Fremantle Press - News

Now Showing is coming soon

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Accomplished scriptwriter, director, Curtin academic and author Ron Elliott is set to launch his second Fremantle Press novel, Now Showing, on Tuesday 11 June at Crow Books in East Victoria Park.

Mr Elliott is no stranger to the limelight, having directed feature films, worked on a range of ABC programs and written for television shows including Home and Away and Ship to Shore.

Mr Elliott said he was delighted that Now Showing was about to be launched.

‘It is wonderful to finally have a hard copy of these stories to share with folks who have been asking,’ he said.

‘It’s a chance to have people who know me and who have shown an interest in my work to come together and celebrate with and on my behalf.

‘I see this launch as an occasion when friends and colleagues support my celebration of finishing.’

Mr Elliott described his new novel Now Showing as five novellas with five different takes on crime, movies, men and guns.

‘There is death and fire, a little love, and lots of driving,’ he said.

‘These stories are fun and scary and entertaining, so I hope the people who come to the launch will tolerate the speeches so they can get to the book.’

Now Showing is a compilation of scripts rewritten into novellas.

One of the scripts was first written for the Australian Film Commission 25 years ago while another was redrafted as a feature film script three years ago.

Mr Elliott said refashioning the material into prose had taken a lot of work even though the characters, events and themes were solid.

‘Twenty years in the making would not be a lie and years in the writing would also not be a lie,’ he said.

‘It has been a strange and wonderful journey refashioning these film stories into prose fiction.

‘They have changed and deepened and I have learned a tremendous amount about writing.’

Now Showing will be launched by the West Australian film critic Mark Naglazas at Crow Books at 6pm on Tuesday 11 June.

To RSVP contact admin@fremantlepress.com.au or call 9430 6331 by 7 June.

Now Showing will be available from all good bookstores and Fremantle Press.

Ten Tiny Things shortlisted for Wilderness Society Award

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Ten Tiny Things author Meg McKinlay was pleasantly surprised to be shortlisted for the Wilderness Society’s 2013 Environment Award for Children’s Literature, just one day after winning a Crystal Kite award.

Ms McKinlay said Ten Tiny Things engaged with environmental ideas throughout the narrative even though it was not about a specific environmental issue.

‘The messages in the story are about mindfulness and living slowly and the narrative that carries this message throughout the book is central to the awards ethos,’ she said.

‘Even though I didn’t set out to write a message book, the concerns I wrote about were personal concerns I had.

‘Ten Tiny Things is about people getting out of their cars and appreciating the wonderful world around them.’

Ms McKinlay said it was important for children to learn about caring for the environment as they were the future custodians.

‘It is essential that humans look after this place that we call home because if we don’t it might not be a very nice place to live in the future,’ she said.

Ms McKinlay said she would only have a short time to celebrate the announcement.

‘I am working on a strict deadline,’ she said.

‘But to celebrate I think I will step away from my desk for an hour and take the dog for a nice long walk through the bush.’

The Wilderness Society’s 2013 Environmental Award honours Australian children’s books that promote thinking about the environment in a caring and responsible way.

More information about the award is available here: http://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/shortlist-announced-for-childrens-literature-award/view

Ten Tiny Things is available in all good bookstores or online at fremantlepress.com.au

Fremantle Press wins back-to-back Crystal Kites

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Ten Tiny Things by Meg McKinlay and Kyle Hughes-Odgers became the second Fremantle Press book in consecutive years to win an international Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite Member Choice Award today.

Ten Tiny Things was one of 15 divisional winners chosen from the Society’s 70 regions worldwide.

Meg McKinlay said there was a wealth of highly esteemed, award-winning authors in the Australia / New Zealand division so it was a real honour to have the book acknowledged.

‘SCBWI is an organisation that has meant a lot to me over the years, both personally and professionally … it’s a really lovely thing to have my work awarded by this wonderful community,’ said McKinlay.

