Fracas Over Quarterly Essay Editorship
Peter Craven has been sacked as editor of Quarterly Essay after a dispute with the publisher, Morry Schwartz. Craven was unhappy with a plan to publish the journal's next issue under the joint authorship of Robert Manne and Manne's researcher, David Corlett, believing that Manne alone should bear the responsibility. Craven had been unaware of the proposed arrangement until the manuscript bearing the two names arrived. 'On the one hand, you are alarmed because you can see this runs the risk of dissipating the effect of the essay. On the other, you're ropeable because your publisher - exceeding his brief - approved this without consulting you, as he was strictly obliged to do', Craven said (The Age, 19 February 2004). Schwartz claims differences of opinion between himself and Craven have been developing with Schwartz wanting a uniquely Australian flavour for the journal while Craven favoured a more international approach.

The dispute cast doubt over the future of Craven's other roles within Schwartz's Black Inc. publishing company. In 2000, Craven launched 'The Best of' anthologies with The Best Australian Essays 2000. Since that time he has added annual versions of The Best Australian Stories (2001, 2002 and 2003) and, most recently, The Best Australian Poems 2003. While Schwartz said that Craven would be welcome to continue editing the titles, Craven indicated that this would be impossible. In the light of Craven's decision, Schwartz offered the editorship of The Best Australian Stories to Frank Moorhouse. Moorhouse plans to look 'in strange places' for contributions. 'I'll be looking at the net, I'll look in other magazines and not necessarily literary ones - sporting ones, surfing ones - and I'll look at experimental fiction. I see Best Australian Stories as part of the fightback of the short story and I'll be fishing in very different water.' (The Age, 28 February 2004)

Schwartz is continuing talks with potential editors for 'The Best of' books of essays and poems.

Contributions to Literature Recognised in Australia Day Honours
Unlike January 2003, when no Australians were recognised for their contribution to literature, the 2004 Australia Day list honoured:

• Peter Porter (for service to literature as a poet, reviewer, broadcaster and essayist)
• Elizabeth Webby (for service to the study, teaching and promotion of Australian literature, for support to Australian authors, and for fostering links between the academic and general reading communities)
• W. H. Wilde (for service to Australian literature as an author, editor, scholar and educator)

and

• Barbara Ker Wilson (for service to literature as an editor and author, and as a mentor to emerging writers)
• John Hay, one of AustLit's General Editors and a General Editor of The Bibliography of Australian Literature : A-E (for service to advancing higher education in Australia including contributions to research and innovation policies and funding, and at the University of Queensland through significant development of academic and administrative structures)

Professor Hay received the Companion of the Order of Australia, Peter Porter received the Medal of the Order of Australia and the other three recipients were made Members of the Order of Australia.

Books Alive Tempters Revealed
Arts Minister, Rod Kemp, has announced this year's selections for the federal government's Books Alive promotion. The six titles for 2004 are:

• White Gardenia by Belinda Alexandra
• Selby the Wonder Dog by Duncan Ball
• The Shark Net by Robert Drewe
• Shiver by Nikki Gemmell
• Au Revoir by Mary Moody

and

• Blacktown by Shane Weaver

Booksellers expect the selection of Blacktown to be the most controversial due to its use of strong language. Weaver's autobiography tells his story of growing up in Sydney's western suburbs and his encounters with child abuse, alcoholism and class prejudice.

Running in conjunction with the main promotion is an opportunity to purchase two Gabrielle Lord crime thrillers from discount department stores in a 'buy one get one free' deal. (Booksellers were concerned that in 2003 some of these stores broke with convention and allowed customers to purchase a nominated title for the promotional price of $5.00 without buying another full-priced book in tandem.) Lord's as yet unpublished Spiking the Girl will be sold along with her 2002 novel, Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing. Both novels feature Private Investigator Gemma Lincoln.

Further details about the books and the 2004 promotion can be found on the Books Alive website.

