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View items...Index for 2019: Nos 408–417 & online features
ABR Index 2019
NB: this index includes material published in the print magazine and online in 2019.
2019 Australian Book Review Index
Subscribers can read these reviews online here.
ADELAIDE, Debra, The Innocent Reader: Reflections on reading and writing, Picador, 417/57, Susan Sheridan
ADELAIDE, Debra, Zebra & Other Stories, Picador, 409/55, David Haworth
ALEXANDER, Kirsten, Half Moon Lake, Bantam, 408/31, Jane Sullivan
ANDREW, Christopher, The Secret World: A history of intelligence, Allen Lane, 408/27, Kyle Wilson
ARAMBARU, Fernando (translated by Alfred MacAdam), Homeland, Picador, 412/37, Gabriel García Ochoa
ARIANRHOD, Robyn, Thomas Harriot: A life in science, Oxford University Press, 416/44, Elizabeth Finkel
Arrow, Michelle, The Seventies: The personal, the political and the making of modern Australia, NewSouth, 410/21, Zora Simic
ASHLEY, Melissa, The Bee and the Orange Tree, Affirm Press, 417/47, Lisa Bennett
ATWOOD, Margaret, The Testaments, Chatto & Windus, 416/35, Beejay Silcox
BALLESTRO, Andrea, A Future History of Water, Duke University Press, 415/21, Timothy Neale
BAMFORTH, Tom, The Rising Tide: Among the islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean, Hardie Grant Books, 416/49, Ceridwen Spark
BARNS, Greg, Rise of the Right: The war on Australia’s liberal values, Hardie Grant Books, 410/33, Andrew Broertjes
BARTULIN, Lenny, Fortune, Allen & Unwin, 415/52, Francesca Sasnaitis
BATE, Jonathan, How the Classics Made Shakespeare, Princeton University Press, 414/56, David McInnis
BENJAMIN, Marina, Insomnia, Scribe, 408/41, Tali Lavi
BERMAN, Sheri, Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancien Régime to the present day, Oxford University Press, 414/16, Rémy Davison
BEST, Gillian, The Last Wave, Text Publishing, 409/33, Rose Lucas
BIRD, Carmel, Field of Poppies, Transit Lounge, 416/38, Gregory Day
BISHOP, Alice, A Constant Hum, Text Publishing, 416/40, Debra Adelaide
BLACKFORD, Russell, The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the future of liberalism, Bloomsbury, 409/14, Ceridwen Spark
BLAINEY, Ann, King of the Air: The turbulent life of Charles Kingford Smith, Black Inc., 412/49, Michael McGirr
BLAINEY, Geoffrey, Before I forget: An early memoir, Hamish Hamilton, 414/12, Brenda Niall
BONYHADY, Tim, The Enchantment of the Long-Haired Rat: A Rodent History of Australia, Text Publishing, 415/28, Libby Robin
BORNHOLDT, Jenny (ed.), Short Poems of New Zealand, Victoria University Press, 410/52, Joan Fleming
BOUVERIE, Tim, Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the road to war, The Bodley Head, 415/54, Glyn Davis
BOX, Dan, Bowraville, Viking, 413/19, Stephen Dedman
BRAMSTON, Troy, Robert Menzies: The art of politics, Scribe, 412/50, Michael Sexton
BRANDS, Hal and Charles Edel, The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and world order, Yale University Press, 412/11, Rémy Davison
BREARLEY, Mike, On Cricket, Constable, 411/46, Gideon Haigh
BRETT, Judith, From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia got compulsory voting, Text Publishing, 411/11, Frank Bongiorno
BROOME, Richard et al., Mallee Country: Land, people, history, Monash University Publishing, 417/28, Lilian Pearce
BROWN, Kate, Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl guide for the future, Allen Lane, 415/12, Sheila Fitzpatrick
BRUNDAGE, W. Fitzhugh, Civilizing Torture: An American tradition, Harvard University Press, 409/12, Prudence Flowers
BRYER, Elizabeth, From Here On, Monsters, Picador, 414/39, James Halford
BUI, Joey, Lucky Ticket, Text Publishing, 416/54, Cassandra Atherton
BULLOUGH, Oliver, Moneyland: Why thieves and crooks now rule the world and how to take it back, Profile Books, 411/14, Kieran Pender
BUTI, Antonio, A Stolen Life: The Bruce Trevorrow case, Fremantle Press, 413/16, Michael Winkler
BUTLER, Isaac and Dan Kois (eds), The World Only Spins Forward: The ascent of angels in America, Bloomsbury, 408/59, Tim Byrne\
CALDWELL, Lucy (ed.), Being Various: New Irish Short Stories, Faber, 414/47, Chris Flynn
CALIC, Marie-Janine (translated by Elizabeth Janik), The Great Cauldron: A history of southeastern Europe, Harvard University Press, 415/56, Iva Glisic
CAMPBELL, Craig and Debra Hayes, Jean Blackburn: Education, feminism and social justice, Monash University Publishing, 414/60, Ilana Snyder
CARR, Wally and Gaele Sobott, My Longest Round, Magabala Books, 413/16, Michael Winkler
CARROLL, Steven, The Year of the Beast, Fourth Estate, 209/27, Kerryn Goldsworthy
CARTER, David and Roger Osbourne, Australian Books and Authors in the American Marketplace 1840s–1940s, Sydney University Press, 413/48, Keyvan Allahyari
CHANIN, Eileen, Capital Designs: Australia House and visions of an imperial London, Austrlian Scholarly Publishing, 414/57, Jim Davidson
CHAPMAN, Simon and Fiona Crichton, Wind Turbine Syndrome: A communicated disease, Sydney University Press, 415/27, James Dunk
CHENG, Melanie, Room for a Stranger, Text Publishing, 411/36, Alice Nelson
CHIANG, Ted, Exhalation, Picador, 412/31, Lisa Bennett
CHIM, Wai, The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, 417/54, Emily Gallagher
CICERO, Marcus Tullius, How to Be a Friend: An ancient guide to true friendship, online only, William Poulos
CLARKE, T.J., Heaven on Earth: Painting and the life to come, Thames & Hudson, 412/58, Christopher Allen
CLEARY, Simon, The War Artist, UQP, 410/41, Robin Gerster
COETZEE, J.M., The Death of Jesus, Text Publishing, 415/42, James Ley
COLEMAN, Claire G., The Old Lie, Hachette, 414/30, Alison Whittaker
COLES, David, Chromatopia: An illustrated history of colour, Thames & Hudson, 408/63, Simon Caterson
CONDON, Matthew, The Night Dragon, University of Queensland Press, 414/55, Ben Smith
COOKE, Richard, Tired of Winning: A chronicle of American decline, Black Inc., 412/52, Varun Ghosh
CORNGOLD, Stanley, Walter Kaufmann: Philosopher, humanist, heretic, Princeton University Press, 410/56, Lewis Rosenberg
COSTELLO, Tim, A Lot with a Little, Hardie Grant Books, 415/63, Jacqueline Kent
COTTE, Sabine, Mirka Mora: A life making art, Thames & Hudson, 416/45, Carol Middleton
CROALL, Jonathan, Performing Hamlet: Actors in the modern age, Bloomsbury, 408/58, Brian McFarlane
