 What’s the last book you read for fun? What was fun about it?

 Beautiful Revolutionary by Laura Elizabeth Woollet. I picked this book up because History is another subject I’m interested in so learning about this infamous cult [Jonestown] seemed like an obvious choice. There were parts I loved, like the scenes of accusation, and parts I was critical of, but in the end it was an enjoyable book.

What’s the last book you read and hated? what did you hate about it?

The Running Man by Michael Gerard Bauer. It was a perfectly well-written book, I just despised the way the book was trying to convince me to care about silkworms. With regret I read over 100 pages about this man painfully describing the day-to-day process of caring for silkworms and the silkworms’ slow and tedious evolution until the process begins again. Even though this wasn’t the main focus of the book, so many of the characters treat this activity as an everyday must. At times I was worried that the book was secretly converting me into a member of a cult.

How do you find out about books you want to read?

Mostly through my mother, Heather Taylor Johnson. Otherwise I just pick up a book in the literary fiction aisle that grabs me the most.

Name a book or books that changed the way you think- in any way at all, large or small.

I would have to say Jack London’s White Fang, Steven Chlobsky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Simon Butters’ The Hounded. These three books in particular changed the way I saw myself, my identity and my purpose. They connected with me in a way that changed my reading style: from fiction about magic space or dystopian rebellions, to novels about confronting real problems that exist in our modern world and inside our self.

Based on what you see around you, do you think teenagers read more or less than they used to?

Sadly, I must give the predictable answer of yes, less. There are just more ways to distract yourself, more virtual games, more ways to connect, more easily accessible knowledge, more ways to compete and say you are the best at this one thing. I don’t think this is change for the worse and this generation is the least free of all. I believe that reading was like a game back before Google and computers, and accepting that books would be non-existent in this world if it weren’t for the older generations and the need for written communication. When that disappears, then we can claim that we are no longer free.

Who is your favourite author and why?

I couldn’t tell you if I knew. Up until two years back I would have said John Marsden or Derek Landy, however my tastes have changed since and I don’t think I’ve read two books from the same author since. I consider this an accomplishment and couldn’t pick an author from just one book, so you’ll have to accept this as an answer.

If you were banished to a desert island and could take three books with you, what would they be and why?

This question got me thinking. Would I want to take three books I haven’t read? Books I would love to learn from or strategic choices that would help with my survival? In the end I picked The Life of Pi, by Yan Martel, The Odyssey by Homer (a very large book that I’ve been intending to read but could never find the time to), and Frankenstein’s Monster by Mary Shelly, a book I could study and increase the extent of my vocabulary by three-fold. Actually, maybe I should bring a dictionary for the last choice?

Read Guthrow’s interview with Simon Butters, author of The Hounded here. Keep your eyes peeled for Guthrow’s next interview with another amazing Wakefield Press author.

Interested in completing your work experience with us at Wakefield Press? Email maddy@wakefieldpress.com.au to book a position.

Interviews with Amazing Authors: Simon Butters

In early October, work experience student Guthrow interviewed author Simon Butters. Simon’s book The Hounded was longlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s 2017 Book of the Year for Older Readers, and shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards 2017 Griffith University Young Adult Book Award. The Hounded is a book about depression and working out who you really are, from one of Australia’s most prolific children’s television writers.

Simon Butters, Author of ‘The Hounded’ and screenwriter for ‘Wicked Science’ and ‘H2O Just Add Water’

 

Guthrow: Why did you go from screenwriting to novel writing, and where did the idea of The Hounded come from?
Simon: Before writing The Hounded, I worked in television screenwriting in live-action drama and animation for children’s television for many years. The industry in Australia is supported by a quota system for the free-to air networks that requires them to produce a certain amount of new shows each year. I won’t bore you with the details, but the upshot is that the industry is not able to produce as much local drama as it used to.

Published by Wakefield Press in 2016, I wrote The Hounded between writing television projects as a way to further my creative writing. I did not write it for the financial rewards, it was a purely creative decision. As far as the idea, I had always been fascinated by perception, and the grey area between the supernatural, faith and psychoanalysis. So, is the dog real, or just his imagination …? That is open for each reader to decide.

 

I was also inspired by images of the dog at night in my youth. Your mind can play tricks on you when you see a shadow, and for a while you think it might be a dog, or a person, but when you walk closer, it just turns out to be a rubbish bin. Turns out, our brains evolved that way to look for danger. So I guess Monty is hyper-aware of danger, and his dog is the result.

