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image of person or book cover 3940075766959692694.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
y separately published work icon Ghost River single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2015... 2015 Ghost River
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

''You find yourself down at the bottom of the river, for some it's time to give into her. But other times, young fellas like you two, you got to fight your way back. Show the river you got courage and is ready to live.'

'The river is a place of history and secrets. For Ren and Sonny, two unlikely friends, it's a place of freedom and adventure. For a group of storytelling vagrants, it's a refuge. And for the isolated daughter of a cult reverend, it's an escape.

'Each time they visit, another secret slips into its ancient waters. But change and trouble are coming – to the river and to the lives of those who love it. Who will have the courage to fight and survive and what will be the cost?' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • Dedication:

    For our dear friend and brother,
    Stephen John Ward (1958-1979) –
    we love you always.

    And for the river boys - Danny, Peter,
    Colin, Lawrie, Russell, Sparrow, and Garry Arnold (1955-2011);
    and the beautiful river girls - Debbie and Irene.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • St Lucia, Indooroopilly - St Lucia area, Brisbane - North West, Brisbane, Queensland,: University of Queensland Press , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 3940075766959692694.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 294p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 23/09/2015
      • Launched at the Fitzroy Hall in October 2015.
      ISBN: 9780702253775
    • St Lucia, Indooroopilly - St Lucia area, Brisbane - North West, Brisbane, Queensland,: University of Queensland Press , 2021 .
      image of person or book cover 3163854063360769624.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 294p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 3rd August 2021.
      ISBN: 9780702263392 (pbk)

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Large print.
  • Dyslexic edition.
  • Braille.

Works about this Work

Working Together on Tales of Strength Ellie Dudley , 2021 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7 August 2021; (p. 14)

'Lee’s designs reflect the pain in the pages of Birch’s new books, and he loved them so much he inked one on his skin, writes Ellie Dudley Melbourne treasure Tony Birch and First Nations artist Jenna Lee have created three works of great beauty, writes Ellie Dudley know we are told not to judge a book by its cover. I’m well aware that the cliche is a cliche for a reason. But readers could easily make an exception for the three contemporary artworks that encase Tony Birch’s three new books.' (Introduction)

Australia in Three Books Billy Griffiths , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 78 no. 2 2019; (p. 24-27)

— Review of Ghost River Tony Birch , 2015 single work novel
Recovering a Narrative of Place - Stories in the Time of Climate Change Tony Birch , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 27 April 2018; Griffith Review , no. 60 2018; (p. 207-214)

'Five years ago, I was invited to participate in a global project on climate change. The aim was to engage 15-year-old students with the challenges posed by climate change and the increase of extreme weather events. The students would be asked to respond to the challenge through creativity, initially through an introduction to the science underpinning climate change. In the following 18 months, I visited schools in Ireland, England, Germany and Poland, and also worked with a group of students at Footscray City College in Melbourne. The project would culminate in an environmental youth summit at the International Literature Festival Berlin.' (Introduction)

‘You’ll Be Great, but Only If You Work Your Arse off.’ An Interview with Tony Birch Adelle Sefton-Rowston (interviewer), 2017 single work interview
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , March 2017;
'Dr Tony Birch was a guest presenter at the Darwin Writers Festival in 2016 and, along with facilitating a writing workshop for the NT Writers’ Centre, he agreed to this interview before returning to Melbourne, where he is a research fellow at Victoria University. If you’re not familiar with Birch’s work, he has published a number of books, including Shadowboxing (2006), Blood (2011) and a recent book of poetry, Broken Teeth (2016). His novel Ghost River (2015) won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous writing in 2016, and tells of a growing connection between two boys and a river, that does not solely belong to their experiences. Birch’s story takes (back) place in a setting inspired by Dight Falls in Collingwood, Victoria. The river directs themes of belonging to place beyond racial and experiential parameters.' (Introduction)
NSW Premier's Literary Awards Shortlist Indigenous and Climate Change Stories Linda Morris , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 14 April 2016;
'Tony Birch has been many times a bridesmaid, but there is one literary prize he wouldn't mind losing – the new standalone prize for indigenous writers announced as part of the 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards' shortlist on Thursday. ...'
Adjusting to the Unfamiliar Geordie Williamson , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 17-18 October 2015; (p. 18)

