Writing and Publishing News

No change to parallel importation legislation

The government has decided against accepting the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to remove parallel importation restrictions which means there will be no changes. This is a victory for the ASA and its members who waged a vigorous campaign against changes to the legislation. It was a long and hard fought campaign involving a great many people and many letters and petitions. You can read more about this and find further links on Jeremy Fisher’s blog

It’s a great delight to announce that the Pan Macmillan Picador India edition of “Fear Factor Terror Incognito” has been released and is on the bookshelves in India right now. I have received copies and seen it. The book is a beautifully produced smart looking edition. I am very proud to be associated with this anthology.

Fear Factor Terror Incognito

I have had very kind and encouraging comments from some of the authors who contributed to this volume of stories and have just received their author copies from Delhi. Congratulations to all of you and thank you all for your patience. I very much appreciate all your positive comments about the anthology and the ‘fine production qualities this book displays’.
http://drjeremyfisher.blogspot.com

The Pan Macmillan Picador Australia edition will be released in March 2010, with a Sydney launch and other events in Sydney, featuring co-editor Meenakshi Bharat and Sujata Sankranti who are visiting from Delhi, India.

Well done to Dr Andrew Y M Kwong, whose story ‘Snake Business’ is included in “Fear Factor Terror Incognito”. Andrew has received some very good advice and comments from Varuna about his book length manuscript. It is a gripping and strong narrative. Andrew is now working on his final draft and I’m sure it is only a matter of time before his memoir will be published. Andrew was a refugee from Communist China and has been a well respected doctor and Australian citizen for many years now. His narrative is a moving tribute to the endurance and triumph of the human mind and spirit over unimaginably horrific conditions and experiences. It is told with the ease and confidence of a true storyteller. One to watch out for.

Congratulations to Roanna Gonsalves. ABC Radio National read Roanna’s ‘Curry Muncher’ story and has commissioned her to write and present a program about Indian students. Roanna is working on her first novel with the support of Varuna Writers Centre and an Australia Council New Work Grant for Emerging Writers. Her novel was long-listed for the Vogel Award Her short story Curry Muncher, inspired by the recent attacks on Indian students in Australia, was published in Eureka Street in June 2009. You can read more of Roanna’s work and her story ‘Curry Muncher’

More congratulations to Christopher Cheng for his 2009 Lady Cutler award, this is an annual award presented for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature. Christopher is a children’s Author and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Co-Regional Advisor–Australia & New Zealand, he was also Federal Literacy Ambassador for Literacy and Numeracy Week for four years from 2004 – 2008.

Susanne Gervay gave the citation speech at the Lady Cutler Award 2009 ceremony.

More at: http://nsw.cbca.org.au/news.htm and with photos on Susanne’s blog

More information about the Lady Cutler Award,

Christopher Cheng has also released a new book: “60 Classic Australian Poems”, Written by Christopher Cheng and illustrated by Gregory Rogers, which has been published by Random House Australia, see link at http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/Default.aspx?Page=Book&ID=9781741664140

Elizabeth Webby launched the latest anthology from The Company of Writers at the NSW Writers’ Centre on December 4. “Secret Cows” is now available from the Company of Writers and selected bookshops.

Indo-Aus anthology published

The Picador India book “Fear Factor Terror Incognito” is out and on the bookshelves already in India, with an official release date of 10th December. A few copies are on their way to me. I am hoping the courier can manage to deliver them by Monday. It will be a great delight to see the book in print at last.

Picador Australia has The Aus edition on their website with a March release.

Order form at: http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/resources/2010-03-A.pdf

From the Picador Australia (Pan Macmillan) webpage: “A unique collaboration between Australia and India, the stories represent these writers’ protests against the phenomenon of modern terror. They do not offer solutions. Instead, they lead readers along the hidden paths of an unfamiliar psychology to make their own discoveries.

A joint publication with Picador UK and Picador India, Fear Factor: Terror Incognito is essential reading for anyone interested the global phenomenon of terror.”

Please pass the word, if you can.

Also, the link for those interested in the very worthy Room to Read

More about Room to Read in November 13 Post on this blog.

Cheers,
Sharon

FRIDAY 13 & News about Books & Writing

Friday 13th

So much has happened lately that there has been little time for recording it. The Picador India book Fear Factor Terror Incognito is out and on its way to me, which is exciting news and I can hardly wait to see it.

The Picador Australia edition is progressing and will be released in March.

