Launching BECOMING A BIRD by Stephanie Radok

Our brand-new event series, the Saturday Soirees, continued in March with the launching by Kay Lawrence of Stephanie Radok's Becoming a Bird: Untold stories about art. Our laneway was once again filled with eager punters and supporters of Stephanie's collection of meditative stories. And, as a special treat, our bookshop was also graced with a small collection of Stephanie's Spend More Time Listening to Birds Suite. One of the etchings from the collection features as the cover for this…

Launching THE SOUTHERN OSCILLATION INDEX by Cath Kenneally

At the first of our new afternoon event series, Saturday Soirees, the Wakefield Press laneway was filled with merry makers for the launch of The Southern Oscillation Index by Cath Kenneally. Launched by Linda Barwick, Emeritus Professor of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and Emceed by Wakefield Press' fearless leader Michael Bollen, the launch was a wonderful way to start the series. Find out about future editions of the Saturday Soirees series by subscribing to our newsletter here. We…

Launching THE FEELING OF BIGNESS by Helen Parsons

When Adelaide's quasi-lockdown hit in mid-November, the launching of Helen Parsons' The Feeling of Bigness: Encountering Georgia O'Keeffe was momentarily put on hold. We were so thrilled to be able to have a rescheduled launch in early December. Launched by Jan Owen, and Emceed by Louise Nicholas, the launch was held on the beautiful grounds of St John's church on Halifax Street, on a balmy evening befitting Helen's gorgeous poems. We are delighted to be publishing Jan Owen's…

Book Launch: The First Wave

Gillian Dooley is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Flinders University, South Australia. Gillian is also a journal editor and the author of books and articles on literary subjects from Jane Austen to J.M. Coetzee. In this guest post she writes about the launch of The First Wave: Exploring early coastal contact history in Australia, and the book's importance in our understanding of Australian history. On 20 June, The First Wave: Exploring Early Coastal Contact History in Australia,…

Special Event: Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries

Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries France bewitched Barbara Santich as a student in the early 1970s. She vowed to return, and soon enough she did - with husband and infant twins in tow. Wild Asparagus, Wild Strawberries tells the story of the magical two years that followed. Buoyed by naive enthusiasm, Barbara and her husband launched themselves into French village life, a world of winemaking, rabbit raising, cherry picking and exuberant 14 Juillet celebrations. Here we see…

A Royal Murder Extract

A macabre murder during the Women’s Australian Open golf tournament at one of Australia’s most prestigious golf courses sees food and wine journalist and amateur golfer Rebecca Keith on the murder trail once more. Fortunately, Rebecca’s sleuthing takes her on a journey of eating and drinking through many of Adelaide’s bars and restaurants. Little does Rebecca know that her visits to nearby Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island will reveal clues that will become crucial in the hunt for a killer. A Royal…

The launch of SURROGATE by Tracy Crisp

Last week we launched Tracy Crisp's new book Surrogate to a very full house at Imprints Booksellers. After an excellent speech by ABC Adelaide's Deb Tribe, here is what Tracy had to say. Thank you, Deb. For being so open to the invitation and so generous with your time to prepare for tonight and to be here this evening. And thank you for giving Surrogate such a great send-off into the world.…

Liz Williams: Body Language

In late September Wakefield Press had the honour of launching Liz Williams: Body Language, a beautifully photographed book dedicated to the works of the late South Australian ceramicist. Below is an excerpt from author Margot Osborne's speech at the launch. I was driven to do this book on Liz Williams to honour her lifetime of artistic achievement and to ensure that there is a record of her unique contribution to Australian ceramics. It struck me…

A great big book about a great small city

Last Thursday marked the celebration and re-launch of City Streets, a chronicled answer to the past 75 years of Adelaide’s architecture. As author Lance Campbell says, it's a great big book about a great small city. We were hosted at the beautiful Living Choice Fullarton and joined by many of our Wakefield Press authors and friends, including the event's emcee, Keith Conlon. And to top it all off, we had some fantastic Coriole sparkling! The…

Catherine Truman's SALA Opening Address

One of the biggest pleasures of the SALA festival is hearing the keynote address from the featured artist. Last year it was Giles Bettison on the importance of art. This year, Catherine Truman spoke to a packed house about the joys of 'tadpoling', and how important a sense of adventure and a strong work ethic are as an artist – or, indeed, a scientist. Catherine's very kindly shared her speech with us here. We agree…