G: How did your idea of the novel evolve or was the idea fully formed before you started?
S: When I started the book, I went the other way to my screenwriting training – which is to plan everything relentlessly before you begin. I wanted to go back to a freer way of writing and so I only wrote a short two or three line brief for each chapter – so I only had a rough outline of plot at the start (however I did know what the ending was going to be).

G: Were there any characters influenced by real people?
S: Most of them were influenced by real people – but I cannot tell you who … (but all characters have been heavily fictionalised).

The Hounded’s cover

G: Was the book originally about Monty or the Black Dog?
S: The novel was always going to be focused on Monty, and the dog only ever a passing influence, like a shadow that comes and goes.

G: What inspired you to write a novel that is so upfront and honest about mental health?
S: I guess to be honest, I wrote the novel out of a personal struggle. Being an artist is always a struggle to find that elusive sweet point between making enough money out of it to survive and to also satisfy your creative side. I have been an actor, director, writer, and all of these are tough. The ‘middle way’, where you work and be creative, is what I am trying to achieve in life.

Apart from the obvious analogy of mental health, Monty suffers from an unstated personality disorder, which I researched during development. After being left alone – which is a form of abuse – as a young child, Monty struggles to connect with the reality around him: other people, objects, and even his own body. This is where in the novel, he describes his body as going on autopilot.

 

In writing the ending, I was very concerned that it would be a step too far for young readers. If I went back to write it again, there is one line I would cut, but other than that I really tried to get the balance right between an honest portrayal, within the confines of the world, and not doing anyone harm in reading it. 

G: For a debut novel, The Hounded was very successful. Did you ever doubt your chances of success and how important was it for this novel to succeed?
S: When writing, I certainly didn’t think about success in any way, it was just about getting the job done and something that I enjoyed reading myself.

G: What did you learn from writing this novel?
S: I learnt that you need honesty in writing. You lay yourself bare as a writer like no other creative expression. Your words are your thoughts. That’s confronting …

G: What do you want your readers to learn when reading this novel?
S: I wanted a reader to ponder their own existence and what their purpose is. I believe, like the existentialists (like Silas and his ball, or Sisyphus and his rock) that you find your own purpose in life, and even if that seems insignificant, your actions provide you with purpose. That’s what Monty needs to learn, and that’s what I guess I need to learn. That’s what I think our whole world needs to learn.

Written by Guthrow Taylor Johnson. Many thanks to Simon Butters for his time and generosity, and for his wonderful book!

Want a copy of The Hounded? Visit Wakefield Press at 16 Rose Street, Mile End SA 5031 or shop the book online.

 

Behind the Books: Meet publicist Ayesha Aggarwal

In this series, we take you behind the scenes to get a glimpse of the glamorous life at Adelaide’s premier publishing house. This week, meet our gung-ho publicist (with a side in sales!) Ayesha Aggarwal.

Ayesha Aggarwal

What made you want to work in publishing – and how did you get your start?

I’ve always been an avid reader with a love of stories. I was the kid that always had to be told to put my book down about five times before I could wrench myself away, much to the annoyance of my mum (who also was 100% responsible for my reading habit in the first place). One of my earliest memories is coming home with every copy of the Mr Men and Little Miss books which I devoured in about a week. When Mum and I went to our local library, the librarians would vacate this bright orange stool so that I could stand on it and watch them check out my latest pile of books. So, really, publishing was always my dream job.

I got my start at Wakefield Press largely thanks to editor extraordinaire Margot Lloyd. We bumped into each other at a friend’s party and drunkenly discussed how much she was enjoying being at Wakefield Press and how I should apply to be an intern there. I dutifully sent in a request for an internship and my timing turned out to be excellent because there was a position as a receptionist opening up. So I applied for the role and had an interview (with three Wakefieldians!!) and I got the job. Whew!

What does your typical day at Wakefield Press involve?

My typical day is a flurry of tasks. I answer the phones and do all kinds of admin-y things as well as looking after various aspects of our marketing and publicity. Most days, I’m halfway through a press release, or adding an event to a newsletter, when the phone rings and I help a customer with a question about our books (quite often this is a budding writer who has questions about the publishing process).

Mainly, though, my job is to liaise with the media about articles, extracts or interviews about our books and to promote all our excellent authors. And I put together all our email campaigns. And flyers.

What’s the most absurd or surprising thing that’s ever happened to you on the job?

I took a phone call once where the caller wanted to speak with someone who was already on the phone so I asked whether they would like to leave a message. As they were midway through the longest message ever, I realised that I could now put them through to the person they wanted to speak with and told them so but got an earful about interrupting them while they gave me their message instead.