This week I’ll give a Poster Presentation about Fear Factor Terror Incognito at University of Technology Sydney to discuss the Indo-Aus anthology. Sincere thanks to Rod Morrison at Picador Australia for his enthusiasm for publishing an Australian edition of this exciting and unique volume of stories. Thanks also to Louise Bourke. Jane and Jeannine at Picador Australia have been wonderful with helping me with the UTS Poster Presentation on Tuesday; and Corey has created the poster for it. It is enormously encouraging to receive this kind of support. I’m also grateful to Shruti Debi our publisher at Picador India for delivery of copies of the anthology for the presentation.

http://www.iml.uts.edu.au/learnteach/forum/forum09/rundle.html

Shruti is a consummate professional, meticulous yet enthusiastic about the publishing ventures she takes on. She is a joy to work with. She is to be commended for her faith in us in taking a risk to publish this anthology as well as for her dedication in producing a prestigious and quality edition of Fear Factor Terror Incognito.

Me with Shruti and Meenakshi at Picador India office in Delhi, India.

Sincere thanks to co-editor Meenakshi Bharat for suggesting this project and for sticking with me to see it through to our ultimate aim of a 50/50 collaborative volume of Indo-Aus stories published in India and Australia.

My thanks also to my dear friend Sujata who introduced me to Meenakshi when she asked me to contribute to Meenakshi’s book Desert in Bloom – Contemporary Indian Women’s Fiction in English. Sujata and I have been friends and colleagues for over ten years now.

In March, 2010, Meenakshi Bharat and author Sujata Sankranti will visit Sydney, where they will speak and read from Fear Factor Terror Incognito at several venues; including the UTS  TransForming Culture Research Centre, The NSW Writers Centre and the Sydney launch of the anthology.

The contributing authors who were, of course, central to and essential for the anthology deserve congratulations and sincere thanks, too. I am glad to say that their contractual copies of the book are on their way.

Meanwhile plans are going ahead for me and some of our authors to attend the IASA Goa 2010 Conference. I acknowledge and sincerely appreciate the support of Professor Sareen, Professor Gopal, the Australia-India Council Travel Grant to attend the conference and the Creative Industries’ Career Fund of Copyright Australia limited Cultural Fund Award. These organisations have made the visit to Goa possible. Congratulations to all the authors and academics who have been accepted for the Conference.

last week I stayed at The Hughenden with my sister and enjoyed the warm and superb hospitality of Susanne Gervay. We had the best time and I wholeheartedly recommend The Hughenden Boutique Hotel. My sister and I were pampered with delicious meals and the softest beds—my mattress felt like feather down; I had the best night’s sleep and it was difficult to leave it in the morning. The scrumptious Hughenden breakfast was well worth getting up for though.

Susanne has a photo of the three of us at The Hughenden on her JacketFlap.com blog

Susanne, Bernie and I also went to the Books: Bridges and Beyond, Room to Read Literary Event, with special guest Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief. The event was held in the Tea Room at the Queen Victoria Building and was so well attended, there was quite a crush.

Room to Read is a global not-for-profit foundation that brings books and builds libraries for children in developing countries in Asia and Africa. It is well worth supporting.

The Sydney writers’ group Company of Writers is publishing their fourth anthology of stories, titled Secret Cows in early December. The group first started in 1990 under the direction of Stephanie Dowrick and continues to meet regularly each month. It also continues to evolve with a mix of members who formed the original group and others who have since joined.

Congratulations to Jeremy Fisher on his new academic appointment as Senior Lecturer in Writing at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW. He has now resigned from the Australian Society of Authors and will be greatly missed. Jeremy spent his time as Executive Director tirelessly assisting authors, promoting authors’ rights and championing causes such as Parallel Importation of Books, among many others. His story “The Liberation Centre” published in Fear Factor Terror Incognito is memorable, haunting and timeless. Wishing you all the best, Jeremy.
http://drjeremyfisher.blogspot.com

Today’s Writing Tip:
It’s Friday 13th, are you the suspicious type? A Friday 13th falling a week after Hallowe’en? Surely, it must be a night for writing a gothic novel or at least a creepy story. Think of Mary Shelley creating Dr Frankenstein and his monster…think of The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Create your own Friday 13th mystery.

ASIA-PACIFIC WRITING PARTNERSHIP

WRITING ACROSS CULTURES

Bringing some of the world’s top creative writing programs to Asia

Writers teaching in some of the world’s top Creative Writing programs will talk about how they mentor students and important aspects of craft at ‘Writing Across Cultures’ in Hong Kong, 9-11 March 2010.