CROGGON, Alison, Remembered Presences: Responses to theatre, Currency Press, 411/21, Ben Brooker
CUNNINGHAM, Sophie, City of Trees: Essays on life, death and the need for a forest, Text Publishing, 411/9, Johanna Leggatt
CURRAN, Andrew S., Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 411/42, Peter McPhee
CUSK, Rachel, Coventry: Essays, Faber & Faber, 417/12, Johanna Leggatt
D’ANGOUR, Armand, Socrates in Love: The making of a philosopher, Bloomsbury, 413/59, Julia Kindt
DABASHI, Hamid, The Shahnameh: The Persian Epic as world literature, Columbia University Press, 411/56, Darius Sepehri
DALE, John (ed.), Sydney Noir, Brio Books, 408/34, Chris Flynn
DALTON, Robyn and Laura Ginters, The Ripples Before the New Wave: Drama at the University of Sydney 1957–1963, Currency Press, 411/23, Gillian Appleton
DAMOUSI, Joy, and Judith Smart (eds), Contesting Australian History: Essays in honour of Marilyn Lake, 412/54, Christina Twomey
DAPIN, Mark, Australia’s Vietnam: Myth vs history, NewSouth, 411/20, Michael Sexton
DEL AMO, Jean-Baptiste (translated by Frank Wynne), Animalia, Text Publishing, 413/55, Phoebe Weston-Evans
DELARGY, James, 55, Simon & Schuster, 411/34, Chris Flynn
DENNISS, Richard, Dead Right: How Neoliberalism ate itself and what comes next, Black Inc., 412/53, Rubik Roy
DI FIGUEIREDO, Ivo (translated by Robert Ferguson), Henrik Ibsen: The man and the mask, Yale University Press, 414/51, Kári Gíslason
DIAMOND, Jared, Upheaval: How nations cope with crisis and change, online only, Tim Rowse
DIBBLE, Jeremy and Julian Horton (eds), British Music Criticism and Intellectual Thought 1850–1950, online only, Peter Tregear
DISHER, Garry, Kill Shot, Text Publishing, 409/57, David Whish-Wilson
DIXON, R.M.W., Australa’s Original Languages: An introduction, Allen & Unwin, 413/20, Bruce Moore
DOIG, Tom, Hazelwood, Viking, 412/17, Alistair Thomson
DOTEN, Mark, Trump Sky Alpha, Graywolf Press, 411/26, Beejay Silcox
DUNK, James, Bedlam at Botany Bay, NewSouth, 412/13, Alan Atkinson
EADES, Quinn and Son Vivienne (eds), Going Postal: More than ‘yes’ or ‘no’, one year on, online only, Stephen A. Russell
EDGERTON, David, The Rise and Fall of the British Nation: A twentieth-century history, Allen Lane, 408/23, Simon Tormey
ELLMANN, Lucy, Ducks, Newburyport, Text Publishing, 417/45, Shannon Burns
ELVEY, Anne, White on White, Cordite Books, 408/50, Amy Lin
ERNAUX, Annie (translated by Alison L. Strayer), The Years, Seven Stories Press, 409/38, Gemma Betros
EVANS, Alison, Highway Bodies, Echo Publishing, 412/38, Emily Gallagher
EXTINCTION REBELLION, This is Not a Drill, Penguin Press, 415/10, Tim Flannery
FABER, Toby, Faber &Faber: The untold history of a great publishing house, Faber & Faber, 412/56, Jacqueline Kent
FAGAN, Brian, A Little History of Archaeology, Yale University Press, 413/30, Kelly D. Wiltshire
FARMAN, Jason, Delayed response: The art of waiting from the ancient to the instant world, Yale University Press, 410/28, Alex Tighe
FARRELL, Michael (ed.), Ashbery Mode, Tinfish Press, 416/57, John Hawke
FEATHERSTONE, Nigel, Bodies of Men, Hachette, 413/54, Patrick Allington
FERGUSON, Adele, Banking Bad, ABC Books, 416/27, Ben Huf
FERGUSON, Melissa, The Shining Wall, Transit Lounge, 411/39, Jacinta Mulders
FINNEY, Vanessa, Capturing Nature: Early scientific photography at the Austrlkaian Museuem 1857–1893, NewSouth/Australian Museum, 410/13, Philip Jones
FLEMING, Chris, On Drugs, Giramondo, 416/20, James Antoniou
FORBES, Angus, Global Planet Authority: How we’re about to save the biosphere, LID Publishing, 415/10, Tim Flannery
FOX, Candice, Gone by Midnight, Bantam, 409/58, David Whish-Wilson
FOX, Charlie, This Young Monster, Brow Books, 411/24, Keegan O’Connor
FOX, Helena, How it Feels to Float, Macmillan, 412/38, Emily Gallagher
FOX, Peggy L. and Thomas Keith (eds), The Luck of Friendship: The letters of Tennessee Williams and James Laughlin, W.W. Norton & Company, 408/44, Ian Dickson
FRAME, Tom (ed.), Back from the Brink, 1997-2001: The Howard Government Volume II, UNSW Press, 408/49, Lyndon Megarrity
FRAME, Tom, Gun Control: What Australia got right (and wrong), UNSW Press, 415/60, Kieran Pender
FRASER, Peg, Black Saturday: Not the end of the story, Monash University Publishing, 412/16, Daniel May
FREW, Peggy, Islands, Allen & Unwin, 420/38, Bronwyn Lea
FUREDI, Frank, How Fear Works: Culture of fear in the twenty-first century, online only, Adrian Walsh
GARNER, Helen, Yellow Notebook: Diaries, volume 1, 1978–1987, Text Publishing, 417/10, Peter Rose
GAYNOR, Andrea (ed.), George Seddon: Selected writings, La Trobe University Press, 417/61, Judith Brett
GILES, Paul, Backgazing: Reverse time in Modernist culture, Oxford University Press, 417/56, Philip Mead
GILLING, Tom, Project Rainfall: The secret history of Pine Gap, Allen & Unwin, 415/23, Alison Broinowski
GILMOUR, Bejamin, The Gap: An Australian paramedic’s summer on the edge, Viking, 415/39, Nicholas Bugeja
GIRIDHARADAS, Anand, Winners Take All: The elite charade of changing the world, Allen Lane, 412/8, Glyn Davis
GLEESON, Kate and Catherine Lumby (eds), The Age of Consent: Young people, sexual abuse and agency, UWA Publishing, 414/61, Dean Biron
GOLDSMITH, Andrea, Invented Lives, Scribe, 410/39, Francesca Sasnaitis
GOLDSWORTHY, Peter, Minotaur, Viking, 413/53, Chris Flynn
GOODALL, Jane R., The Politics of the Common Good: Dispossession in Australia, NewSouth, 415/58, Judith Brett
GOPNIK, Adam, A Thousand Small Sanities: The moral adventure of liberalism, riverrun, 414/15, Russell Blackford
GORDON-SMITH, Eleanor, Stop Being Reasonable, NewSouth, 412/18, Alex Tighe
GORMAN, Ginger, Troll Hunting: Inside the world of online hate and its human fallout, Hardie Grant Books, 409/53, Jacinta Mulders
GORTON, Lisa, Empirical, Giramondo, 415/65, David McCooey
GRANT, Neil, The Honeyman and the Hunter, Allen & Unwin, 412/38, Emily Gallagher
GRANT, Stan, Australia Day, HarperCollins, 413/10, Bruce Pascoe
GRANT, Stan, On Identity, Melbourne University Press, 413/10, Bruce Pascoe
GREENBLATT, Stephen, Tyrant: Shakespeare on Power, Bodley Head, 409/47, David McInnis
GREENWICH, Alex and Shirleene Robinson, Yes Yes Yes: Australia’s journey to marriage equality, online only, Stephen A. Russell
HALFORD, James, Requiem with Yellow Butterflies, UWA Publishing, 412/55, Alice Whitmore
HALL, Doug, Present Tense: Anna Schwartz gallery and thirty-five years of contemporary Australian art, Black Inc., 416/15, Sophie Knezic