Kyle Hughes-Odgers, taking time out from preparing for a solo exhibition in Amsterdam, said he was surprised to be recognised by his peers for his first picture book.

‘As a child, illustrating a children’s book was a dream project so to be recognised by people in the industry on my first attempt is very humbling,’ said Hughes-Odgers.

Both McKinlay and Hughes-Odgers said Ten Tiny Things was a book whose time was now.

‘At its core, Ten Tiny Things is a book about living slowly, and I think that’s a very simple idea which has a powerful resonance at the moment,’ said McKinlay.

‘I also think Kyle’s illustrations are perfect for the book, and are utterly striking, really unlike anything else that’s around,’ said McKinlay.

The Crystal Kite Award is administered by the international Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is the only peer-assessed award in publishing for young readers. Members vote for the book they feel most represents excellence in children’s literature.

The Last Viking by Norman Jorgensen and James Foley won the 2012 Crystal Kite Award in the Australia / New Zealand division.

Ten Tiny Things and The Last Viking are available in all good bookstores and online at fremantlepress.com.au

For more information on the Crystal Kite Awards go to http://www.scbwi.org

Rainforest Country video

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Journey into the rainforest with this amazing video from Kaisa and Stanley Breeden. Rainforest Country is available now.

Regional writer nabs another longlisting

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Fremantle Press author Jacqueline Wright was left ‘gobsmacked’ for the second time in a fortnight today after being longlisted for the 2013 Dobbie Literary Award. This comes just days after scoring a gong on the Miles Franklin longlist.

Ms Wright said she was surprised by the latest announcement but honoured to be considered in the same league as writers like Gail Jones.

‘You always dream about getting this kind of response and you entertain the tiny little wish in the pit of your stomach, hoping it will come true, but it is always such a shock when it happens,’ she said.

Ms Wright said the last two weeks had been ‘pretty crazy’.

‘It seems like a long time since the Miles Franklin longlist was announced but really it has only been two weeks.’

‘I am gradually settling down from all the excitement,’ she said.

Ms Wright said being longlisted for both awards has provided her with the incentive to keep writing her next book.

‘There is always a lot of pressure around writing the second novel, especially for me because I spent so long on the first one,’ said Wright.

The Dobbie Literary Award recognises Australian women writers’ first published work with a prize of $5000.

The award was designed to encourage Australian women writers to improve and advance Australian literature for the benefit of the community.

The judges will announce the shortlist on Wednesday 5 June, with the winner being announced on the 24 July.

For more information go to http://www.perpetual.com.au/kibble/index.htm or tweet your comments @Perpetual_Ltd or #KibbleAwards.

Red Dirt Talking by Jacqueline Wright is available online and from all good bookstores.

Creepy & Maud shortlisted for national award

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0800

WA author Dianne Touchell is celebrating today after her debut novel Creepy & Maud made the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s prestigious shortlist.

Touchell said she was stunned to see her name alongside the likes of Neil Grant, Margo Lanagan, Doug MacLeod, Vikki Wakefield and Suzy Zail.

‘I saw that I was on the notables list and thought that was great but it never occurred to me that I could also then make the shortlist,’ said Touchell.

‘When I did see the shortlist, I actually had to grab one of my colleagues and bring her into my office to read it because I couldn’t believe it,’ she said.

Touchell, who attended a Children’s Book Council of WA book discussion group just two weeks ago, said her book’s strength was the way it divided readers.

‘Everyone in the book discussion group had such strong opinions about everything in the book – from the cat to the dog to the teacher even down to the casserole dish – the book seemed to stay with them a long time.’

‘I even had one lady say Creepy & Maud gave her a book hangover but in a good way!’ said Touchell.

Touchell said it was fabulous for WA authors to be included in any nationally renowned list but she would be very surprised if she won.

‘We’re a hell of a long way from the Eastern States, so it’s great to get recognition of any sort,’ said Touchell.