 What’s the best thing about working in publishing?

I think this is specific to small publishers like Wakefield Press but I really love the broad range of genres that we publish. It means I get to work with so many different types of people and dip into different industries all the time. One day I’ll be looking up food magazines and the next I’ll be trawling for blogs about young adult books. It keeps me on my toes because there’s always something new to discover.

What’s the worst thing about working in publishing?

As a publicist it’s my job to keep our authors abreast of all the publicity surrounding their books. The space for books in the media has continued to shrink and we’re publishing five or six books each month that are all pitched to the same major book journalists. At the end of the day, it comes down to luck and timing but it’s never easy to have to tell an author (who may have spent years writing their book) that they haven’t got an interview with Richard Fidler.

What kinds of things do you love to discover in a book (on the job or as a reader)?

I really enjoy when writers write dialogue as it is spoken so you can really get under the skin of the characters (except in the case of Irvine Welsh where the thick Scottish accents took a million years for my brain to comprehend).

What books are on your bedside table right now?

This my seem like blasphemy but when I’m not at Wakefield, I’m usually elbow deep in clay so I’ve turned to audiobooks to feed my reading habit. I’m such a sucker for a funny, insightful read so at the moment I’m revisiting Terry Pratchett’s Discwold series (I just blew through Good Omens and Small Gods last week). I also have Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist on my to read list as well as Lindy West’s Shrill.

Ayesha moonlights (sunlights, really) as a ceramicist on her days off. Her beautiful pieces can be found on her website, and for a limited time, some seconds pieces are available at Wakefield Press HQ.

‘It has to be good’: Tony Ayres on telling diverse stories on-screen

This is an edited extract of Tony Ayres’ essay ‘From My Life to All Lives: From Identity to Representation’, in Living and Loving in Diversity: An anthology of Australian multicultural queer adventures (Wakefield Press).

I didn’t have a traumatic time coming out; it happened when I was 16 years old and told my history teacher that I was gay. He randomly took me to an illegal casino to ‘celebrate’. By then, I was an orphan, so I didn’t have to deal with the restrictive expectations of Chinese parents that burden so many Asian queers. Instead, my grappling with sexuality came in another form – the shocking way that I felt I was treated by other (predominantly white) gay men. While I aspirationally saw these men as my peers, they saw me as ‘Asian’, as Other, as undesirable. Another one of life’s strange ironies – my most unequivocal experiences of racism in Australia have been within the male gay scene.

‘Until fairly recently, gay men (being an oppressed minority) have had something of a ‘hall pass’ when it comes to the politics of race and desire, but there is a reckoning on its way.’

This took a fair bit of unpacking because it was like my different identities just didn’t mesh. My way of interrogating this contradiction was to make work about it. I wrote a short story about a gay Chinese guy, titled A Night Out with the Boys, which was published in a number of gay-themed anthologies. I then wrote about my experiences of being gay and Chinese in essay form, which became the basis of a documentary, China Dolls, where I interviewed a number of other gay Asian men about their intersectional experiences and realised that the alienation I felt wasn’t unique. The documentary explored ideas of ‘racialised desire’ and how this might be part of an unreconstructed colonialism at play in the Australian psyche. Interestingly, at the same time that I made China Dolls, there was a short drama made in England (Yellow Fever) and a documentary from Canada (The Queen’s Cantonese) on similar topics. It seemed that in that historical moment (the mid-90s) there was a common recognition among gay Asian filmmakers living in Western cultures that we were being treated in a discriminatory way.

Above: Image from The Family Law (produced by tony ayres)

I’ve kept track of issues of sexuality, race and desire over the years and I don’t think they have gone away, although they have evolved. My sense is that pervasive unconscious bias against Asian men by white gay men will become increasingly untenable as we start recognising the need for racial diversity across society in general. Until fairly recently, gay men (being an oppressed minority) have had something of a ‘hall pass’ when it comes to the politics of race and desire, but there is a reckoning on its way.

The last documentary I made, in 1999, dealt with race and sexuality from a different angle. It was called Sadness, a monologue performed by photographer William Yang, which explored a murder in his family many generations earlier, intersecting with stories of his friends who had died of AIDS-related complications. It was deceptively simple, a 50-minute visually stylised talk to camera, which screened on SBS and travelled around the world to many film festivals, winning a variety of prizes along the way. Making Sadness gave me a sense of completion – I felt that I had explored the intersection between race and sexuality (in this form at least) as much as I could, and that it was time to look at other subjects.