HAM, Paul, New Jerusalem, William Heinemann, 410/55, Paul Collins
HARDING, Christopher, Japan Story: In Search of a Nation, 1850 to present, Allen Lane, 410/48, Alison Broinowski
HARRIS, Robert, The Gang of One: Selected poems, Grand Parade Poets, 413/46, Judith Bishop
HASTE, Cate, Passionate Spirit: The life of Alma Mahler, Bloomsbury, 417/29, Ian Dickson
HAWKE, Steve, The Valley, Fremantle Press, 408/32, Helena Kadmos
HAYES, Patrick and Jan Wilm (eds), Beyond the Ancient Quarrel: Literatures, philosophy and J.M. Coetzee, OUP, 410/26, Tim Mehigan
HEISS, Anita (ed.), Growing up Aboriginal in Australia, Black Inc., 413/41, David Haworth
HENNETTE, Stéphanie et al., How to Democratize Europe, Harvard University Press (Footprint), 417/24, Paul Muldoon
HILL, Jess, See What You Made Me Do: Power, control and domestic abuse, Black Inc., 414/10, Zora Simic
HOBAN, Mary, An Unconventional Wife: The Life of Julia Sorell Arnold, Scribe, 411/40, Jim Davidson
HOOTON, Matthew, Typhoon Kingdom, UWA Publishing, 412/30, Alison Broinowski
HOUELLEBECQ, Michel (translated by Shaun Whiteside), Serotonin, William Heinemann, 417/48, David Jack
HUBER, Florian (translated by Imogen Taylor), Promise Me You’ll Shoot Yourself: The mass suicides of ordinary Germans in 1945, Text Publishing, 414/13, Alexander Wells
HURLEY, Susan, Eight Lives, Affirm Press, 412/32, Stephen Dedman
HUSTVEDT, Siri, Memories of the Future, Sceptre, 411/33, James Ley
ISAACS, David, Defeating the Ministers of Death: The compelling history of vaccination, Harpercollins, 413/58, Euzebieusz Jamrozik
JACKSON, Julian, A Certain Idea of France: The life of Charles de Gaulle, Allen Lane, 409/36, Rémy Davison
JAMES, Clive, Somewhere Becoming Rain: Collected writings on Philip Larkin, online only, Geoff Page
JAMISON, Leslie, The Recovering: Intoxication and its aftermath, Granta, 408/42, Lucas Thompson
JINKS, Catherine, Shepherd, Text Publishing, 414/40, David Whish-Wilson
JOHNSON, Stephanie, West Island: Five twentieth-century New Zealanders in Australia, Otago University Press, 417/41, Brian Matthews
JONES, Benjamin T., Frank Bongiorno, and John Uhr (eds), Elections Matter: Ten Federal elections that shaped Australia, Monash University Publishing, 410/47, Lyndon Megarrity
JONES, Jannali, My Father’s Shadow, Magabala Books, 417/54, Emily Gallagher
KAMINSKY, Leah, The Hollow Bones, Vintage, 410/49, Jacinta Mulders
KANTOR, Jodi and Megan Twohey, She Said: Breaking the sexual harassment story that helped ignite a movement, Bloomsbury Circus, 417/8, Zora Simic
KAUFMANN, Eric, Whiteshift: Populism, immigration and the future of white majorities, Allen Lane, 410/29, Simon Tormey
KELLY, Dominic, Political Troglodytes and economic lunatics: the hard right in Australia, La Trobe University Press, 410/33, Andrew Broertjes
KEMP, David, The Land of Dreams: How Australians won their freedom, 1788-1860, Miegunyah Press, 408/13, Alan Atkinson
KENEALLY, Meg, Fled, Echo Publishing, 412/32, Kerryn Goldsworthy
KENT, Jacqueline, Beyond Words: A year with Kenneth Cook, UQP, 409/29, Susan Sheridan
KENWOOD, Nina, It Sounded Better in My Head, Text Publishing, 417/54, Emily Gallagher
KINSELLA, John, Hollow Earth, Transit Lounge, 415/47, Chris Flynn
KINSELLA, John, Lucida Intervalla, UWA Publishing, 409/24, Francesca Sasnaitis
KISSANE, Andy, David Musgrave, and Carolyn Rickett (eds.), Feeding the Ghost 1: Criticism on contemporary Australian poetry, Puncher & Wattmann, 408/48, John Hawke
KISSANE, Andy, The Tomb of the Unknown Artist, Puncher & Wattmann, 412/57, Geoff Page
KOFMAN, Lee, Imperfect: How our bodies shape the people we become, Affirm Press, 409/52, Tali Lavi
KOHLER, Alan, It’s Your Money: How banking went rogue, where it is now and how to protect and grow your money, Nero, 416/28, Ben Huf
KON-YU, Natalie et al. (eds), #MeToo: Stories from the Australian movement, Picador, 412/41, Zora Simic
KRIEN, Anna, Act of Grace, Black Inc., 415/46, Alice Nelson
LACKEY, Jennifer, Academic Freedom, online only, Ronan McDonald
LAHIRI, Jhumpa (ed.), The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories, Penguin Classics, 416/41, Rita Wilson
LAKE, Marilyn, Progressive New World: How settler colonialism and transpacific exchange shaped American reform, Harvard University Press, 409/9, Ian Tyrell
LAMSTER, Mark, Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, architect of the modern century, Little, Brown, 414/58, Patrick McCaughey
LANCHESTER, John, The Wall, Faber & Faber, 411/26, Beejay Silcox
LANDRAGIN, Alex, Crossings, Picador, 412/36, Amy Baillieu
LAWRENCE, Susan and Peter Davies, Sludge: Disaster on Victoria’s Goldfields, La Trobe University Press, 415/18, Alexandra Roginski
LAYMAN, Lenore and Gail Phillips, Asbestos in Australia: From boom to dust, Monash University Publishing, 415/17, Graeme Davison
LE, Nam, On David Malouf, Black Inc., 411/12, Peter Rose
LEE, Christopher, Postcolonial heritage and settler well-being: The historical fictions of Roger McDonald, Cambria Press, 413/45, Robin Gerster
LEFEVRE, Carol, The Happiness Glass, Spinifex Press, 410/40, Susan Varga
LEGGE, Kate, Kindred: A Cradle Mountain love story, Miegunyah Press, 410/50, Jarrod Hore
LEHMANN, Geoffrey, Leeward: A memoir, NewSouth, 408/26, Morag Fraser
LEPORE, Jill, These Truths: A history of the United States, W.W. Norton & Company, 408/22, Ben Vine
LESER, David, Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing, Allen & Unwin, 414/23, Paul Dalgarno
LEW, Emma, Crow College: New and selected poems, Giramondo, 411/55, Judith Bishop
LIPSTADT, Deborah, Antisemitism: Here and now, Scribe, 413/60, Ilana Snyder
LLEWELLYN, Caro, Diving into Glass: A memoir, Hamish Hamilton, 410/59, Astrid Edwards
LOBB, Joshua, The Flight of Birds: A novel in twelve stories, Sydney University Press, 417/44, Sascha Morrell
LONGERICH, Peter (translated by Jeremy Noakes and Lesley Sharpe), Hitler: A life, Oxford University Press, 415/53, Philip Dwyer
LUKIANOFF, Greg and Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind, Allen Lane, 411/48, David Rolph
LYDON, Jane (ed.), Visualising Human Rights, UWA Publishing, 409/31, Alison Stieven-Taylor
MACAULEY, Wayne, Simpson Returns: A novella, Text Publishing, 411/31, Alex Cothren
MacDONALD, Reg, The Boy from Brunswick: Leonard French, a biography, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 409/32, Sheridan Palmer