‘If I won the first thing I’d do is ring my son and my family and then I’d organise a big celebration,’ she said.

The winning books will be announced during Children’s Book Week on Friday 16 August 2013.

Creepy & Maud is available in all good bookstores. The reprint of Creepy & Maud will be released in late May 2013. Ebook versions can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon, Kobo and ebooks.com. Click here for more details.

Dianne Touchell is available for school and library visits.

Kwaymullina heads to China

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Ambelin Kwaymullina travelled to the Australian Writers’ Week in China where she was on hand for the launch of the simplified Chinese editions of her picture books; Crow and the Waterhole , The Two-Hearted Numbat , How Frogmouth Found Her Home and Caterpillar and Butterfly .

China! Four flights (there and back), two cities (Beijing and Tianjin), and ten days of talks, readings and workshops at schools, universities, libraries, and a bunch of other events. This is Australian Writers’ Week in China.

I knew before I went that China was a big place – but as a fact, not as an experience. I found myself pointing out that I was from Perth with embarrassing regularity – you don’t need to catch a train to get across the airport to your baggage in Perth! There’s no buildings this big in Perth! There’s no snow in Perth! And yes, it snowed. Having never seen the stuff before, I tore out of my hotel to pick some of it up, just to see what snow felt like, and instantly felt very Australian (cold, isn’t it?). I started to carry around a mental image of myself as a small kangaroo, taken out of a familiar world of eucalypts and creeks to stare wide-eyed and bewildered at the strange sights in the land of pandas, monkeys and tigers.

The theme for Australian Writers’ Week this year was children’s literature, which meant I was in China with a group of very talented Aussies involved in children’s and young adult writing and illustration – Meredith Badger, Ann Haddon, Ann James, Alison Lester, Pam Macintyre, Rob Newton, and Anne Spudvilas. We came from different backgrounds and different parts of Australia, and between us all we represented a massively diverse range of commentary, novels, picture books, and art. But what we had in common – aside from being Aussies out in the big wide world! – was a dedication to, and respect for, children and teenagers. I paraphrased author Mem Fox a few times in China, who once said that children deserve the best words – ‘the best words in the best places, and the best characters in the best stories.’ To that we would each have added that children (and teenagers) deserve the best art, the best education, the best opportunities, the absolute best we have to give. And then they deserve that we get up and try to do even better than that on the next book, picture, project …

As a writer I’m used to being able to communicate easily. Within hours of arriving I was wishing I knew even a little of the language; it was a frustrating and unnerving experience to be surrounded by words that I didn’t understand. I thought of my Aboriginal ancestors, herded into missions and reserves and talked at in a language not their own. I thought, too, of the refugees who flee in terror across vast distances into unfamiliar lands, and was humbled by the courage of people who daily deal with strange words, and worlds.

What stayed with me the most out of the whole trip was the universality of the young. I needed no translator to tell me when a child thought they’d said something especially clever or outrageous; when they were having a laugh at my expense; or when they were transfixed by a piece of artwork. And the bright inquisitiveness of teenagers and of university students, their hunger for knowledge – these things, too, did not need to be put into English to be communicated.

It seems to me that we have a wonderful diversity of cultures on this planet, and we have also something which connects us all – this next generation of bright eyes and bright minds. They surely deserve the best of us, the best earth that we can leave to them. I don’t think we’ve achieved that yet. I don’t think we’re even close.

Maybe it’s time to get up, and try again.

T.A.G. Hungerford runner-up scores book contract

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0800

City Beach resident Martin Chambers said he is ecstatic to receive a book contract from Fremantle Press after coming runner-up for the T.A.G. Hungerford award.

Mr Chambers’ thriller, How I became the Mr Big of People Smuggling, captured the attention of Fremantle Press publisher Georgia Richter who signed the author just before Easter.

Mr Chambers said the T.A.G. Hungerford competition was one of the few opportunities unpublished writers had to get noticed.

‘It is just fantastic and a real breakthrough to get my first contract,’ he said.