Although I had always operated within the broad spectrum of ‘identity politics’, I was increasingly aware of its limitations. Human beings are made up of a complex amalgam of identities, some coherent, others contradictory. To prioritise one identity over another is always a reductive act. For example, I may have had to face various kinds of oppressions because I come from an ethnic and sexual minority, however, this has been counterbalanced by the privileges I’ve experienced being cis-gendered, male, able-bodied, middle class (these days) and educated. Once you start prioritising one identity over another, you become limited and ideological in your view and you start mythologising what the world actually is. This is exactly the opposite of what I felt I needed to do as an artist. Our job as artists is to speak a different kind of ‘truth to power’; we find the complicated, messy, human truths that intersect against and rupture the reductions and simplifications of ideologies (both of the Left and the Right).

‘What’s changed more significantly than my intentions, though, is the world itself. Diversity of representation is one of the key issues of our times.’

While identity-based art at its best illuminates inconvenient truths about the tyranny of entrenched power structures and orthodoxies, it can (at its worst) become a kind of solipsism that posits the self (me, me, me) at the centre of all meaning. Nothing exists or is important beyond our own issues and what affects us as individuals. This leads to all kinds of distortions of scale. Suddenly our own oppressions and slights become more significant, more overwhelming than global inequalities, wars, genocides, famines. And this is not something that sits comfortably with me.

Image (above): Scene from Ali’s Wedding (PRODUCED BY TONY AYRES)

Even though I’ve superficially broadened the subject matter I deal with, in many ways I’ve pretty much stayed the same. I’ve always been interested in telling stories from the edge, stories about outsiders and that’s pretty much what I still do. Maximum Choppage was the ABC’s first mainly Asian comedy series, The Family Law is Australian TV’s first all-Asian comedy, Ali’s Wedding is Australia’s first all-Muslim romantic comedy, and Barracuda was about a gay Greek swimmer. What has evolved has been my sense of purpose. I started out making work that was very personal, trying to resolve what was troubling me the most. Nowadays, I’m much more concerned with the politics of representation. It’s important to tell stories from minority or invisible cultures because if those stories aren’t told, those people do not come into existence except as stereotypes or clichés. And that’s what good art can do – it can conjure up lives, it can make us feel for other people. It can be an act of compassion.

What’s changed more significantly than my intentions, though, is the world itself. Diversity of representation is one of the key issues of our times. We are now in a universe where Moonlight can win an Oscar for Best Picture and Transparent can be one of the most celebrated of TV shows. Another way of thinking about it – we live in a world where there is so much content, so many TV shows, that coming from a distinct minority background can be an advantage. It can make your work stand out.

However, there’s one big and important caveat to that. It has to be good. And that’s why I have always placed an emphasis on craft and, in particular, on writing (which is the foundation of most narrative screen arts). Knowing how to tell a story, how to affect an audience, understanding the necessity of suspense and intrigue, surprise and emotion, understanding the difference between mystery and confusion, between plot and story, between trope and cliché, are all crucial to the art of screen storytelling. Without command of the craft, whether your story connects with an audience is accidental.

Another important thing I’ve learned about telling stories from the margins is that while the cultural background may influence the texture, flavour and nuance of the central narrative, it is not the story. This is why it’s called cultural background rather than cultural foreground. The true theme of the work you are making needs to both be deeply embedded in and simultaneously transcend its cultural roots, the way a tree grows beyond the earth that nurtured it.

I’ve had a blessed career, in that I’ve managed to work non-stop since my graduation from AFTRS in 1989, which is almost 30 years now. In that time, I’ve transitioned from making deeply personal and autobiographical work to work that is broader in scope and reach. Yet in that time, I think because of my emphasis on the quality of my work, I’ve managed to remain true to my core interests – telling stories from the margins that reflect Australia’s cultural diversity.

Join chief editor Maria Palotta-Chiarolli and Wakefield Press for the FREE Adelaide launch of Living and Loving in Diversity, as part of Feast Festival, Saturday 24 November, at Treasury 1860. RSVP to maddy@wakefieldpress.com.au to secure your spot.

 

Behind the Books: Meet events guru Maddy Sexton

In this weekly series, we take you behind the scenes to get a glimpse of the glamorous life at Adelaide’s premier publishing house. This week, meet our events guru, editorial assistant and all-round office doer Maddy Sexton.

Maddy Sexton

What made you want to work in publishing – and how did you get your start?
I wanted to work in publishing since I was about eight, which seems like a lie, but I have a whole collection of ‘published’ work hidden in my parent’s garage with thrilling stories including ‘The Adventures of Starfish’, a story about a starfish (named Starfish) who goes out one day and then comes home (that’s the entire story), among other things. I’d write, illustrate, and bind all of my stories and tell anyone who would listen that one day I would be an author.