MACFARLANE, Robert, Underland: A deep time journey, Hamish Hamilton, 416/47, Alison Pouliot
MADDISON, Sarah, The Colonial Fantasy: Why White Australia Can’t Solve Black Problems, Allen & Unwin, 413/22, Richard J. Martin
MALCOLM, Elizabeth and Dianne Hall, A New History of the Irish in Australia, NewSouth, 409/11, Michael McGirr
MANNING, Paddy, Born to Rule?, Melbourne University Press, 409/16, Paul Williams
MARCUS, Sharon, The Drama of Celebrity, online only, James Antoniou
MARES, Peter, No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia’s housing crisis, Text Publishing, 409/22, Tom Bamforth
MARTEL, Frédéric, In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, homosexuality, hypocrisy, Bloomsbury, 410/8, Barney Zwartz
MARTIN, Peter, The Dictionary Wars: The American fight over the English language, Princeton University Press (Footprint), 417/40, Bruce Moore
MATHEWS, Iola, Winning for Women: A personal story, online only, Noel Turnbull
McEwan, Ian, Machines Like Me, Jonathan Cape, 411/30, Paul Giles
McGAHAN, Andrew, The Rich Man’s House, Allen & Unwin, 414/29, James Bradley
McLEAN, Felicity, The Van Apfel Girls are Gone, HarperCollins, 412/39, Dean Biron
MCPHEE, Hilary, Other People’s Houses, Melbourne University Press, 416/18, Jane Cadzow
McTIERNAN, Dervla, The Scholar, HarperCollins, 409/57, David Whish-Wilson
MENDELSSOHN, Joanna et al., Australian Art Exhibitions: Opening our eyes, Thames & Hudson, 408/60, Ron Radford
MORIARTY, Jaclyn, Gravity Is The Thing, Pan Macmillan, 411/38, Naama Grey-Smith
MOSER, Benjamin, Sontag: Her life, Ecco, 416/17, Paul Kildea
MOUNT, Ferdinand, Prime Movers: From Pericles to Gandhi: Twelve great political thinkers and what’s wrong with each of them, Simon & Schuster, 410/30, Glyn Davis
MULLINS, Patrick, Tiberius with a Telephone: The life and stories of William McMahon, Scribe, 408/16, James Walter
MUNDELL, Meg, The Trespassers, University of Queensland Press, 416/39, Amy Baillieu
MURNANE, Gerald, A Season on Earth, Text Publishing, 410/36, Paul Giles
MURNANE, Gerald, Green Shadows and Other Poems, Giramondo, 409/46, Geoff Page
MURPHY, Philip, The Empire’s New Clothes: The myth of the Commonwealth, Hurst & Company, Jim Davidson
NIEHAUS, Amanda, The Breeding Season, Allen & Unwin, 415/50, Fiona Wright
NOEL-TOD, Jeremy, The Penguin Book of the Prose Poem, Penguin Classics, 414/62, John Hawke
NOGRADY, Bianca (ed.), The Best Australian Science Writing 2019, NewSouth, 417/60, Robyn Arianrhod
NOLAN, Justine and Martijn Boersma, Addressing Modern Slavery, UNSW Press, 415/61, Sayomi Ariyawansa
O’CALLAGHAN, Amanda, This Taste for Silence: Stories, University of Queensland Press, 414/26, Bronwyn Lea
OLSEN, Penny and Lynette Russell, Australia’s First Naturalists: Indigenous peoples’ contribution to early zoology, NLA Publishing, 413/18, Anna Clark
OLSEN, Penny, Night Parrot: Australia’s most elusive bird, CSIRO Publishing, 411/58, Neil Murray
ORCHARD, Sonia, Into the Fire, Affirm Press, 411/37, Keyvan Allahyari
PACKER, George, Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the end of the American century, online only, Benjamin Madden
PARRETT, Favel, There Was Still Love, Hachette, 416/37, Anna MacDonald
PASCOE, Bruce, Salt: Selected stories and essay, Black Inc., 416/29, Steven Kinnane
PENDER, Anne, Seven Big Australians: Adventures with comic actors, Monash University Publishing, 412/59, Desley Deacon
PEPPIATT, Michael, The Existential Englishman: Paris among the artists, Bloomsbury, 411/45, Gemma Betros
PERKINS, Cathy, The Shelf Life of Zora Cross, Monash University Publishing, 417/17, Brenda Niall
PERLMAN, Elliot, Maybe the Horse Will Talk, Vintage, 417/43, Chris Flynn
PETTIT, Philip (edited by Kinch Hoekstra with Michael Tomasello), The Birth of Ethics: Reconstructing the role and nature of morality, OUP, 411/47, David Neil
PETTITT-SCHIPP, Renee, The Sky Runs Right Through Us, UWA Publishing, 408/50, Amy Lin
PFEIFFER, Dan, Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump, Hardie Grant, 408/19, Varun Ghosh
POGREBIN, Robin and Kate Kelly, The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation, Portfolio, 417/8, Zora Simic
POLAIN, Marcella, Driving Into The Sun, Fremantle Press, 411/39, Stephen Dedman
POLITES, Peter, The Pillars, Hachette, 414/46, Crusader Hillis
RANKIN, Joy Lisi, A People’s History of Computing in the United States, Harvard University Press, 410/58, Josh Specht
RASMUSSEN, Carolyn, The Blackburns: Private Lives, Public Ambition, Melbourne University Press, 410/45, Jacqueline Kent
REYNOLDS, David and Vladimir Pechatnov (eds), The Kremlin Letters: Stalin’s wartime correspondence with Churchill and Roosevelt, Yale University Press, 410/11, Sheila Fitzpatrick
RHODES, Ben, The World as it is: Inside the Obama White House, The Bodley Head, 408/19, Varun Ghosh
RICHARDS, Kate, Fusion, Hamish Hamilton, 409/28, Chris Murray
RIPPON, Gina, The Gendered Brain: The new neuroscience that shatters the myth of the female brain, Bodley Head, 409/49, Nick Haslam
ROBERTS, Claire and John Thompson (eds), Ian Fairweather: A life in letters, Text Publishing, 416/13, Morag Fraser
ROBINSON, Alice, The Glad Shout, Affirm Press, 410/43, Jane Rawson
ROBINSON, Suzanne, Peggy Glanville-Hicks: Composer and critic, University of Illinois Press (Footprint), 416/42, Suzanne Robinson
RODDAN, Michael, The People vs the Banks, Melbourne University Press, 416/27, Ben Huf
RODRIGUEZ, Judith, The Feather Boy & Other Poems, Puncher & Wattmann, 409/44, Jennifer Strauss
ROMER, Anna, Under the Midnight Sky, Simon & Shuster, 411/34, Chris Flynn
ROSE, Heather, Bruny, Allen & Unwin, 415/51, Nicole Abadee
ROSENTHAL, Daniel (ed.), Dramatic Exchanges: The Lives and Letters of the National Theatre, Profile Books, 410/44, Ian Dickson
ROUPENIAN, Kristen, You Know You Want This, Jonathan Cape, 409/56, Amy Baillieu
ROWE, Josephine, Here until August: Stories, Black Inc., 414/26, Bronwyn Lea
RUNDLE, Guy, Practice: Journalism, essays and criticism, Black Inc., 411/57, Ryan Cropp
RUSBRIDGER, Alan, Breaking News: The remaking of journalism and why it matters now, Canongate, 408/11, Jane Cadzow
SALOM, Philip, The Returns, Transit Lounge, 414/31, Brenda Walker
SALUSINSZKY, Imre, The Hilton Bombing: Evan Pederick and the Ananda Marga, Melbourne University Press, 417/59, Jacqueline Kent
SANYAL, Mithu, Rape: From Lucretia to #MeToo, Verso, 414/10, Zora Simic