‘I was quietly confident in my manuscript and hopeful that it would do well.

‘But I have been confident entering competitions before and I haven’t done as well as I would have liked, so you just never know.’

Mr Chambers said he was really looking forward to working with the publishers at Fremantle Press.

‘Even though I had been working on this manuscript for two years I knew it wasn’t perfect when I submitted it,’ he said.

‘I am really looking forward to getting some feedback from the publishers and turning it into a polished piece.’

How I became the Mr Big of People Smuggling is about a young boy who leaves school to work on a station in the Northern Territory only to discover the station’s real business as a people smuggling racket.

Mr Chambers said the story all came together after a first-hand experience with people smuggling.

‘In 2011 when people smuggling was becoming a big issue I was sailing through parts of Indonesia and while in the capital of West Timor, Kupang, I was approached by people wanting to be smuggled into Australia.’

Mr Chambers said this experience along with motivation from his father inspired him to write the story.

‘My father was a friend of Tom Hungerford and he used to write with him a lot. He always said he would write a book but he never did. So when I sold my business and retired, I thought I should write a book,’ he said.

The T.A.G. Hungerford Award is presented biennially to a Western Australian writer who has not previously been published in book form. The 2012 T.A.G. Hungerford Award was presented with the support of the Friends and Family of the late Bill Warnock in partnership with writingWA, Fremantle Press, and West Australian Newspapers.

Winners receive a cash prize as well as publication of the winning manuscript with Fremantle Press.

Thank you Valentine's Camera House

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Valentine’s Camera House in Fremantle have kindly donated a Canon EOS M with an 18-55mm lens, a 22mm lens and a 90EX Speedlite to Fremantle Press. The new camera will be put to good use, capturing photos at book launches, festivals and lots of other events.

In her email Penny Valentine said she and her co-proprietor David were very familiar with Fremantle Press books.

‘The first WA published book David read when he arrived in Perth was A Fortunate Life, which became one of his favourite books of all time. We have gone on to read Sally Morgan, Liz Byrski, Kim Scott, Eoin Cameron and more,’ said Penny.

Fremantle Press offer a huge thank you to David and Penny Valentine for their generosity.

Regional writer makes Miles Franklin longlist

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Fremantle Press author Jacqueline Wright is celebrating today after her novel Red Dirt Talking was longlisted for the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award.

The Broome writer said she was totally gobsmacked when her publisher phoned to deliver the news.

‘They were on the other end of the phone waiting quietly for me to scream or show some form of excitement,’ she said.

‘But instead I dropped into the foetal position and started bawling my eyes out.

‘I walked back into work with mascara down my face, all hot and sweaty from the 37 degree heat and my colleagues thought something terrible happened to me.’

Ms Wright, who won the 2010 T.A.G. Hungerford Award, said being longlisted was unbelievable and that the achievement had restored her confidence as a writer.

‘Being a writer is a lonely and isolated business, especially when you’re a regional writer,’ she said.

‘When you don’t have access to the writing world and when you can’t regularly attend festivals, it can really affect your confidence.

‘When I looked at last year’s longlist there were some really polished, exceptionally talented writers in the mix and to even be considered in the same league as them is a dream come true.’

Ms Wright hoped being longlisted for the Miles Franklin would help WA literature be taken more seriously.

‘… it’s nice for a regional WA writer to be recognised by a competition like this and be given a voice,’ she said.

Ms Wright said she would be both excited and apprehensive to hear the shortlist announced but wanted to enjoy this achievement first.

‘I am quite happy to sit in this amazing bubble for a month revelling before the shortlist is announced.’

‘I think I will go home, sit on the front verandah and listen to the green tree frogs with a nice beverage in hand.’

The judges will announce the shortlist on 30 April at the State Library of NSW. To help celebrate the longlist novels, the Trust Company, as trustee of the Miles Franklin Literary Award, has launched the 2013 Miles of Reading Challenge. Incorporating book reviews and interactive online forums, the Challenge encourages Australians to read at least one book from the Miles Franklin longlist.

