AustLit

'On set in a replica village, the team share what a historian thought of their ‘silly’ take on a surprisingly egalitarian time in history' 

'It took hitchhiking to Darwin and a job on a fishing trawler to transform Kathryn Heyman.'

'Veronica Gorrie joined the force to ‘break the cycle of fear’ she grew up with. By the time she left, she was carrying additional burdens.' 

'When Unjoo Moon visits Helen Reddy, they always gravitate towards the record player Moon bought the singer. Reddy, who’s been diagnosed with dementia, now lives in a Los Angeles nursing home for professional entertainers. Moon and Reddy play their favourite songs, as well as Reddy’s own albums. “And we sing to them,” Moon says. “Her with her still-incredible voice and me with my karaoke voice.”' (Introduction)

'With agile humour and moments of tenderness, The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie evokes the Canadian winter and the trauma of living with a manipulative parent. The second in Guardian Australia’s literary highlights series for 2019.'(Introduction)

'In Even Less Than Zero by Jenny Valentish the satirical integration of the Martian conquest it seems is complete as we meet a third generation Martian-Australian named Kali [making] a living by starring in adult movies. Tentacle erotica is all the rage and Kali has embraced the hedonistic lifestyle of the LA porn industry because... well, that's what humans like watching Martians do.'

Source: Foreword.
 

'The Melbourne comic discusses the foster mother who ‘broke’ him, his complex PTSD diagnosis, and how he found solace in drugs, comedy and writing his memoir.'  (Article summary)

'In her first nonfiction book, Mary K Pershall examines the complex mental and institutional issues that led to the ‘unimaginable horror’ of her child taking another’s life.'  (Introduction)

'In her show Nanette, the Australian standup speaks out about homophobic and sexual violence – the set is now a Netflix sensation. She opens up about shame, rage, her autism diagnosis and the meaning of Louis CK.' (Publication abstract)

Jimmy Barnes confronts his demons: 'For 40 years, I was drinking myself to death'

'Journalist Jenny Valentish investigates the female experience of drugs and alcohol, using her own story to light the way. Her travels around Australia take her to treatment facilities and AA groups. Mining the expertise of leading researchers, she explores the early predictors of addiction, such as childhood trauma and temperament, and teenage impulsivity. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains why other self-destructive behaviours - such as eating disorders, compulsive buying and high-risk sex - are interchangeable with problematic substance use. Valentish follows the pathways that women, in particular, take into addiction - and out again. Woman of Substances is an insightful, rigorous and brutally honest read.' (Publication Summary)

''I didn't know it yet, but one day my Wikipedia entry would begin: 'Nina Dall is one half of Sydney pop-punk band The Dolls. Since forming the group as a sixteen-year- old with her cousin Rose Dall under the guidance of veteran producer John Villiers, she has written and recorded one gold album, It's Not All Ponies and Unicorns (2012), and one platinum album, Tender Hooks (2014), and has taken home six ARIA awards.' There will be more photographs of me in existence than the prime minister, the leader of the opposition and any visiting dignitaries put together. I will only stay in suburbs with a Park Hyatt in them.'

'Twenty-one year old Nina Dall has seen it all, including her own meteoric rise to fame and its inevitable aftermath. She created teen band The Dolls to escape suburban hell. Now she needs to prove she's not a one-hit wonder and convince veteran producer John Villiers to be her own personal svengali. But he's got his own problems.

'Rose Dall craves adoration, and through The Dolls, she gets it. But with the band's every move coming under media scrutiny and cousin Nina going off the rails, she's pushed to breaking point. Can The Dolls survive each other?

'Alannah Dall had a pop career in the 1980s before disappearing from public view. She's resurfaced to steer her nieces away from the same scandals, but with her own comeback on the cards, The Dolls start to become a threat.

'A stunning, mesmerising ride into the heart of love, fame and rock'n'roll. You have to risk everything to get to the top - and even more to stay there. But how do you get back what's been lost along the way? Cherry Bomb is a brilliant debut novel that will never let you go.' (Publication summary)