SAVVA, Nikki, Plots and Prayers: Malcolm Turnbull’s demise and Scott Morrison’s ascension, Scribe, 413/25, Paul Williams
SCHOLTE, Astrid, Four Dead Queens, Allen & Unwin, 412/38, Emily Gallagher
SCHUBERT, Steven, Mandatory Murder: A true history of homicide and injustice in an outback town, ABC Books, 416/51, Russell Marks
SCHWEBLIN, Samanta (translated by Megan McDowell), Mouthful of Birds: Stories, Oneworld, 413/56, James Halford
SEAMER, Peter, Breaking Point: The future of Australian cities, Nero, 411/50, Tom Bamforth
SEGEV, Tom (translated by Haim Watzman), A State at Any Cost: The life of David Ben-Gurion, Head of Zeus, 416/25, Ilana Snyder
SENDZIUK, Paul and Robert Foster, A History of South Australia, Cambridge University Press, 410/16, Kerryn Goldsworthy
SENECA, How To Keep Your Cool: An ancient guide to anger management, online only, William Poulos
SHEARSTON, Trevor, Hare’s Fur, Scribe, 409/58, Jack Callil
SHILTON, Leni, Walking With Camels: The story of Bertha Strehlow, UWA Publishing, 410/51, Jen Webb
SIMONS, Margaret, Penny Wong: Passion and principle, Black Inc., 417/16, Angela Woollacott
SIMPSON, James, Permanent Revolution: The Reformation and the illiberal roots of liberalism, Harvard University Press, 413/42, Paul Giles
SMEE, Sebastian, Net Loss: The inner life in the digital age (Quarterly Essay 72), Black Inc., 408/29, Alex Tighe
SMITH, Ali, Spring, Hamish Hamilton, 412/26, Jack Callil
SMITH, Zadie, Grand Union: Stories, Hamish Hamilton, 417/46, Astrid Edwards
SMYTH, Katharine, All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking solace in Virginia Woolf, Atlantic Books, 416/55, Ann-Marie Priest
SNOWDEN, Edward, Permanent Record, Macmillan, 417/13, Brian Toohey
SOLNIT, Rebecca, Call them by their true names: American crises (and essays), Granta, 409/50, Daniel Juckes
SPARROW, Jeff, Trigger Warnings: Political correctness and the rise of the right, Scribe, 410/17, Russell Blackford
SPECHT, Joshua, Red Meat Republic: A hoof-to-table history of how beef changed America, Princeton University Press (Footprint), 416/53, Cameo Dalley
STEINBERG, Peter K. and Karen V. Kukil (eds), The Letters of Sylvia Plath Volume 2: 1956-1963, Faber, 408/8, Sarah Holland-Batt
SUARES, Julie, J.B. Chifley: An ardent internationalist, Melbourne University Publishing, 417/25, David Lowe
SULLIVAN, Jane, Storytime: Growing up with books, Ventura Press, 416/56, Margaret Robson Kett
SVED, Miriam, A Universe of Sufficient Size, Picador, 410/42, Naama Grey-Smith
SWINN, Louise (ed.), Choice words: A collection of writing about abortion, Allen & Unwin, 410/20, Suzy Freeman-Greene
TADDEO, Lisa, Three Women, Bloomsbury Circus, 415/38, Astrid Edwards
TAN, Shaun, Tales from the Inner City, Allen & Unwin, 408/35, Danielle Clode
TANNER, Lindsay, Comeback, Scribe, 411/34, Chris Flynn
THOMAS, Keith, In Pursuit of Civility: Manners and civilization in early modern England, Yale, 408/15, Ian Donaldson
THOMPSON, Christina, Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia, HarperCollins, 412/42, Ceridwen Spark
THOMSON, Mike, Syria’s Secret Library: Reading and redemption in a town under siege, Weidenfield and Nicholson, 415/39, Beejay Silcox
THROSBY, Holly, Cedar Valley, Allen & Unwin, 408/30, Alice Nelson
THUNBERG, Greta, No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference, Penguin Press, 415/10, Tim Flannery
TIFFANY, Carrie, Exploded View, Text Publishing, 409/25, James Ley
TILLEY Paul, Changing Fortunes: A history of the Australian treasury, Melbourne University Press, 417/39, Geoffrey Blainey
TOLENTINO, Jia, Trick Mirror: Reflections on self-delusion, Fourth Estate, 413/38, Dan Dixon
TRELOAR, Lucy, Wolfe Island, Picador, 414/38, Naama Grey-Smith
VAN LOON, Julienne, The Thinking Woman, NewSouth, 409/48, Johanna Leggatt
VERHOEVEN, Timothy, Secularists, Religion and Government in Nineteenth-Century America, Palgrave Macmillan, 411/41, Ian Tyrell
WAKEFIELD, Vikki, This Is How We Change the Ending, Text Publishing, 417/54, Emily Gallagher
WALKER, Alan, Frederyk Chopin: A life and times, Faber & Faber, 409/34, Paul Kildea
WALLACE-WELLS, David, The Uninhabitable Earth: A story of the future, Allen Lane, 411/51, Deb Anderson
WALTER, James, Inside the Greens: The origins and future of the party, the people and the politics, Black Inc., 416/23, James Walter
WALWICZ, Ania, Horse, UWA Publishing, 408/33, Bernard Cohen
WARDE, Paul, Libby Robin, and Sverker Sorlin, The Environment: A history of the idea, Johns Hopkins University Press, 408/39, James Dunk
WARNER, Dave, Rivers of Salt, Fremantle Press, 411/34, Chris Flynn
WARREN, Matthew, Blackout: how is energy-rich Australia running out of electricity?, Affirm Press, 412/15, Kate Griffiths
WATSON, Fred, Cosmic Chronicles: A user’s guide to the universe, NewSouth, 416/50, Robyn Williams
WHITE, Hugh, How to Defend Australia, La Trobe University Press, 414/21, Chengxin Pan
WHITE, Jessica, Hearing Maud, UWA Publishing, 414/54, Rachel Robertson
WHITINGTON, Anthropogenic Rivers: The production of uncertainty in Lao hydropower, Cornell University Press, 415/21, Timothy Neale
WHITTAKER, Alison, Blakwork, Magabala Books, 410/51, Jen Webb
WHITTIER TREAT, John, The Rise and Fall of Modern Japanese Literature, University of Chicago Press, 409/59, Mark Gibeau
WIGGLESWORTH, Mark, The Silent Musician: Why Conducting Matters, Faber & Faber, 414/64, Paul Kildea
WILDING, Michael, Wild About Books: Essays on books and writing, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 417/57, Susan Sheridan
WINEAPPLE, Brenda, The Impeachers: The trial of Andrew Johnson and the dream of a just nation, Random House, 417/22, Samuel Watts
WINTERSON, Jeanette, Frankissstein: A love story, Jonathan Cape, 412/29, Nicole Abadee
WOMERSLEY, Chris, A Lovely and Terrible Thing, Picador, 411/32, Brenda Walker
WOOD, Charlotte, The Weekend, Allen & Unwin, 416/32, Felicity Plunkett
WOOLLACOTT, Angela, Don Dunstan: The visionary politician who changed Australia, Allen & Unwin, 415/62, Christina Slade
WULF, Andrea (ed.), Alexander von Humboldt: Selected writings, Everyman, 414/20, Tom Griffiths
ZIFFER, Daniel, A Wunch of Bankers: A year in the Hayne Royal Commission, Scribe, 416/28, Ben Huf
ZUBRZYCKI, John, Empire of Enchantment: The story of Indian magic, Scribe, 408/51, Alexandra Roginski
ABR Arts
ABR Arts reviews can be read here.