— Review of Ghost River Tony Birch , 2015 single work novel
A River Runs with Bitumen and Bastardry Anson Cameron , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 31 October - 1 November 2015; (p. 24-25) The Age , 31 October 2015; (p. 24)

— Review of Ghost River Tony Birch , 2015 single work novel
Potent Waters Luke Horton , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 377 2015; (p. 22)

— Review of Ghost River Tony Birch , 2015 single work novel
Tony Birch, Ghost River DL , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 24 October 2015;

— Review of Ghost River Tony Birch , 2015 single work novel
Growing up in Murky Water Eric-Alain Parker , 2016 single work essay
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 30 no. 1 2016; (p. 228-230)

— Review of Ghost River Tony Birch , 2015 single work novel

'There are many books that kindle nostalgia for the pleasures of childhood, but there is also the rare book that does the same for its calamities. Tony Birch’s Ghost River is a novel that paints young lives, then dangles them perilously close to booze, neglect, corrupt police, a Greek gangster, and the silt- and body-clogged river that runs through their backyards. The pages are lean and read quickly, like some cinematic current or the fleeting attention spans of the young, and though you do not have to be young or old or even Australian to enjoy the meanders of Birch’s plot, you must have immense reserves of your own imagination to endure its drying up in the final stretches of the book. Luckily for Birch, Ghost River builds enough momentum through its little protagonists’ immense charms to leave readers focused on them and not the lulls in narrative weight. ' (Introduction)

Miles Franklin Award Longlist 2016 : Five Out of Nine Nominees Are Women Steph Harmon , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 April 2016;
Includes The 2016 Miles Franklin longlist
NSW Premier's Literary Awards Shortlist Indigenous and Climate Change Stories Linda Morris , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 14 April 2016;
'Tony Birch has been many times a bridesmaid, but there is one literary prize he wouldn't mind losing – the new standalone prize for indigenous writers announced as part of the 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards' shortlist on Thursday. ...'
Birch Takes Out Literary Award 2016 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 21 September no. 635 2016; (p. 15)
'Melbourne author Tony Birch has won the ... Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous writing for his novel Ghost River. ...'
Healing, Catharsis and Reconciliation : Water as Metaphor in Ghost River Adelle Sefton-Rowston , 2016 single work criticism
— Appears in: Le Simplegadi , no. 16 2016; (p. 86-94)

This article explores the possibility of intercultural catharsis through literature, metaphorical connections and representations of place in Tony Birch’s Ghost River (2015). Water, rain and essentially the river, symbolise the building of a nation and the repair of Indigenous and non-Indigenous race relations. Aristotle’s theory of catharsis is deconstructed and built upon using Indigenous philosophies and intercultural dialogue to explore ideas about relationship building as a spiritual journey connected to the textual directions of the landscape.

Full Text PDF

‘You’ll Be Great, but Only If You Work Your Arse off.’ An Interview with Tony Birch Adelle Sefton-Rowston (interviewer), 2017 single work interview
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , March 2017;
'Dr Tony Birch was a guest presenter at the Darwin Writers Festival in 2016 and, along with facilitating a writing workshop for the NT Writers’ Centre, he agreed to this interview before returning to Melbourne, where he is a research fellow at Victoria University. If you’re not familiar with Birch’s work, he has published a number of books, including Shadowboxing (2006), Blood (2011) and a recent book of poetry, Broken Teeth (2016). His novel Ghost River (2015) won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous writing in 2016, and tells of a growing connection between two boys and a river, that does not solely belong to their experiences. Birch’s story takes (back) place in a setting inspired by Dight Falls in Collingwood, Victoria. The river directs themes of belonging to place beyond racial and experiential parameters.' (Introduction)
Last amended 20 Oct 2021 13:44:19
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