Broome Teenager Wins ASA Mentorship
Indigenous writer, Mark Coles Smith has become the youngest person to be awarded an Australian Society of Authors (ASA) mentorship. Broome-based Coles Smith offered the first book he had written in a proposed trilogy to Magabala Books for consideration. In turn, Magabala encouraged Coles Smith to apply for an Indigenous Mentorship. The teenager was one of five recipients and will be mentored by young adult fiction writer Gary Crew.

Applications forms for the 2004-2005 Mentorship Program will be available in June. For additional information on the Program, see the ASA website.

O'Connor Joins Australian Voices in Poetry Anthology
Mark O'Connor, Australia's official poet for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, has joined sixteen other Australians in John Leonard's latest edition of Seven Centuries of Poetry in English. O'Connor's 1990 poem, 'Dot Paintings' has been included alongside representative works of eminent Australian poets such as Chris Wallace-Crabbe, A. D. Hope, Gwen Harwood and Kenneth Slessor. The Australian with the highest representation in the collection is Les Murray with six poems.

No Writers Among New National Treasures
The National Trust has announced the election of new 'treasures' to join Australia's Living National Treasures list. Since the first compilation of the list in 1997, fifteen of the revered members have died, including authors Morris West and Judith Wright. Although writers made up 10% of the original list no additional writers have been elected in the recent round of voting. (Living writers from the original 1997 list include Elizabeth Jolley, Thomas Keneally, David Malouf, Colleen McCullough and David Williamson.)

The new treasures are drawn from the areas of entertainment, executive government, the community (workers within Australia and overseas), science and sport. The Trust will confer recognition at a dinner at Sydney Town Hall on 6 April.

AustLit Welcomes New Team Members
Well-known poet and critic, Dr Ouyang Yu has joined the AustLit team at Deakin University for a brief period this year to work with William Dolley and Clara Ichlov on the Australian Multicultural Writers subset. Dr Yu's particular focus will be the works of Chinese Australian writers. (For news of Dr Yu's success at the South Australian Festival Awards see the Recent Literary Awards and Shortlists section below.)

AustLit also welcomes Ben Myers who is assisting Dr Cheryl Taylor at James Cook University with the Writers of Tropical Queensland bibliography, a research project to outline the lives and literary activities of Australian writers who lived north of the Tropic of Capricorn.

Australians in Clean Sweep of Commonwealth Writers Prize Regional Awards
Australian writers Michelle De Krester and Nada Awar Jarrar have taken out the South Pacific and South East Region awards in the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize, both writing books with an international flavour. De Krester's second novel, The Hamilton Case, is set during the 1930s and explores Ceylon's colonial legacy. According to the Commonwealth Foundation 'The promise shown by de Kretser with her first novel, The Rose Grower, has been confirmed with her stunning second book and the judges believe she will go on to become one of Australia's leading contemporary writers with her distinctive and elegant style.' De Krester won the award for the Best Book category.

In the Best First Book section, Nada Awar Jarrar won the award with her portrayal of Lebanese women dislocated by war in Somewhere, Home. The judges described Jarrar's debut novel as 'a most moving story that employs prose of exquisite precision and grace.'

Australians dominated both categories of this year's regional award. All six finalists for the Best First Book were by Australian writers and Australians authored six of the eight finalists for Best Book. (An AustLit Advanced Search on 'Commonwealth Writers Prize' [Work Awards Won/Placed] + '2004' [Work Award Year] will reveal the full list of Australian finalists.) Speaking just prior to the final judging Graham Beattie, chair of the panel for the South Pacific and South East Region said, 'the future of Australian fiction is assured if the entries in the Best First Book category of the Commonwealth Writers Prize are any guide. All of the shortlisted titles would stand proud in any literary competition...'

Winners from the other three regions - Africa, Eurasia and the Caribbean/Canada - will join De Krester and Jarrar in Melbourne for a four-day literary programme hosted by the State Library of Victoria. The programme will run in conjunction with the Library's 'Wordfest' as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The final judging will take place from 8-15 May and the overall prizes will be presented at an awards dinner on 15 May.

Further details of this year's regional finalists can be found on the Commonwealth Writers Prize website.

