AustLit

'In his 2006 thesis, “‘Staying Bush’ – A Study of Gay Men Living in Rural Areas”, author Edward Green described his subject as the “largely hidden and untold story of gay men living in rural areas”. That was a pivotal year for gay men living in the bush, with Australian television broadcasters platforming two of their stories. In the space of one 12-month period, this cohort went from “hidden and untold” to prime time. From as early as 1989, rural politician Bob Katter had been declaring that he would “walk to Bourke backwards if the poof population of North Queensland is any more than 0.001 per cent”. Analysing media and popular culture, this article explores the visibility and portrayal of rural gay men in Australia prior to and after 2006. In spite of Katter’s minuscule population estimates, the rural gay cohort continues to defy assumptions.' (Publication abstract)

'Jerilderie-born Rosalie Ham, author of The Dressmaker's Secret (out now from Picador) and the bestselling The Dressmaker, joins this month's Guardian Australia's Rural Network book club hosted by deputy rural editor, Michael Burge.

'It is 1953 and Melbourne society is looking forward to coronation season, the grand balls and celebrations for the young queen-to-be. Tilly Dunnage is, however, working for a pittance in a second-rate Collins Street salon. Her talents go unappreciated, and the madame is a bully and a cheat, but Tilly has a good reason to prefer anonymity. Meanwhile, Sergeant Farrat and the McSwiney clan have been searching for their resident dressmaker since she left Dungatar in flames. And they aren't the only ones. The inhabitants of the town are out for revenge (or at least someone to foot the bill for the new high street). So when Tilly's name starts to feature in the fashion pages, the jig is up. Along with Tilly's hopes of keeping her secrets hidden ...' (Introduction)

'James Brandt didn’t look back when he got away from his rural hometown as a teenager. Now he has returned to Kippen for the first time in twenty years because his cousin Tony has been found dead under the local bridge.

'The news that Tony has left him the entire family farm triggers James’s journalistic curiosity – and his anxiety – both of which cropped up during his turbulent journey to adulthood. But it is the unexpected homophobic attack he survives that draws James into a hunt for the reasons one lonely Kippen farm boy in every generation kills himself.

'Standing in the way is James’s father, the town’s recently retired top cop, who is not prepared to investigate crimes no-one reckons have taken place. James must use every newshound’s trick he ever learned in order to uncover the brutal truth.

'A coming-of-age story and crime thriller with a large and gentle heart.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'A collection of ten stories, variations on a theme: hiding from the truth.

'The matron who interprets her sexual desire as physical pain, obsessed with one of her nurses to the point of stalking.

'The father who has liaisons with men at public toilets, and the kid who works out he knows the bloke.

'The painter who is out but not too proud, not until she’s achieved something with her life, and the Auschwitz survivor she must care for in her day job.

'The mother who tries to find ‘the right girl’ for her son, only to come face-to-face with his male partner.

'The daughter who finds her gay uncle on Facebook and confronts her Christian father about his homophobia in one insightful email.

'The teenager who realises at Bible camp that he’s as gay as one of the teachers, and the girl who unwittingly pursues him.

'The artist who rents a room to his childhood friend, only to face the consequences of the secrets they tease out of one another.

'The country woman who is not sure if what she sees from her back step is real or not, and the grandson who comes out to her in a postcard.

'Captured at the crossroads of their lives, these people face choices between extraordinary heroism and cowardice.' (Publication summary)