National Reconciliation: The speeches of Bob Hawke (selected by John Cook)by R.J.L. HawkeWilliam Collins, $6.95 pb, 232p., index,0 00 636732 I .
For those who wish or need to know what the Great Conciliator has been saying, it’s all here. Neville Wran, in an introduction, claims that the set speech is still important in politics. Perhaps so, but the level of platitude and generalisation in thes ... (read more)
Hidden Author
Fine Wines from the DesertMildara, the first 90 yearsby Syd WellsQuartet Books, 134 p., illus., $15.00
The idea of publishing a history of one of our major wine companies is a very pleasant one. Written by one of Mildara’s long time staffers, this book is not perhaps a model of what such a history could be. It is dominated by statistics, documented details and managerial reports, and commercial ... (read more)
Literature and Awareness
by Tom Gibbons
Edward Arnold (Australia), $5.50
An excellent introduction to the senior English student’s experience of literature. It deals with complex matters in a comparatively simple manner The book examines particular passages of literary writing in the light of major critical concepts. Diction, tone, figurative language, irony, bathos – it’s all there, with ... (read more)
NBC $5000 Awards for Australian Literature
Entries for these Awards close on 31 July 1979. Entry forms and copies of the rules are available from the National Book Council, 71 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000.
This year the Awards will be presented in Canberra on Friday 12 October at the Awards Dinner, which will also mark the official opening of Australian Book Week. The Awards will be presented ... (read more)
Winners 1978
First prize –
$3000, including $500 to the publisher.
Monkey Grip,
by Helen Garner, McPhee Gribble.
Second prize –
$2000, including $250 to the publisher.
Living Black,
by Kein Gilbert, Penguin Australia.
Highly Commended:
Australian Primitive Painters,
by Geoffrey Lehmann,
paintings selected by Charles Blackman, University of Queensland Press.
Ethnic Radio,
by Les A ... (read more)
The Hairy Man of South Eastern Australiaby Graham C Joyner27pp., available from the author, PO Box 253, Kingston ACT 2604, $5.40
Loch Ness may have its monster and Tibet its Yeti, but Australia also has its legendary beasts. This booklet collects a number of references, mainly from local newspapers, to a hairy man, known as a yahoo or dulagal, which has been reported in various places between Gip ... (read more)
‘Gaining a toehold in the world of publishing can be tricky. Once you are in, if you have the requisite talent and drive, things can happen, but penetrating that wall is the hard part. I am delighted to be associated with an editorial cadetship that will transform people’s careers. I hope that ABR readers will join me in supporting this invaluable program.’
Peter Rose (Editor and CEO, 200 ... (read more)
Application for this position have now closed.
Australian Book Review seeks a new Editor and CEO
About Australian Book Review
Australian Book Review (ABR) seeks a new Editor and Chief Executive Officer to lead the country’s premier literary and cultural magazine.
ABR is a prestigious and successful organisation with deep roots in Australian cultural life. It is diverse in terms of co ... (read more)
The ABR Science Fellowship
The 2025 ABR Science Fellowship is now closed.
The ABR Science Fellowship offers a unique opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the magazine in the area of science writing. Applications are now open and close on January 20. The fellowship is intended to advance the careers of science writers and to augment ABR’s coverage of science and the history of ... (read more)
And the winners are ...
The judges of the 2004 ABR Reviewing Competition were gratified by the level of interest in this competition and by the overall standard of entries. We received almost 100 entries (a third of them from subscribers). Fiction and non-fiction were evenly divided; there were rather fewer children’s/young adult book reviews. To no one’s surprise, the most popular book was ... (read more)