Arts commentary
DICKSON, Ian, ‘Letter from Bucharest’, online only
McCAUGHEY, Patrick, ‘The Golden Age on St Kilda Road’, 412/68
SHMITH, Michael, ‘Musician of the world: A tribute to Andrew Davis’, online only
Dance
Burrbgaja Yalirra (Marrugeku), online only, Amelia Zhou
Epiphany
ARCHER, Robyn, ‘Braving Glyndebourne’, 412/67
CHEETHAM, Deborah, ‘A Night at the Opera’, 413/62
GRIFFITHS, Jane Montgomery, ‘Becoming Electra’, 414/71
Festivals
2019 Melbourne International Jazz Festival, online only, Des Cowley
2019 Stonnington Jazz Festival, online only, Des Cowley
Light and The Dark Master (OzAsia Festival), online only, Ben Brooker
Film
1985 (EPK), online only, Stuart Richards
All Is True (Sony), 412/65, Johanna Leggatt
Anne Frank: Parallel Stories (Sharmill Films), 416/66, Tali Lavi
At Eternity’s Gate (Transmission Films), online only, Jack Callil
Burning (Palace Films), 411/67, Richard Leathem
By the Grace of God (Sharmill Films), online only, Nicholas Bugeja
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (Transmission Films), online only, Andrew Nette
Dogman (Palace Films), 415/71, Jack Callil
Green Book (Entertainment One), online only, Barnaby Smith
Halston (Madman Films), 415/69, Felicity Chaplin
If Beale Street Could Talk (Entertainment One), 409/62, Patricia Maunder
Joker (DC/Warner Bros.), 416/70, Dilan Gunawardana
Judy and Punch (Madman Films), 417/66, Anwen Crawford
Late Night (Roadshow), online only, Richard Leathem
Lean on Pete (Transmission Films), 408/56, Anwen Crawford
Little Woods (Limelight Distribution), 412/62, Anwen Crawford
Loro (Palace Films), online only, Anwen Crawford
On the Basis of Sex (Entertainment One), online only, Patricia Maunder
Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (Sony), online only, Patrick Boyle
Pain and Glory (Palace Films), online only, Richard Leathem
Palm Beach (Production Company Five), 414/71, Jake Wilson
Rocketman (Universal), online only, Patrick Boyle
Sorry We Missed You (Icon Films), online only, Jack Callil
Stan & Ollie (Universal), online only, Richard Leathem
The Dead Don’t Die (Focus Features), online only, Aaron Nyerges
The Irishman (Netflix), 417/65, Aaron Nyerges
The Truth (Palace Films), online only, Felicity Chaplin
Us (Universal), online only, Barnaby Smith
Who You Think I Am (Palace Films), online only, Felicity Chaplin
Music
An Evening with Gun-Brit Barkmin (West Australian Symphony Orchestra), online only, Humphrey Bower
Australian World Orchestra – Conducted by Alexander Briger (Australian World Orchestra), online only, Michael Shmith
Hansel and Gretel (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), online only, Michael Shmith
Heavenly (Queensland Symphony Orchestra), online only, Gillian Wills
Ives Westlake Debussy (Australian String Quartet), online only, Sheila Fitzpatrick
Leaf and Shadow (Australian Art Orchestra), online only, Des Cowley
Nicole Car, Étienne Dupuis and Jayson Gillham (Melbourne Recital Centre), online only, Peter Rose
Season Opening Gala (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), 411/65, Elizabeth Kertesz
Sir Andrew’s Messiah (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), online only, Morag Fraser
Stravinsky Double Bill (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), online only, Elizabeth Kertesz
The Film Scores of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), online only, Tim Byrne
Opera
Andrea Chénier (Opera Australia), online only, Peter Rose
Anna Bolena (Opera Australia), 413/70, Peter Rose
Billy Budd (Royal Opera House), online only, Ian Dickson
Così Fan Tutte (Opera Australia), online only, Peter Rose
Farnace (Pinchgut Opera), online only, Ian Dickson
Il Viaggio a Reims (Opera Australia), online only, Elizabeth Kertesz
Karl V (Bayerische Staatsoper), online only, Peter Tregear
Les Troyens (Opéra National de Paris), online only, Christopher Menz
Macbeth (West Australian Opera), online only, William Yeoman
Madama Butterfly (State Opera South Australia), online only, Peter Rose
Moby-Dick (Chicago Opera Theatre), online only, Ian Dickson
Ned Kelly (Lost & Found Opera), online only, Humphrey Bower
Nina Stemme Returns (Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra), online only, Peter Rose
Norma (Melbourne Opera), online only, Rob Holdsworth
Oscar and Lucinda (Sydney Chamber Opera), online only, Michael Halliwell
Peter Grimes (Sydney Symphony Orchestra), online only, Peter Rose
Rigoletto (Opera Australia), online only, Peter Rose
Salome (Opera Australia), 410/67, Michael Halliwell
The Flying Dutchman (Melbourne Opera), 409/64, Barney Zwartz
The Ghost Sonata (Opera Australia), online only, Michael Halliwell
The Great Symphony: Simone Young Returns (QSO), 413/67, Gillian Wills
The Return of Ulysses (Pinchgut Opera), online only, Michael Halliwell
The Selfish Giant (Victorian Opera), 417/67, Peter Tregear
Turandot (Opera Australia), online only, Peter Rose
West Side Story (Opera Australia), 411/66, Peter Tregear
Whiteley (Opera Australia), 413/68, Michael Halliwell
Wozzeck (Opera Australia), online only, Michael Halliwell
Theatre
Bottomless (fortyfivedownstairs), 408/57, Maxim Boon
33 Variations (Comedy Theatre), online only, Tim Byrne
A Man of Good Hope (Isango Ensemble/Young Vic), online only, Ben Brooker
A Room of One’s Own (fortyfivedownstairs), 414/69, Lisa Gorton
A View from the Bridge (Melbourne Theatre Company), 410/66, Maxim Boon
All About Eve (National Theatre Live), online only, Anwen Crawford
Anthem (Arts Centre Melbourne), 416/71, Fiona Gruber
Arbus & West (Melbourne Theatre Company), 410/62, Fiona Gruber
Australian Realness (Malthouse), 415/70, Sarah Walker
Beware of Pity (Sydney Festival), online only, Jonathan Dunk
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Sydney Theatre Company), 412/71, Tim Byrne
Così (Melbourne Theatre Company), 412/66, Maxim Boon
Death of a Salesman (Queensland Theatre), 409/65, Bronwyn Lea
Escaped Alone (Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre), online only, Tim Byrne
Gender Euphoria (Arts Centre Melbourne/Melbourne International Arts Festival), online only, Sarah Walker
Golden Shield (Melbourne Theatre Company), 414/66, Tim Byrne
Hydra (State Theatre Company and Queensland Theatre), online only, Ben Brooker
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Melbourne Theatre Company), online only, Tim Byrne
Krapp’s Last Tape (Red Line Productions/Old Fitz Theatre), online only, Ian Dickson
Life of Galileo (Belvoir St Theatre), online only, Ian Dickson
Lord of the Flies (Sydney Theatre Company), online only, Ian Dickson
Mary Stuart (Sydney Theatre Company), 409/63, Ian Dickson
Mosquitoes (Sydney Theatre Company), 411/62, Ian Dickson
Much Ado About Nothing (Bell Shakespeare), online only, Tim Byrne
My Dearworthy Darling (Malthouse Theatre and THE RABBLE), 414/67, Tali Lavi
Oh No! Satan Stole My Pineal Gland! (Melbourne Fringe), online only, Sarah Walker
Oil (Red Stitch Actors Theatre), 417/64, Laura Hartnell
Packer & Sons (Belvoir St Theatre), online only, Ian Dickson
Picaresque (Adelaide Festival), online only, Ben Brooker
Prima Facie (Griffin Theatre Company), online only, Steve Dow
Slaughterhouse Five (MUST and Theatre Works), online only, Laura Hartnell
The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Sydney Theatre Company), online only, Ian Dickson
The Magic Flute (Adelaide Festival), online only, Steve Dow