‘Writing Across Cultures’ is a two-day event for students and teachers of creative writing in Asia, organised by The University of Adelaide based Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership and The English Department of The City University of Hong Kong, in conjunction with the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival.

Instead of academic papers, ‘provocateurs’ will talk for four or five minutes about aspects of craft and teaching writing then open the discussion to the audience. A roundtable on the first day will focus on teaching creative writing in the academy. The next day will focus on teaching creative writing in English in Asia.

‘Not many countries in the region offer creative writing at university level,’ said the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership’s founding director, Jane Camens. ‘I know of a number of excellent emerging writers who have left Asia to study creative writing abroad, generally in the United States or UK. Few know about the excellent programs on Asia’s doorstep in Australia.’

‘Writing Across Cultures’ will feature representatives from top writing programs in Australia, the United States, Britain and the region. They include:

* Robin Hemley from the Iowa Writers Workshop, University of Iowa,
* Andrew Cowan, Director of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia,
* Brian Castro, Chair of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Adelaide (home of the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership),
* Marilyn Chin, who teaches Creative Writing in the Master of Fine Arts program at San Diego State University.
* Catherine Cole, Chair of Creative Writing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT),
* Kim Cheng Boey who teaches Creative Writing at the University of Newcastle,
* Jose Dalisay, Director of the Institute of Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines,
* Dai Fan, Chair of English at Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou (China), who teaches creative non fiction in China.

The Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership’s first event was held in India in October 2008. It strives to hold events throughout the region in conjunction with local universities and writers organisations and bring to those events its international network of writing talent.

The Partnership is based within the Creative Writing Program of the University of Adelaide under the auspices of distinguished Australian writer Professor Brian Castro. Its founding director Jane Camens also founded the Hong Kong International Literary Festival with writers Nury Vittachi and Shirley Geok-lin Lim.

For the full program and registration details see http://apwriters.org/wac/

Media Contacts:

Jane Camens (APWN Founding Director) jane.camens@apwriters.com
In Australia: tel +(61) 2 66804906

Xu Xi (APWN Chair) xuxi@xuxiwriter.com (schedule USA to Oct 14 . Hong Kong to Nov 10 . New Zealand to Nov 29 . Hong Kong to Dec 9
tel USA (1) 917.494.5071 . HK (852) 2559.4944 or 9175.2839/cell . New Zealand (64) 3.465.8486)

This information was issued by the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership
www.apwriters.com

Some readers from UTS may remember Catherine Cole who lectured at the University Technology Sydney. Catherine was also a member of the Company of Writers in Sydney for a while. She has published numerous books, articles, essays and stories.

The good news and the bad news

Congratulations to Gunilla Miranda for a very successful launch of her book ‘From Nobel Prize to Ride-on Mower’ at Gleebooks. It was well attended and Gunilla spent a long time signing copies of her book. She is now off to the Frankfurt Book Fair and to the London Book Fair and New York in 2010. Wishing you every success with your book, Gunilla. http://gunillamiranda.com

Congratulations to Roanna Gonsalves who completed her MA in Writing at UTS. Her novel was long-listed for the Australian Vogel Literary Awards and is being considered for publication. Roanna is working on her first novel for which she received an Ozco Emerging Writers grant last year. She also received a partial writers grant to attend a residency at Vermont Writers Centre.

More congratulations to Jeremy Fisher on the release of his new book “music from another COUNTRY”, published Fat Frog Books. The book will be launched by Libby Gleeson on 10th October at Taylor Galleries, Summer Hill. Jeremy has just returned from his residency at the Goethe Institute in Germany.

Plans are progressing for the imminent release of the Picador India edition of Fear Factor Terror Incognito and a March 2010 release of a Picador Australia edition.

Arrangements are also progressing for a visit by my co-editor Meenakshi, who is Associate Professor at the University of Delhi where she lectures MA writing students and students studying Indian, English and Australian literary courses. Meenakshi is the author of a numerous books, articles, essays and papers. She has spoken at conferences around the world. Among other appearances in Sydney in March 2010, Meenakshi will give a workshop at the NSW Writers Centre; and will speak at the Australian launch of Fear Factor Terror Incognito.