Festival Awards Announced During Adelaide Writers' Week
Dorothy Porter has won the Premier's Award in the Festival Awards for Literature, announced on 29 February by South Australian Premier, Mike Rann. Porter, whose Wild Surmise also won the John Bray Award for Poetry, becomes the first poet to win the overall prize. The Premier stated that Porter's win was 'great proof of how inspiring poetry remains in the face of both established and popular forms of literature, as well as emerging genres like multimedia.' The Premier also announced $15,000 fellowships for two South Australian writers. Marguerite Hann-Syme has received the Carclew Fellowship and Kirsty Brooks is the recipient of the Barbara Hanrahan Fellowship.

This year's Festival Awards were fiercely contested with over 650 entries submitted for the nine categories. Other winners include:

• Ursula Dubosarsky for Abyssinia (Children's Literature Award)
• Kate Jennings for Moral Hazard (Dymocks Booksellers Award for Fiction)
• Sean Riley for Beautiful Words: A Trilogy (Jill Blewett Playwright's Award)

and

• Ouyang Yu for The Eastern Slope Chronicle (Award for Innovation)

National Biography Award Winner
Poet and historian Barry Hill has won the National Award for Biography, a biennial award for the best biography or autobiography written by an Australian. Hill's Broken Song : T. G. H. Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession was described by the judges as 'a major work of the culture of Australia: biographical, historical and iconic.' Other nominees for this year's award were:

• James Stirling : Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia by Pamela Statham-Drew
• The Life of Matthew Flinders by Miriam Estensen
• Mussolini by Richard Bosworth
• Out of Darkness : A Memoir by Zoltan Torey

and

• Secrets and Spies : The Harbin Files by Mara Moustafine

Accessing Australian Literature on the Airwaves
In an era dominated by computer-based technologies employing explosive imagery to capture shortened attention spans, it's easy to forget that radio is still alive and well. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) maintains a strong commitment to literature on its Radio National network.

The following selection lists some of the programmes with an Australian literature focus:

• Book Reading (Monday to Friday at 2.00pm, repeated at 9.45pm)
  'presents the best of classic and contemporary fiction by Australian and world writers, read by some of Australia's finest actors. It as been broadcast on ABC Radio since 1948.' The next new reading, beginning on 15 March, will be Antigone Kefala's collection of three novellas, Summer Visit.
• First Person (Monday to Friday at 10.45am)
  presents readings of autobiographical writing. The March offering is Charmian Clift's Mermaid Singing and Peel Me a Lotus, presented together as Travels in Greece.
• Australia Talks Books (Last Friday of each month at 6.00pm, 3.00pm in Western Australia)
  'allows listeners across the nation to contribute to in-depth and open analysis of books, ideas and writing, both on radio and online. The March book discussion will focus on Sue Woolfe's The Secret Cure, and will be followed by Don Watson's Death Sentence in April.
• Books and Writing (Sunday at 1.00pm, repeated Tuesday at 2.30pm)
  is touted as 'the foremost national literary program broadcast throughout Australia. It features in-depth discussions focusing on books, ideas and writing'. Ramona Koval has presented the programme since 1994. Koval has an established career as an interviewer and published her first novel, Samovar in 1996.
• PoeticA (Saturday at 3.00pm)
  'is dedicated to the performance of poetry and ranges freely among contemporary Australian and overseas work as well as drawing on ancient sources and from bi-lingual programs, live readings, studio-based poetry features and on-location recordings'. Mike Ladd, a prolific poet himself, presents PoeticA and has recently returned from the UK where he was travelling on a Churchill Fellowship to study poetry and radio production. So far in 2004 PoeticA has devoted programmes to the poets of the Byron Bay-Lismore area, the poetry of Margaret Scott and the Queensland Poetry Festival.

Upcoming programmes will showcase the poetry of David Malouf (20 March), John Mateer (3 April) and Michael Leunig (17 April). A special presentation on the ANZAC weekend will feature Jim Hamilton's anthology of World War I poetry, From Gaza to Gallipoli.