The Miser (Bell Shakespeare), online only, Steve Dow
The Nico Project (Melbourne International Arts Festival), online only, Dilan Gunawardana
The Torrents (Sydney Theatre Company), 413/66, Susan Lever
Titus Andronicus (Bell Shakespeare), 415/68, Susan Lever
Two Feet (Adelaide Festival), 410/63, Lee Christofis
Ulster American (Traverse Theatre Company/Adelaide Festival), online only, Michael Morley
Wake in Fright (Malthouse Theatre), 413/65, Tim Byrne
White Pearl (Royal Court Theatre), 412/63, Alexander Douglas Thom
Visual Arts
David Goldblatt: Photographs 1948-2018 (Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney), 408/55, Alison Stieven-Taylor
Patricia Piccinini and Joy Hester, Through Love… (TarraWarra Museum of Art), 408/62, Fiona Gruber
A Place to Paint: Colin McCahon in Auckland (Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki), online only, Julie Ewington
Ballenesque, Roger Ballen: A Retrospective (GAGPROJECTS/Adelaide Festival), 410/64, Alison Stieven-Taylor
Civilization: The Way We Live Now (National Gallery of Victoria), 416/68, Alison Stieven-Taylor
Edward Burne-Jones: Pre-Raphaelite Visionary (Tate Britain), online only, Christopher Menz
Hugh Ramsay (National Gallery of Australia), online only, Keren Rosa Hammerschlag
Juno Gemes: The Quiet Activist, A Survey Exhibition 1979–2019 (Macquarie University Gallery), 412/70, Alison Stieven-Taylor
Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines (National Gallery of Victoria), online only, Sophie Knezic
Manet and Modern Beauty (Getty Center), online only, Patrick McCaughey
Māori markings: Tā moko (National Gallery of Australia), 411/63, David Hansen
Monet: Impression Sunrise (National Gallery of Australia), 413/63, Keren Rosa Hammerschlag
Story Time: Australian Children’s Literature (National Library of Australia), online only, Margaret Robson Kett
Water (Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art), online only, Alison Stieven-Taylor
Andy Warhol - From A to B and Back Again (Whitney Museum of American Art), 409/66, Patrick McCaughey
Book Talk
ROSE, Peter, ‘Get Adam and Eve out of Paradise’, online only
HOLLIER, Nathan, ‘MUP, Looking Ahead’, online only
EGAN, Robbie, ‘Long Live the Bookshop’, online only
TORNEY, Kate, ‘Australian Libraries Join Forces to Build National Digital Collection’, online only
THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE, ‘ASAL Protests the Non-Appointment of the University of Sydney Chair of Australian Literature’, online only
JUCKES, Daniel, ‘The closure of UWA Publishing’, online only
WHITE, Robert, ‘Buildings or Books – What Makes a University?’, 417/2
HOLLIER, Nathan, ‘Open Letter to the Chancellor of the University of Western Australia’, online only
Essays and Commentary
KELLY, Dominic, ‘“Well, there are other publishing companies”: On MUP and the resilience of non-fiction publishing’, 409/19
SIMMONDS, Alecia, ‘Forced Marriage: MAFS and reality television’s chamber of horrors’, 410/25
HALLIDAY, Daniel, ‘Why do politicians find justice so hard?’, 411/17
RUSSELL, Lynette, ‘Living in the Indigenous Space’, 413/5
MADDISON, Sarah and Dale Wandin, ‘So much at stake: Forging a treaty with authority and respect’, 413/13
TOFIGHIAN, Omid, ‘Behrouz Boochani and the politics of naming’, 413/44
ALTMAN, Dennis, ‘“Things That Never Were”: Contradictions in the 2019 Federal election’, 414/18
GRIFFITHS, Billy, ‘Scar Tissue: Searching for Retribution Camp’, 415/14
MAHOOD, Kim, ‘The Night Parrot: It’s a Whitefella Thing’, 415/24
SCOTT, Kim, ‘Australian Dreaming’, 415/36
TWOMEY, Christina, ‘Putting the terror in extraterritoriality’, 417/20
PENDER, Kieran, ‘Hot Water: The erosion of democratic accountability’, 416/8
TERRACINI, Lyndon, ‘A Lyric Future: Enabling the Sydney Opera House to fulfil its potential’, 416/22
BROERTJES, Andrew, ‘Death and Sandwiches’, 417/49
LAUGESEN, Amanda, ‘One’s last gumtree’, 416/46
Fellowships
PLUNKETT, Felicity, ‘“A Mutinous and Ferocious Grace”: Nick Cave and Trauma’s Aftermath’, 2019 ABR Patrons’ Fellow essay, 412/44
Fiction
BOEHMER, Elleke, ‘Supermarket Love’, online only
ROWE, Josephine, ‘Anything Remarkable’, online only
SILCOX, Beejay, ‘Metal Language’, 412/24
Prizes
Calibre Essay Prize
KARSKENS, Grace, ‘Nah Doongh’s Song’, 413/31
WALKER, Sarah, ‘Floundering’, 412/20
Peter Porter Poetry Prize
FOULCHER, John, Dancing with Stephen Hawking’, 409/39
GILLETT, Ross, ‘The Mirror Hurlers’, 409/40
KISSANE, Andy, ‘Searching the Dead’, 409/43
LING, Belle, ’63 Temple Street, Mong Kok’, 409/41
TREDINNICK, Mark, ‘Raven’, 409/43
ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
DECHIAN, Sonja, ‘The Point-Blank Murder’, 414/32
JAMSHED, Raaza, ‘Miracle Windows’, 414/41
NUNAN, Morgan, ‘Rubble Boy’, 414/49
Interviews
Publisher of the Month
BIN SALLEH, Rachel, 413/39
BRENNAN, Michael, online only
COONEY, Sam, 412/40
CURNOW, Meredith, 410/60
DUFFY, Madonna, 416/58
Open Page
ADELAIDE, Debra, 409/60
BRETT, Judith, 411/60
DALTON, Trent, 415/44
GARNER, Helen, 414/24
LEHMANN, Geoffrey, 408/52
PASCOE, Bruce, 413/27
SIMONS, Margaret, 417/62
WOMERSLEY, Chris, 412/24
Poet of the Month
GORTON, Lisa, 415/63
LEW, Emma, 411/53
Poetry
Poems
BANG, Mary Jo, ‘The Experience of Being Outside’, 415/26
BERNSTEIN, Charles, ‘Karen Carpenter’, 411/29
BOOCHANI, Behrouz, ‘Flight from Manus’, 409/7
FARRELL Michael, ‘Advantages of Stopovers’, 414/63
HARRIS, Robert, ‘Don’t Feel Sorry About It’, 413/57
HOFMANN, Michael, ‘The Resident’, 417/19
HOLLAND-BATT, Sarah, ‘Classical Allegory’, 417/21
HOLLAND-BATT, Sarah, ‘Night Flight’, 414/53
KINDT, Julia, ‘Nature’s Ancient History’, 415/33
KINSELLA, John, ‘Hailstone Villanelle’, 415/59
LANG, Kristen, ‘Painting the Horizon’, 411/17
LE, Bianca, ‘An Evergreen Canopy: The Alluring and Resilient Eucalypt’, 415/30
LEA, Bronwyn, ‘Lost World Sonnets’, 410/57
LI, Bella, ‘As Time Goes By’, 411/52
McNAUGHT, Rowan, ‘Honeywell’, 412/19
NOTLEY, Alice, ‘Jim Carroll’s Ass’, 408/49
PAPERTALK GREEN, Charmaine, ‘Walgajunmanha All Time’, 413/28
RIGBY, Karen, ‘Tangelo’, 412/23
RODRIGUEZ, Judith, ‘The Feather Boy’, 409/45
WAGAN WATSON, Samuel, ‘Songline Contraband’, 413/15
Surveys
Arts Highlights of the Year
ARCHER, Robyn, 416/60
BOWER, Humphrey, 416/60
BROOKER, Ben, 416/60
BYRNE, Tim, 416/60
CHAPLIN, Felicity, 416/60
COSLOVICH, Gabriella, 416/60
COWLEY, Des, 416/60
DICKSON, Ian, 416/60
HALLIWELL, Michael, 416/60
KNEZIC, Sophie, 416/60
LAVI, Tali, 416/60
LEATHEM, Richard, 416/60
LEVER, Susan, 416/60
MCCAUGHEY, Patrick, 416/60
ROSE, Peter, 416/60
SASNAITIS, Francesca, 416/60
SHMITH, Michael, 416/60
STIEVEN-TAYLOR, Alison, 416/60
WELLS, Gillian, 416/60
WILLIAMS, Kim, 416/60
YEOMAN, Will, 416/60
ZWARTZ, Barney, 416/60
Books of the Year
ALIZADEH, Ali, 417/32
BONGIORNO, Frank, 417/32
DALTON, Trent, 417/32
DAVIS, Glyn, 417/32
DAY, Gregory, 417/32
DOOGUE, Geraldine, 417/32
DOVEY, Ceridwen, 417/32
EDWARDS, Astrid, 417/32
FLYNN, Chris, 417/32
GILES, Paul, 417/32
GOLDSMITH, Andrea, 417/32
GOLDSWORTHY, Kerryn, 417/32
GORTON, Lisa, 417/32
GRIFFITHS, Billy, 417/32
HAIGH, Gideon, 417/32
HAWKE, John, 417/32
KARSKENS, Grace, 417/32
KENT, Jacqueline, 417/32
KILDEA, Paul, 417/32
KINSELLA, John, 417/32
LAKE, Marilyn, 417/32
LEA, Bronwyn, 417/32
LEY, James, 417/32
NELSON, Alice, 417/32
NIALL, Brenda, 417/32
PENDER, Kieran, 417/32
PLUNKETT, Felicity, 417/32
SILCOX, Beejay, 417/32
SIMIC, Zora, 417/32
VAN NEERVAN, Ellen, 417/32