I actually came to be in publishing very much by accident, mainly because I never thought I’d be able to crack into the field. A friend of mine used to work at Wakefield Press, and when she got a job in Melbourne, she suggested that I go for the role, and the rest is history. I’m very lucky to be here!

What does your typical day at Wakefield Press involve?
It’s a lot of reading – emails make up most of my material, but I also do a bit of proofreading and editing bits and pieces that come across my desk. My main job is events coordination, so the rest of my day is usually filled with organising book launches and other events for our authors. The rest of the time I’m trying to keep the bookshop stocked up and looking nice, which helps to break up my work a little bit.

What’s the most absurd or surprising thing that’s ever happened to you on the job?
I’ve only been here for a year, so I don’t have any exciting stories really! My biggest surprise was getting the job, followed closely by finding out just how glamorous it is to work in publishing! It’s kind of funny sometimes answering the phone and having a conversation with someone which seems to be quite normal and relaxed, and then just before they hang up you find out you’ve been talking to a TV network producer without even knowing it!

What’s the best thing about working in publishing?
The best thing for me is being able to work on lots of different books in (usually) really small ways, and knowing that although I might not have been credited in the book, I still had something to do with bringing the book into the world. It’s very satisfying, especially if the book was difficult to work on!

What’s the worst thing about working in publishing?
The constant suspicion that I’m not meant to be in publishing, and that someone will walk in and say ‘Hey, what are you doing? You’re not meant to be here!’ and kick me out. Otherwise it’s great!

What kinds of things do you love to discover in a book (on the job or as a reader)?I love when there’s a little ‘A-ha!’ moment in books, where the penny finally drops for you as the reader but might not have dropped yet for the characters. Also, I love weird humour (I read too much Lemony Snicket as a kid), so it’s always good to find a ridiculously placed bit of comedy in a book.

What books are on your bedside table right now?
It’s embarrassing but my bedside table is really just a ridiculously tall stack of unread books that I keep adding to in moments of weakness. One day it will get so tall that I can’t get out of bed, but I’ll probably still add to it. Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman is on top, along with The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton. I finished Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 recently, which I really enjoyed – one less on the stack!

Keep up to date on the Wakefield Press crew’s day-to-day activities by following us on Instagram! Maddy will be posting pictures, videos and polls to our stories every day. Visit us online or in store at 16 Rose street, Mile End, to see us all in the flesh.

Behind the Books: Meet editor Margot Lloyd

In this series, we take you behind the scenes to get a glimpse of the glamorous life at Adelaide’s premier publishing house. This week, meet editor extraordinaire Margot Lloyd.

Margot Lloyd

What made you want to work in publishing – and how did you get your start?

I actually used to work for a few hours a week at Wakefield when I was a teenager, helping with mailouts and databasing. At that point, I hadn’t really considered a career in publishing, but it must have planted a seed. Many years later, finding myself at a loose end after finishing a BA, I thought I might enjoy editing so moved to Melbourne to study at Monash. I worked for a couple of publishing houses there, before moving back to Adelaide and starting (again) with Wakefield Press.

What does your typical day as an editor involve?

Mainly reading, which I guess isn’t surprising! Either that or checking emails or other small admin tasks to break up the day. We also have book launches and sales and other events, which are good fun and stop me from feeling like a total introvert.

What’s the most absurd or surprising thing that’s ever happened to you on the job?

Going to India with the Australia Council in 2017 sticks out. That was unexpected and amazing.

What’s the best thing about being a book editor?

Sometimes while I work I feel like an archaeologist with a tiny brush exposing an amazing piece of work. That feeling is pretty neat.

What’s the worst thing about being a book editor?

The constant and incurable worry that I’ve missed something.

What’s your pet editorial peeve (on the job or as a reader)?

Changing tenses halfway through a piece. Mainly because it’s such a pain to fix!

Also, surprisingly enough, exclamation marks. I use them all the time in casual writing, I think as an act of defiance against my work-self(!).

What kinds of things do you love to discover in a book (on the job or as a reader)?

Unexpected humour. While I don’t generally read comedy, I think the ability to make your reader laugh out loud without warning is very underrated.

What books are on your bedside table right now?

I’ve just finished Jane Harper’s latest book – which I thoroughly enjoyed – and I really want to read Elmore Leonard’s Out Of Sight, which Michael Bollen (Fearless Leader) lent to me.
The chances of me getting to it soon are slim to none. There’s always something else that needs to be read first.