Radio National can be heard on the following frequencies in capital cities:
Adelaide 729AM | Brisbane 792AM | Canberra 846AM I Darwin 657AM | Hobart 585AM I Melbourne 621AM | Perth 810AM | Sydney 576AM
For over 200 regional frequencies click on the ABC's map.
Many programmes are also available for listening via audio streaming.

Franklin Diaries Published
With publication timed to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Franklin's death, Paul Brunton, senior curator at the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, has edited a volume titled The Diaries of Miles Franklin. In a move unusual for writers of her generation, Franklin bequeathed her diaries to the Mitchell Library where they are now housed as part of the Manuscripts Collection. Brunton carefully read 'volume after volume, written in ink, in a neat if slightly spidery hand, with little correction...' At the end of the process, he reflected that 'To read her diary is to come to know Franklin as a friend, in all her complexity. She is vulnerable and at the same time indomitable, lonely yet sociable, outspoken and also sensitive.' (The Sydney Morning Herald 'Miles Franklin Special Promotion', 28-29 February 2004)

In conjunction with the launch of the book, the State Library of New South Wales has mounted an exhibition with the theme, Miles Franklin: A Brilliant Career? The exhibition displays letters, literary papers, photographs and personal belongings along with Franklin's diaries. The memorabilia provides an insight into 'Franklin's little-known career overseas, including her pioneering work with the Women's Trade Union League in Chicago from 1908 to 1915 and as a cook in Macedonia during World War I.'

The exhibition runs at the State Library from 1 March to 20 June and will then tour regional cities across five states. The exhibition closes in July 2005 with a final stop at the National Library of Australia, Canberra.

UQP Re-issues Bernard Smith Classic
The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has re-released Bernard Smith's 1984 autobiography, The Boy Adeodatus : The Portrait of a Lucky Young Bastard. UQP commends the work as 'highly acclaimed by critics, this extraordinary and moving autobiography recreates vividly the atmosphere of a Sydney suburb around World War I, and subtly explores the changing times and values of [Smith's] childhood and youth.'

Last issued by Oxford University Press (OUP) in 1990, Smith's volume was critically examined by Rosamund Dalziell in her 1999 publication, Shameful Autobiographies : Shame in Contemporary Australian Autobiographies and Culture. Dalziell's work also looked at autobiographical versions of other complex childhoods such as Robert Dessaix's A Mother's Disgrace and Ruby Langford Ginibi's Don't Take Your Love to Town.

Keneally Helps Launch New Journal
Thomas Keneally is one of the first contributors to the new short story magazine, Splatter. The journal, which promises stories by 'seasoned veterans and exciting newcomers' contains 10 pieces of short fiction in a 64-page format. The first issue, released on 14 February, also includes political comment from Richard Neville and some poetry.

Call for Papers from North America
The International Fiction Review (IFR), a 'scholarly periodical devoted to international fiction; founded by Dr. Saad Elkhadem in 1974, and published by the International Fiction Association', is extending an invitation to Australian scholars to contribute to the journal.

'The editor invites essays on contemporary fiction by international writers, new and established, including minority writers. Equally welcome are essays on literary and narrative theory, comparative studies of world fiction, and surveys of contemporary national literatures or writers. Contributors are invited to explore all narrative forms in any interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and critical context. Particularly welcome are essays and reviews of Australian literature and writers.'

Submissions, or requests for further information, may be sent to IFR's editor, Christoph Lorey via e-mail: ifr@unb.ca or at the following address:
University of New Brunswick
Department of Culture and Language Studies
Fredericton, N.B. Canada E3B 5A3
Phone: (506) 453 4636; Fax: (506) 447-3166

2004 Vogel Award
Young writers are being invited to submit unpublished manuscripts for The Australian / Vogel Literary Award. Entries of less than 100,000 words are eligible in the two areas of fiction, or Australian history or biography. Last year was the first occasion on which the award went to a work of non-fiction. The 2003 prize was won jointly by Nick Angel for his novel Drown them in the Sea and Ruth Balint for Troubled Waters, an examination of the lives of West Timorese fishermen imprisoned in Broome.