For more information go to www.milesfranklin.com.au/news or tweet your comments @_milesfranklin.

Red Dirt Talking by Jacqueline Wright is available online and from all good bookstores.

R.I.P. Emma Ciccotosto

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Fremantle Press is sorry to announce that Emma Ciccotosto passed away last week. Sales, Distribution and Foreign Rights Manager Clive Newman remembers her fondly;

‘Her autobiography was one of our early successes. She told it in Italian to Michal Bosworth, who she met on a bus, and we published it as Emma: a translated life. We later published it as a new edition, Emma, a recipe for life , which included her favourite recipes (like real tomato sauce). The book was adapted for hugely successful stage seasons by Deckchair Theatre. The production included cooking on stage to feed the audience at interval and music by the Italian choir, the ‘Joys of the Women’. Emma was a member of the choir, so got to sing in her own story.’

‘I used to stop by Emma’s house on the way home from work sometimes, mostly to pay her royalties. My reward was home-cooked biscuits and a recipe or two.’

Fremantle Press would like to pass on their condolences to Emma’s friends and family.

Susan Swingler at Bath Festival

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Ever thought about attending an international festival? Our well-travelled creatives will give you the inside scoop, starting with Susan Swingler, author of The House of Fiction.

Bath is a tourist hot spot in the south west of England that teems with visitors at all times of the year. They crowd the narrow lanes around the sixteenth-century abbey and the wide thoroughfares lined with elegant Regency terraces and crescents – all built from honey coloured Bath stone. It’s a city that appears to be steeped in the past. Roman centurions in togas or Victorian ladies carrying parasols might be glimpsed around a corner. A carriage and horses transporting suitably attired coachmen could clatter by while musicians busk and jugglers entertain the crowds queuing for the Roman Baths or the Pump Rooms (if the tepid water tastes nasty it must be good for you). And Jane Austen is everywhere – it’s tempting to imagine her characters dancing in the Assembly Rooms, strolling through Sydney Gardens, seeing and being seen as they perform the social rites of the season.

It’s not all history, though. There’s also a strong and vibrant contemporary cultural life going on behind the grand facades of the Holburne Museum, the Guildhall and the beautiful eighteenth-century Theatre Royal, as well as in more modern venues of Bath’s libraries and cafes. The city provides a focus for festivals – music, cinema, children’s literature – and in March it’s the Literature Festival.

This year there were about 200 speakers ranging from Hilary Mantel on Bring up the Bodies to JK Rowling on her first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy, from John Batchelor on a new biography of Tennyson to ballerina Darcey Bussell; there’s poetry, song and performance and new writers as well as the more established names.

I’m a regular visitor to the Literature Festival, but this year I was invited to speak at the Guildhall about my book, The House of Fiction. While Elizabeth Jolley needs no introduction in Australia, she is no longer widely known in the UK. I wondered if anyone would turn up for my event! As it was the room was packed and the session went very well – people were fascinated by the story and asked penetrating questions. In addition to the larger events that happen in the city, the Festival organises a programme (Festival on Tour) in venues out of town that are free. My second event was an informal ‘meet the author’ session held in a branch library in the small ex-mining town of Radstock, in Somerset. Here the audience was relatively tiny, but the event was very enjoyable and we had a good discussion.

As well as the big names (I was able to get to see PD James and Kate Mosse), there were many other interesting authors’ events. I learned about Samora Machel, Mozambique’s first president, from Sarah LeFanu, the lives of Daphne du Maurier and her sisters from Jane Dunn and went to a fascinating talk about Cezanne by his biographer Alex Danchev.

While sales of digital books proliferate worldwide and no doubt amongst the population of Bath, the city still has several excellent independent bookshops as well as the more ubiquitous chains. Mr. B’s Emporium of Reading Delights is the Festival bookseller and they made sure they had copies of my book (not yet available generally in the UK) on hand.

