New Release: Valour and Violets

Valour and Violets, the latest release from Wakefield Press, is a meticulously researched catalogue of the stories of hundreds of South Australians who gave their country everything. Close 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. Valour and Violets brings together for the first time the stories of the campaigns…

The Wakefield Press Reader's Guide to Open State

Open State festival has a packed program which kicks off on Thursday 28 September and runs through to Sunday 8 October. Publisher Michael Bollen brings you the Wakefield Press Reader's Guide to Open State. My, my. It's an eye-opener and source of pride, browsing the Open State program, reminding us how books and reading interweave past, present and future. Picking through the goodies on offer, the mind thinks inevitably, Hmm, could be a book in that. And thinks too: Now, which…

Fun with books on Friyay!

Guys guys guys, the book world is out of control at the moment. Everyone's having way too much fun and just needs to calm down a little. For example? Well, the New Yorker has picked up on the fact that every single book seems to be called The Girl on the Something at the moment, and they've run this glorious spoof. Funny book-related content + an astute observation of the issues of depicting sexual assault +…

Womadelaide weekend + links

Guys, it's Womadelaide weekend! To keep you busy while you're counting down the hours, here are a few fun bits and pieces we've been collecting from around the internet. First, we have absolute proof that books are worth a lot of effort. Though, in my experience, there's not normally £2 million to reward said effort. Still, if you're a Mission Impossible fan you should probably read this. Second, there's going to be a book about a…

Friday funday!

Okay guys, it's been a while since we've done one of these, but it's Friday funday! That's a thing, right? Anyway, there've been some pretty cool links around recently and we wanna share. First, we have the ultimate test of Aussie English. Okay, so it's Buzzfeed, which means it's a laugh, but there are some little beauties on this list – or should we say bloody rippers? Next, to take it up a notch, Merriam-Webster have a…

Wednesday links

The Wednesday links are in, kids! Have you checked the news today? Because we're getting excited about all of this Harper Lee business. Time to rewatch Gregory Peck in the movie version <swoon!>. Also, ever wondered what kind of feedback James Joyce would have got from his creative writing class on his Ulysses? McSweeney's have too! Balked a bit at some of Molly’s “sexier” thoughts, which read like male fantasy. You can do better than…

Wednesday links!

Too many things to share with you all! First of all, look at this beautiful book: The latest from the incredibly talented Bel Schenk, Every Time You Close Your Eyes is set during a power outage in New York in the seventies. It's an amazing one-sit read. Buy here! Secondly, are creative courses killing Western literature? Horace Engdahl seems to be making the…