Application forms and further details are available from Allen & Unwin. Entries close on 31 May and the winner will be announced in September.

Inaugural John Iremonger Award
Allen & Unwin has announced a new award in memory of the late John Iremonger. The award, for Writing on Public Issues, is in keeping with Iremonger's distinguished career and will recognise 'works of political, social and cultural commentary with contemporary relevance'. The award includes $10,000 in prize money and guaranteed publication, and will be judged by David Marr and Anne Manne.

Conditions of entry and an entry form are available from the Allen & Unwin website. Entries close on 30 July 2004.

'Confessional Poet' with a Generous Nature
Bruce Beaver has died in Sydney after a long struggle with kidney disease. Born in Manly in 1928 and returning to live there from 1963 onwards, Beaver spent some nomadic years in early adulthood on the south coast of New South Wales and then in the north of the state before living on Norfolk Island and in New Zealand. It was in New Zealand that he met his wife, Brenda whose name appears often in Beaver's dedications.

Prior to his sojourn away from Sydney, Beaver experienced his first manic depressive episodes and was subjected to electric shock treatment. He recounts the trauma of this time in his autobiographical work As It Was.... Although it was to prove an ongoing illness, John Tranter maintains that Beaver never wore his condition 'like a badge of honour' [...] He knew his illness allowed him - perhaps forced him - to experience life more intensely, and he simply put up with it.' (The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 February 2004)

Beaver published over a dozen books of poetry between 1961 and 1999. (One further collection is being prepared for publication.) The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature (2nd ed., 1994) declares Beaver to be 'one of Australia's most important poets'. The entry on Beaver further describes him as 'An original and idiosyncratic writer, a fine exponent of the prose-poetry style form and one of the earliest Australian poets to explore the possibilities of confessional poetry of the life studies genre...'

Beaver established an abiding friendship with Grace Perry. Many of his early poems appeared in Perry's Poetry Australia journal and her South Head Press published most of Beaver's poetry collections through the 1960s and 1970s. Beaver is also remembered for his generous and supportive friendships with younger poets and for his influence on the New Australian Poetry movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Beaver will be recognised posthumously by The University of Sydney in April when he will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Born Teacher, Literary Scholar, Nurturing Friend
After an extended period of ill health, Elizabeth Perkins has died in Townsville. Born in Brisbane, Perkins's life was spent mainly in Queensland where she taught at secondary and tertiary level. She developed a reputation as an astute and incisive scholar. Her career at James Cook University's English Department took her from the position of lecturer in 1970 to Associate Professor in 1985. Prior to her retirement in 1996, she had also served on a number of occasions as Acting Head of Department.

In addition to her teaching, Perkins maintained a strong commitment to her own research. Developing an interest initially awakened while a research assistant to Cecil Hadgraft, she undertook an extended study of the life and works of Charles Harpur. Spurred by her discoveries from nineteenth century newspapers in the Mitchell Library, Perkins furthered her study in a Masters thesis and later edited a virtually complete Harpur, The Poetical Works of Charles Harpur, for Angus & Robertson. Much later, Perkins received an ARC grant and prepared the extensive bibliography, The Poems of Charles Harpur in Manuscript in the Mitchell Library and in Publication in the Nineteenth Century : An Analytical Finding List for the Australian Scholarly Editions Centre.

Perkins had strong friendships with, and a great admiration for, some of Australia's foremost women writers. Included among her friends were Judith Wright, Alma De Groen, Dorothy Green, Thea Astley and Margaret Diesendorf. She also nurtured a new generation of scholars through her supervision of PhD students.

Perkins had a strong interest in drama - as a playwright, dramaturge and audience member. Her only published play is A Squeaking of Rats, but she wrote many others including musical works for children.

Pacita Alexander, in a tribute to Perkins on the occasion of her retirement, summed up the feelings of many who knew her - 'I have learnt to appreciate Elizabeth's skill as a critic, her tactful editing, scrupulous scholarship, and generous friendship.' (LiNQ, vol.26 no.2, October 1999, p.21)

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