Painting for Jamie Oliver

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Ten Tiny Things illustrator Kyle Hughes-Odgers gives us the lowdown on his commission to paint an artwork for Jamie Oliver’s new Perth restaurant.

How did you get the job?
Jamie Oliver sent a tweet out calling for interest in painting new works for his Perth restaurant. I sent in a few concepts of what I thought would work and what I wanted to paint, along with videos and images of past projects. Then about a week later I received an email from the London design office saying I had been selected.

That was quick! What are you going to paint?
The brief is to paint two artworks, 2m x 2.6m on board, which sit 6m apart. The concept they are interested in is a symmetrical figurative work across both panels, which will help create balance and connect them across such a wide space in the middle. Things will be adjusted when I go on site and see the location. Hopefully there will be some room to paint other scattered works in surprising locations in the restaurant!

What was your reaction when you found out?
I was excited! I love working on varied projects and mediums, it’s a great opportunity

Want to learn more? Check out Jamie’s Italian and Kyle Hughes-Odgers

The Light Horse is coming to Perth, Albany and Singapore!

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Light Horse Boy by Dianne Wolfer and Brian Simmonds will be launched by His Excellency Malcolm McCusker, Governor of Western Australia, in Perth followed by launches in Albany and Singapore.

Wolfer said she was thrilled to be launching her long-awaited companion volume to Lighthouse Girl in three different locales – the State Library of Western Australia, the Albany Town Hall and the National Library Building in Singapore.

‘Albany is my home town so that’s important to me, and when your book depends on research, places like the Albany Library Historical Collection and the State Library of Western Australia become like a second home,’ said Wolfer.

Light Horse Boy is a fictitious story based on historical events of WW1. ‘Jim’ enlists in the Australian Light Horse Regiment in 1914 and sails away to war with his best mate, Charlie – an overlapping character from Lighthouse Girl. Using a mix of photographs, illustrations, narrative and letters, the story follows Jim from Egypt to Gallipoli and through the Middle Eastern campaign as a soldier, ambulance bearer and farrier.

Wolfer said the Western Australian events were attracting strong community support from many different organisations and schools.

‘In Albany, Peter Aspinall, the RSL’s Great Southern Representative, has agreed to launch the book, the 10th Light Horse is bringing a fully kitted out horse to the village green, Mt Barker Primary have created an artwork display and children from Flinders Park Primary will act out a scene from Light Horse Boy,’ said Wolfer.

‘When a story has a special link to the region, as Light Horse Boy does, a local launch becomes even more poignant,’ she said.

Wolfer said she was also excited about the final launch of the book at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content.

‘It is becoming a festival of major importance, attracting guest speakers from around the world,’ said Wolfer.

Light Horse Boy will be available in all good bookstores and online on 1 April 2013.

To meet Dianne Wolfer and Brian Simmonds please join us at the events below.

Perth:
Launched by: His Excellency Malcolm McCusker AC CVO QC, Governor of Western Australia
When: 6pm for 6.30pm start, Thursday 4 April
Where: The Place, The State Library of Western Australia, Perth Cultural Centre, 25 Francis Street, Perth
RSVP: admin@fremantlepress.com.au or 08 9430 6331
Cost: FREE & FAMILY FRIENDLY

Albany:
Meet a horse from the 10th Light Horse on the Village Green at 5pm
Launched by: Peter Aspinall, Great Southern RSL
When: 5.30pm for 6pm start, Wednesday 10 April
Where: Albany Town Hall, 217 York Street, Albany
RSVP: library@albany.wa.gov.au or 9841 9390
Cost: FREE & FAMILY FRIENDLY

Singapore:
Light Horse Boy will also be launched at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in Singapore.
When: 25–30 May 2013
Where: National Library Building, Singapore
Watch the AFCC website for more details: http://afcc.com.sg

This launch was made possible through the generous support of the Department of Culture and Arts via an Artflight grant.

