The mysterious sands of Qatar

Sally van Gent has lived adventurously. She's dined with the Bedouin, dived deep into the Arabian Sea, and climbed aboard a tanker for a midnight rendezvous. Her latest memoir, The Navy-blue Suitcase, is a collection of stories from her travelling life told with 'optimism, humour, an indefatigable faith in a better future, and a powerful sense that life is what you make of it, no matter what cards you’ve been dealt' (ANZ LitLovers LitBlog). Today we're…

Ministers and the Media

Launching this week is Never a True Word, the debut political thriller from Michael McGuire. The book follows Jack, a journalist who thinks he's met every shade of nutter, narcissist and bully, until he enters the bizarre world of politics as a spin doctor. Perhaps Jack might have benefitted from reading John Hill's how-to, On Being a Minister – here John discusses his experiences with Adelaide's 'best informed, most intelligent and, at times, most offensive interviewers', Matt and Dave. My first Matt and Dave interview,…

An extract from 'Here Where We Live' by Cassie Flanagan Willanski

Cassie Flanagan Willanski's debut collection Here Where We Live is one of our must-reads for the year. Winner of the Unpublished Manuscript Award back in 2014, it received high praise from the judges for its 'subtle, assured writing that deftly weaves dialogue and description and expertly uses imagery to plumb the depths of its protagonists’ emotions'. Brian Castro said 'I was moved and I was haunted', and we agree. We'd like to share one of our…

More from Quiet City

Carol Lefevre will be launching Quiet City at the West Terrace Cemetery this Sunday May 15. To celebrate, here is another extract with an illustration by Anthony Nocera. This extract comes from the chapter "In Deep Water". The names of people who drowned in the River Torrens would fill a book. Many of them were children, and although few could swim they found their way towards the water. On a Sunday afternoon in November, Henry Charles Etheridge, aged nine, and his brother…

Dead by Friday extract

Derek Pedley's a man with a taste for the darker side of life. His award-winning true crime books are gripping, mesmerising – and occasionally terrifying, when he reminds us what even the most ordinary of folk are capable of. Dead by Friday recounts a tale of murder and adultery that gripped Adelaide over ten years ago. Shortlisted for the Ned Kelly True Crime Award (the nation's highest true crime honour), Dead by Friday tells the full…