In contrast to our good news here, the devastation from earthquakes and a tsunami in Samoa and Indonesia is shocking news. The loss of so many people is deeply felt by many. It’s hard to know how they will begin to put together whole villages. Samoa, in particular, is a special place for me. Pictures taken by members of my family only recently show a tropical paradise, a serenity and beauty that is rarely found today, along with smiling friends. I know that the owners of at least one resort spent thirty years building in an environmentally sensitive manner, doing everything by hand without bringing in machinery. News footage over the past few days show that it has all been levelled to the ground. Fortunately all the staff managed to reach safety and survived. It is a different story in the local village which has suffered loss of life, as well as property. It is sobering and shocking to see how a place of such stunning beauty, with such kind and heart-warming people, can be obliterated in such a short time. World Vision and Red Cross have already set up ways for people to donate to help those in Samoa and Indonesia. I hope you will all give help if you can. It will be a huge job to clear away the damage and begin re-building lives and property.

Today’s Writing Tip:

What would you do if your world suddenly changed through an environmental jolt? Try imagining yourself – or one of your invented characters – in such a situation. The protagonist is not another person or persons but the landscape itself.

Not Before Time – An Apology for the Forgotten Australians

Finally, Forgotten Australians are to be given a public apology for the horrific and brutal treatment they received as State Wards or inmates of Dickensian style ‘homes’ where they were put into ‘care’.

Media release at:

http://www.forgottenaustralians.org.au/publications/mediaAFAapology.pdf

A great many Australians, if not most, applauded the public apology on behalf of Australia to the Stolen Generation. It was a moving, sincere and long-awaited recognition of the terrible treatment inflicted upon them. While there are still many issues to be resolved it was a great moment in Australian history.

Now, thanks to many dedicated and persistent advocates, not least Leonie Sheedy from Care Leavers of Australia Network (CLAN) and also the comments by forthright columnist Kerry-Anne Walsh, The Forgotten Australians have been promised a public apology with the same solemnity with which the Stolen Generation were given an apology. This apology is also well overdue and I hope fervently that it will be given and taken in the same spirit of generosity.

Kerry-Anne’s article can be read at: http://www.clan.org.au/news_details.php?newsID=143

Here is an article about the Forgotten Australians with links to websites giving more information and background about the Forgotten Australians and their horrific history.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26002515-953,00.html

CLAN provides Australia-wide advocacy and support for those who have been in ‘care’ or ‘homes’ and/or were made State wards. It was started by volunteer Care-Leavers themselves and has grown from a small number to a large organisation that has at last been given some funding to operate an office and key staff. Leonie and Joanne and many others have worked tirelessly to advocate for Care Leavers of Australia and it is great to be able to congratulate them on all that they have done and especially for this huge achievement that they have worked towards—an apology from the country for the suffering of the children who are now the Forgotten Australians.

It is a flint-hearted person who can read through the history of what happened to these children, as well as the Mullighan Report into the Inquiry into State Wards and Children’s Homes in South Australia, without being at least concerned, if not angry and upset, about what they went through as children and how they continue to suffer to this day. This is not simply about the past and different times, it is very much about people who are alive today and trying to cope with life with very few life-skills and often with physical, mental and/or emotional damage from their experiences as children in ‘care’.

Most of the institutions that exploited and damaged these people when they were children continue to treat them with disdain and disrespect and continue to fight them in the courts with everything they can throw at them, despite the power and financial imbalance.

http://www.clan.org.au/

Another site dedicated to Forgotten Australians, with many links to papers, reports and other information is:

http://www.forgottenaustralians.org.au/

http://www.wingsforsurvivors.com/page/Saying+sorry+seems+to+be+a+mute+point

If you want to know more you can read the report by Justice Mullighan of the Enquiry at: http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/Crime,%20justice%20and%20the%20law/Mullighan%20Inquiry

And the responses on the ABC Radio National website at:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/stories/2008/2207795.htm

Writing Tip

Write about a incident from childhood. How well can you recall the details? What was life like then? What has changed? Can you remember the games you played? Focus on a particular event or incident and see how much detail you can recall and draft a story. It can be happy, poignant, inspirational, insightful, entertaining, confronting–it depends on your circumstances and the details that you remember. If you are interested in writing your life story or memoirs, I recommend the book “Writing Your Life” by Patty Miller.

Spring, Daffodils and Writing Events

Spring is (almost) sprung, or it certainly seems that way with the warm sunny weather, it’s time to be out and about enjoying Sydney’s literary events.

Spring also means Daffodils, so remember DaffodilDay on August 28 when the Cancer Council will be raising funds.