Eastern States:
Dianne Wolfer will visit Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT and NSW in July and August. School and library bookings are available now: cmiller@fremantlepress.com.au

Harmless launch at Crow Books

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Crow Books will host the launch of Vogel winner Julienne van Loon’s third book Harmless at 6pm on Tuesday 2 April. Why don’t you join us? Here are a few words from Julienne.

What is your book about?
Harmless is set on a single day and tells the story of three different characters from the one blended family as they each struggle to come to terms with a recent death. The story takes place in the outer-urban fringes of Perth. As the day heats up, the sense of menace intensifies and each character enters a kind of no-man’s-land between safety and peril.

What do you hope readers will get out of it?
The story uses some ancient Buddhist morality fables as a starting point, and so the book is, in its own way, a kind of morality tale. Readers will draw their own meanings from it, but I’ve worked hard on the suspense in this narrative too, and so I hope it’s a consuming read.

Why launch it at Crow Books?
Crow Books is a fabulous independent bookshop in East Victoria Park, not far from Curtin University, and Alan Sheardown, the proprietor there, is a bit of a legend. He’s got a great collection of titles in his shop and he’s immensely knowledgeable about books and writing. He’s a great supporter of local authors as well.

William Yeoman, books editor at The West Australian, will officially launch Harmless at 6pm on Tuesday 2 April.
Where: 1/900 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park WA 6101
RSVP: admin@fremantlepress.com.au or 08 9430 6331
Cost: FREE

Harmless is available from all good bookstores and Fremantle Press

International Women's Day event

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Join Fremantle Press authors Iris Lavell (Elsewhere in Success)and Suzanne Covich (When we remember they call us liars)for a day celebrating women at the Nectar Fiesta on 9 March 2013.

When: 11am Workshop with Iris Lavell — Writing a book? Iris Lavell will take you through the publication process step-by-step. Bring along a sample of your writing, a question or just your curiosity for this informal session.

When: 1:40pm Suzanne Covich joins local women writers for a reading.

Where: Market Place, Azelia Ley Homestead Museum verandahs, Manning Park, Hamilton Hill

More information: http://fremantlefoundation.com/nectar-for-women-supporting-generations-of-women

And the winner of the T.A.G. Hungerford is ...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Subiaco resident Robert Edeson is the winner of the 2012 T.A.G. Hungerford Award for his unpublished manuscript, The Weaver Fish.

Mr Edeson is the 11th author to join the elite group of literary talents to have won the award.

Edeson said winning the Hungerford was an amazing transition because he was just about to go on long service leave from his day job as an anaesthetist.

‘What a wonderful way to start. I just can’t believe it,’ said Edeson.

Judge and Fremantle Press publisher Georgia Richter said Edeson’s manuscript was a standout in a strong field.

‘It is deeply original, frequently surprising, intelligent and witty. This is a book with good guys and bad guys, simultaneously action-packed, lighthearted and thought-provoking,’ said Richter.

The field of 48 manuscripts was of such an exceptionally high standard that the judges increased the size of the shortlist from three to six: Murray Jennings for The Moondella Drive-In; Zoe Deleuil for The Back Shed; Susan Sullivan for Reasons for Song; Martin Chambers for How I became the Mr Big of People Smuggling; and Vivien Stuart for Acacia House.

Edeson receives a $12,000 cash prize donated by the Friends and Family of the late Bill Warnock, and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press.

The judging panel included writingWA Chair, Associate Professor Delys Bird, leading West Australian writers Susan Midalia and Richard Rossiter, and Adult Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction Publisher at Fremantle Press, Georgia Richter.

The 2012 T.A.G. Hungerford Award is presented with the support of the Friends and Family of the late Bill Warnock, in partnership with writingWA, Fremantle Press and The West Australian newspaper.

The 2010 T.A.G. Hungerford Award was won by Jacqueline Wright for her manuscript of the just-released novel Red Dirt Talking.

