Hidden Author
To Sir or not To Sir
American publications largely eschew British titles when reporting on the arts. Alex Ross, reviewing the new Tristan und Isolde at the Met in the New Yorker, acknowledged Simon Rattle in the pit – not ‘Sir Simon Rattle’. Even Opera, that indispensable British organ for operaphiles, founded by the queen’s cousin, calls him ‘Simon Rattle’. ABR dispenses with these a ... (read more)
Parallel importation
Dear Editor,I’d like to thank Colin Golvan QC for his intelligent, articulate, and well-argued response to the Productivity Commission report’s proposed changes to parallel importations and fair use, published as both a podcast and a brief commentary by ABR (November 2016).
These are big issues for Australian authors and illustrators, such as myself, and for the many Aus ... (read more)
CALIBRE ESSAY PRIZE
For the eleventh year in a row, we seek entries in the Calibre Essay Prize – the country’s premier prize for an unpublished non-fiction essay. Calibre is now worth a total of $7,500. The winner will receive $5,000; the runner-up, $2,500. Both essays will appear in ABR. Once again, Calibre is open to anyone writing in English around the world. We recommend the quick, inexpe ... (read more)
Wagner’s Ring
Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (Opera Australia) opens on Monday, 21 November – the first of three full cycles. Neil Armfield’s production was first seen in Melbourne in 2013. Pietari Inkinen, who led the Ring in 2013, is once again conducting. Many of the Australian singers reappear in the same roles, but there are some significant – and auspicious – new princ ... (read more)
Steven Herrick is a poet and author. He has published twenty-two books for adults, young adults, and children, and is widely considered to be a pioneer of verse novels for children and young adults.
He left school in Year 10, before returning some years later as an adult, and then going on to study poetry at the University of Queensland, where he gained his B.A. in 1982.
In 2000 he was awarded t ... (read more)
Shaun Tan is an author and illustrator, originally from Perth, Western Australia. He studied Fine Arts and Literature at the University of Shaun Tan (photograph by Stefan Tell)Western Australia, and graduated with joint honours in 1995. His illustrated books deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal dream-like imagery. He has received numerous awards, including the CBCA ( ... (read more)
Queensland Theatre Season 2017
Queensland Theatre’s 2017 season kicks off with several productions that explore themes of politics, race, religion, romance, film, and business. Already the program’s diversity has generated much interest. According to Artistic Director Sam Strong, ‘some performances have already sold out’.
One highlight is Joanna Murray-Smith’s adaptation of Ingmar Berg ... (read more)
In this week’s ABR podcast Peter Rose talks to Colin Golvan QC – a lawyer specialising in intellectual property – about new threats to Australian creativity, chiefly the proposed removal of restrictions on parallel importation, as recommended by the Productivity Commission.
Colin Golvan's article 'The god of cheaper prices: New threats to our literary culture from the Productivity Commiss ... (read more)
TRUMPERY
Dear Editor,Sandy Thorne seems to think Donald Trump can restore America to prosperity and its past greatness (Letters, October 2016). All great nations rise, decline, and fall. If Caligula can put his horse Incitatus forward as a Senator, I suppose it’s possible that the American people just might vote in Donald Trump as president. As Bob Dylan sang ‘The answer is blowin’ in the w ... (read more)