AustLit

'At the time of writing, I have been hard at work filling in a digital application form and it has been an interesting, frustrating and challenging exercise. This is largely because this form allows only a set number of characters for each of my answers. There is no potential for negotiation: when you reach the limit, your words are no longer accepted. This requires a level of discipline that is hard to adjust to in an industry that likes words, and plenty of them! However, it certainly forced me to eradicate excess verbiage and unnecessary qualifiers, to get to the heart of the matter.' (Introduction)

'Jacqui Dent reflects on Melina Marchetta's brilliant career - and speaks to Australian authors in awe of her talents.

'Aussie authors Omar Musa, Alice Pung, Dmetri Kakmi, Merlinda Bobis and Elizabeth Harrower discuss their influences, early writing efforts, satisfactions, frustrations and hopes for local literature...'

'Meredith Jaffe explains what she learnt during the editing process of her debut novel, The Fence...'

'Jeff Apter is bemused as to why muso bios don't win awards...'