Lots of literary events happening at the moment—the Melbourne Writers’ Festival is on; Indigenous Literacy Day Fundraiser and Tribute to Oodgeroo; as well as Jack Thompson reading the short stories of Henry Lawson at the NSW Art Gallery. Recently, Storytelling at The Hughenden; and the Kid’s and YA Adults Writers Festival.

Tribute to Oodgeroo
Indigenous Literacy Day Fundraiser

Host Anita Heiss

Date: Wednesday 2nd September 2009

Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Price $10/17

Venue: Gleebooks
49 Glebe Point Road Glebe

Phone 96602333

From Anita Heiss:

Oodgeroo was born in 1920 on Stradbroke Island, of the Noonuccal people of the Yuggera group. She was best known for her poetry, although she was also an actress, writer, teacher, artist and a campaigner for Aboriginal rights.

Please join us in this tribute to a wonderful Australian and make this a very special night and successful fundraiser.

Music will be provided by NADEENA DIXON-Wiradjuri/Yuin/Dharug Aboriginal Woman Singer/Songwriter.

Eric Avery, a dance student at NAISDA will also perform along with readings of Oodgeroo’s work by Anita Heiss, Rosie Scott and Debra Adelaide.

On Sept. 2 partaking booksellers and publishers contribute a percentage of ALL sales made on the day to the Indigenous Literacy Project. The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature will be available at a special price and all ticket proceeds go to the project.

For more information about Indigenous Literacy Day go to: http://www.worldwithoutbooks.org/Index.aspx

ART GALLERY of  NSW

Short story readings by Jack Thompson

Sunday, 30 August 2009,

11.30am

Entrance court, ground level

The legendary Australian actor Jack Thompson will read some of The Campfire Yarns of Henry Lawson and sign autographed copies of his new CD recording afterwards.

More at: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/events/cal/jack_thompson_reads_henry_lawson?clicked_date=2009-08-30

Storytelling at The Hughenden

On Sunday 16th August I attended the Australian Storytelling Guild, Tellers Teas at The Hughenden in Sydney.

It was an entertaining afternoon spent listening to excellent stories and enjoying a delicious afternoon tea. All the storytellers kept the audience attention and some were very amusing.

Dr Andrew Y M Kwong read his stories Goldfields Biscuits and Wife Picking and First Adieu both of which touched the emotions of the audience. The story of Goldfields Biscuits and Wife Picking gave a whole new insight into how Australia was perceived by the Chinese people–and the great joy and delight that greeted the offerings of Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot Biscuits (which they called Goldfield Biscuits) from the sojourners, Chinese people who were living overseas and who came back to their villages to ‘pick a wife’.

Congratulations to Andrew who has had several short stories published in Medical Observer under the realcases section, his latest is Jumping Puddles.

In July 2009, Andrew’s short story The Door Is Always Open was selected as one of the finalists in the 2009 AMA Writing Competition, and was commended.

Andrew’s short story Snake Business is to be published in the Anthology: Fear Factor Terror Incognito, by Picador India in September 2009.

For more details about the Tellers Teas at The Hughenden:
http://www.thehughenden.com.au

And please remember this year DaffodilDay is on Friday 28th August, while you can donate to DaffodilDay at any time of the year, during August special merchandise will be on sale to raise funds.
http://www.daffodilday.com.au/home.htm

http://www.daffodilday.com.au/About.htm

Today’s Writing Tip:

Go out and observe the changing season; the subtle differences in the earth and the sky. The way in which the insects, plants, animals and birds are behaving. Look at the way the light falls at this time of year. Record your observations in your notebook or writing journal. Try a haiku.

Sunlight shines on creek

round sun’s reflection creates

a rainbow halo

Successful New Writers and Varuna Blog

Many thanks to Susanne Gervay for her enthusiastic comments about the Picador India edition of Fear Factor Terror Incognito in the Varuna Blog at:
http://varunathewritershouse.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/slovenians-launches-conferences-festival-%E2%80%93-who-said-being-an-author-is-quiet-by-susanne-gervay

Thanks also to Roanna for her comments on the same blog.
Roanna Gonsalves is an Indian-Australian writer to watch, she is working on her first novel with the support of Varuna Writers Centre and an Australia Council New Work Grant for Emerging Writers. Her short story Curry Muncher, inspired by the recent attacks on Indian students in Australia, was published in Eureka Street in June 2009. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature (St. Xavier’s College), a Master of Arts in English Literature (Bombay University), a Master of Arts in Writing (University of Technology Sydney) and a Diploma in TV Production (KvB Institute, Sydney). She currently works as a research assistant at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Roanna is a UTS alumna and a member of the UTS Alumni Writers’ Network. She has also submitted an abstract for the IASA-AIC Goa 2010 Conference.
You can read Roanna’s story Curry Muncher at:
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=14613

Editor Sharon Rundle and author Gunilla Miranda with her new book.