Three days in Taipei

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Foreign Rights Manager Clive Newman spent the lead-up to Chinese New Year at Taiwan’s Taipei International Book Exhibition.

‘My only experience of an Asian metropolis has been several visits to Singapore and I had no idea of what to expect in Taipei. The city proved to be a bustling, crowded collection of very tall buildings, including a tower which until very recently was the tallest building in the world, standing alongside more traditional establishments. In some ways the city seems to be not unlike Sydney (except for the smog and the fleets of scooter riders). I was lucky to see the early installations of the decorations for Chinese New Year – the scale and style emphasising the importance of the festival on the Chinese calendar.

The number of committed Taiwanese book buyers at the Taipei International Book Exhibition was a real eye-opener. The list of the country’s publishing houses runs to more than 140 pages, and the city boasts some wonderful bookshops. In addition to the domestic exhibitors, hundreds of publishers from Europe, Oceania, America and Africa participated.

The local Austrade office worked with the Australian Publishers Association to build and staff a display stand branded Australia Unlimited with titles from eight Australian publishers and a leading literary agency.

Our Taiwanese agents organised a schedule of appointments with publishers whose programs they thought might match those of the Fremantle Press list. I met with sixteen of them over three days and all were enthusiastic about the Australian display. Most interest for us focused on our young adult fiction titles. Junior fiction titles and picture books also attracted attention and reading copies will be rushed off to publishers this week to catch them before the break for Chinese New Year.

The week was exhilarating, if exhausting, and unforgettable. We hear a lot these days about developing markets in Asia and I would like to think this visit will be the forerunner to Fremantle further exploring the opportunities in the region.’

Stories on Stage with Kim Scott

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Kim Scott is heading to the southern suburbs for a talk about multi-generational stories at the Koorliny Arts Centre on 20 February 2013.

Scott, a Professor of Writing at Curtin University, has an abiding interest in oral history and traditional storytelling, sharing his writing gifts with students, staff and outlying communities.

Scott said he was looking forward to Stories on Stage and talking about Hazel Brown, who co-authored Kayang & Me with him.

‘She exemplifies what regional cultural elders can make available to their wider communities, and the relationships they can enable and encourage,’ said Scott.

‘Her story shows the insights she – they – can offer us,’ said Scott.

Scott is a two-time Miles Franklin Literary Award winner: he first won the award for his second novel, Benang: From the Heart, in 2000, and in 2011 for That Deadman Dance. His novels have won numerous literary awards and been shortlisted for others. In 2012 he was named the inaugural Western Australian of the Year.

Stories on Stage starts at 7pm at Koorliny Arts Centre, Sulphur Road, Kwinana. Tickets cost $15 and include supper and the chance to win a copy of Kayang and Me. Books will be available to buy on the night.

Bookings online Koorliny.com.au or 08 9467 7118.

A glass of wine with Iris Lavell

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0800

Share a glass of wine with Elsewhere in Success author Iris Lavell at 2pm on Saturday 23 February.

A glass of wine and a good book is a free event presented by writingWA, Wines of Western Australia and the Perth Writers Festival.

Which wine would you match with these authors? You can choose from Fifth Estate Wines, Lost Lake, Fermoy Estate, Gilberts Wines, Barton Jones Wines, Woodgate Manjimup Wines and Devil’s Lair.

Join them in the Juliet Tent at UWA at the following times:

2.15pm: Iris Lavell author of Elsewhere in Success (Fremantle
Press) in conversation with Amanda Curtin

3.15pm: Ian Reid author of That Untravelled World (UWAP) in
conversation with Deborah Burrows

4.15pm: Emma Chapman author of How to be a Good Wife
(Picador) in conversation with Julia Lawrinson

5.15pm: Sara Foster author of Shallow Breath
(Random House) in conversation with Julienne van Loon

This is a free event. For more information go to www.writingwa.org