Congratulations to Gunilla Miranda who has been invited to book fairs in London 2010 and New York 2010, as well as the Frankfurt Book Fair in October this year. Her book From Nobel Prize to Ride-On Mower has been published by Strategic Book Publishing New York.

It is a gripping read and ‘a powerful memoir that illustrates what the human spirit can both endure and create’.

It will be launched in Australia at Gleebooks Book Shop,

From Nobel Prize to Ride-on Mower by Gunilla Miranda

49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe

at 3:30 pm on 26th September, 2009.

Guest of Honour is Swedish Ambassador Sven-Olof Petersson.

RSVPs essential by 23rd September on 1300 553 253.

Australian Media enquiries to: 1300 553 253.

http://www.strategicbookpublishing.com/FromNobelPrizeToRideOnMower.html

Today’s Writing Tip

Read Roanna’s story and create your own storyline where a character has a choice of helping someone in a dangerous situation or walking away. Once you have drafted the initial storyline then ‘up the ante’ so that there is more at stake for the character’s decision and see how that affects the storyline. Make sure there is enough at stake for the character to make the decision difficult and complex. Know your character thoroughly to ensure that their behaviour is not stereotyped or predictable. Create alternative endings to explore ideas beyond the first or second idea to a more creative and original ending. You will be well on the way to creating an absorbing story that has impact.

Parallel Poll, Gunilla in Frankfurt; Going to Goa

The results of the Choice poll on Parallel Importation of books are available on the Australian Society of Authors website at www.asauthors.org

There are some benefits of parallel importation as the law stands at present when an Australian publisher doesn’t publish a local edition within 30 days.

Author Gunilla Miranda is thrilled to be going to the Frankfurt Book Fair in October where she will promote her new book Nobel Prize to Ride-on mower a biographical narrative. Gunilla is also writing a regular column, You Can Do It, as well as a feature article for a U. S magazine. You will soon be able to catch up with Gunilla’s news at her new website at www.gunillamiranda.com which is currently under construction.

Some Australian authors are eagerly waiting to hear if their papers have been accepted for the IASA Goa 2010 Conference. It promises to be a stimulating and informative conference which has been organised by Professor Gopal and Professor Sareen, among others. The Australian authors who have submitted abstracts are all excellent speakers with relevant and interesting topics to discuss. I’m wishing everybody good luck and hoping we all meet in Goa in 2010. Good friends and colleagues, Meenakshi Bharat and Sujata Sankranti are also planning to participate—so it would be an excellent opportunity to catch up with them again. We’re also hoping to launch the Picador India book of Indo-Australian stories, Fear Factor Terror Incognito, there. Yes, it is still about to be released in India and I hope to announce the news of its release shortly.

Negotiations continue in Australia….which is why we are pleased that we can at least have a few copies sent from India after 30 days, if it is not yet published locally.

Today’s Writing Tip
Take every opportunity that presents itself, dream of what might be–and write a story about a character who is living your dream.

Parallel Importation of Books

The hot topic for authors and the book publishing industry is Parallel Importation.

This has wide repercussions for all authors, editors and publishers—particularly independent book publishers.

The Australian Society of Authors website has the latest news and information. The ASA urges us “to write NOW to the Prime Minister and other Cabinet members rejecting the Commission’s findings and demanding the retention of the current balanced system for territorial copyright of books in Australia. Traditional mail is much more effective than email. A template of addresses is available for download on the ASA website http://www.asauthors.org ”

Other sources worth following up are:
Jeremy Fisher’s blog at http://drjeremyfisher.blogspot.com

Australian Copyright Council at http://www.copyright.org.au/news/news_items/inquiries-news/2009-inquiries-news/u29852

and

Australian Government Productivity Commission
http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/books

And have your say about Parallel Importation at the ABC Blog at
http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate/2009/03/have-your-say-o.html

Are we going to be lazy about Australian literature and the Australian voice? Or are we going to insist, as other countries do, that our literary heritage and literary future are protected; and that the Australian voice continues to be widely read?

Writing Tip for the Day

Write to your politicians about your views on Parallel Importation. This is your opportunity to ensure that Australian literature and stories in the Australian voice continue to thrive and give pleasure to adults and children alike.