WALKER, Brenda, 417/32
WRIGHT, Fiona, 417/32
WYNDHAM, Susan, 417/32
Environment
ADAMS, Michael, 415/31
CLODE, Danielle, 415/31
DOVEY, Ceridwen, 415/31
GAYNOR, Andrea, 415/31
GRIFFITHS, Billy, 415/31
GRIFFITHS, Tom, 415/31
HUGHES-D’AETH, Tony, 415/31
KINSELLA, John, 415/31
MORGAN, Ruth A., 415/31
RUSSELL, Lynette, 415/31
Publisher Picks
CHRISTER, Nikki, 408/36
COONEY, Sam, 408/36
CURNOW, Meredith, 408/36
GRUNDY, Alice, 408/36
HEYWARD, Michael, 408/36
HOLLIER, Nathan, 408/36
IMLAH, Mathilda, 408/36
McGUINNESS, Phillipa, 408/36
MILNE, Catherine, 408/36
MUSGRAVE, David, 408/36
SCOTT, Barry, 408/36
TUFFIELD, Aviva, 408/36
WHITE, Terri-ann, 408/36
Podcast Archive
The ABR Podcast
The first series of the The ABR Podcast featured a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. There is currently a new series of The ABR Podcast.
Poem of the Week
Poem of the Week was a weekly podcast in which a poet reflected on and read a new poem.
Click here to listen via iTunes
Click here to listen on SoundCloud
Click here for more information about Poem of the Week or to read shownotes for individual episodes.
Online Competitions Access to Institutions
Due to privacy reasons, it's unfortunately not possible to enter any of ABR's online competitions while using a shared institutional subscription via a university, school or library.
To enter our online competitions, please access the ABR website from a personal internet connection.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to call us at (03) 9699 8822 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
2020 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
Australian Book Review is delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, worth a total of $12,500. This year’s Jolley Prize received a record field of 1450 entries from 34 countries, and was judged by Gregory Day, Josephine Rowe, and Ellen van Neerven.
ABR will publish the three shortlisted stories in the 2020 August Fiction Issue. Details are listed below on how to attend a Zoom ceremony on August 13, when we will announce the winner.
Congratulations to the shortlisted entrants, and we thank all those who submitted their stories to the Jolley Prize.
The Shortlist
C.J. Garrow for 'Egg Timer'
C.J. Garrow is a Melbourne writer whose fiction has been shortlisted for international prizes including the Fish Prize (Ireland) and the George Garrett Fiction Prize (USA). ‘Egg Timer’ is his first published work of fiction.
Simone Hollander for 'Hieroglyph'
Simone Hollander is a writer from Monterey Bay, California. Her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington was completed on independent study from Dublin, Ireland. She has won prizes for her short fiction and creative non-fiction, and has served as a delegate on a writers’ cultural exchange to China. Her work can be found in PageBoy Magazine, The Weeklings, The Seattle Review, The Dublin Quarterly, and other literary niches. Simone has worked in public, private, and university libraries. She lives with her family, animals, the mountains, in Longmont, Colorado. She is writing a novel.
Mykaela Saunders for 'River Story'
Mykaela Saunders is a Koori writer, teacher, and community researcher. Of Dharug and Lebanese ancestry, she’s working-class and queer, and belongs to the Tweed Aboriginal community. Mykaela has worked in Aboriginal education since 2003, and her research explores trans-generational trauma and healing in her community. Mykaela began writing fiction and poetry in 2017, as part of her Doctor of Arts degree at the University of Sydney. Her work has since been published across forms and disciplines, placed in writing prizes, and attracted funding and fellowships.
Highly commended
'Lucky Charms' by Jennifer Down (VIC, Australia)
'I Believe' by V. Sanjay Kumar (India)
'Wait for Me' by Jasmin McGaughey (QLD, Australia)
'Two Africas' by Jean McNeil (UK)
'Bedford Jeune' by Lauren Sarazen (France)
Join us to announce the winner
The winner will be announced at a Zoom ceremony on August 13. The event will feature readings from all the shortlisted authors, with ABR then announcing the winner. This is a free public event and all are welcome, but bookings are essential. A Zoom access link will be sent out prior to the event.
When: 6 for 6.15 pm on Thursday, 13 August 2020
Where: A Zoom ceremony. An access link will be sent out before the event.
Bookings: This is a free public event and all are welcome, but bookings are essential.
How to book: Register your attendance by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABR gratefully acknowledges Ian Dickson's generous support for the Jolley Prize.
Win a holiday in India with Abercrombie & Kent!
Update from Australian Book Review - March 2020
Thank you for your many interesting and thoughtful contributions to the Passage to India competition. In the circumstances, ABR and our partner Abercrombie & Kent think it would be incongruous to announce the winner at this stage, when international travel is moot at best and when such grave issues are uppermost in everyone’s mind. We will name the winner in coming weeks.
About the competition
In a first for Australian Book Review, we are delighted to be partnering with luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent to offer one lucky ABR subscriber the chance to win a ten-day adventure for two in India worth up to AU$8,250. The prize is Abercrombie & Kent’s 'Essential India’ tour, a seven-day private journey from Delhi to Agra to Jaipur, staying in luxury Taj hotels throughout, plus the winner’s choice of a three-day extension to either Ranthambore, Udaipur, or Varanasi.
To be in the running to win this magnificent prize, subscribers needed to tell us – in fifty to one hundred words – about a book that has inspired them to travel, or to dream of travelling.
Entry for this competition has now closed.
Terms and Conditions apply and can be found here. By entering this promotion you agree that you have read the Terms and Conditions and will abide by them.
ABR Rising Stars
2021, QLD
ABR is pleased to announce its fifth Rising Star: Mindy Gill. A poet, critic, and former editor-in-chief of Peril magazine (2017–2020), Mindy is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing at Queensland University of Technology. She has won the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award and the Tom Collins Poetry Prize, as well as a number of prestigious international fellowships. Her collection of poems, August Burns the Sky, was shortlisted for the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize.
The Rising Stars program – generously funded by the ABR patrons – is intended to advance the careers of younger writers and critics whose early contributions to ABR have impressed readers and editors alike.
On becoming our latest Rising Star, Mindy Gill commented:
I am delighted to be named ABR’s fifth Rising Star; the confidence that the magazine has placed in me is an honour. I feel fortunate to write for a publication so dedicated to enriching the marketplace of ideas, especially in a cultural climate as tenuous as this one. But above all, I feel extraordinarily lucky to receive Peter Rose’s mentorship and guidance. Since I began writing for ABR, I have been moved by the staunch support Peter extends to his writers, and how strongly he values and encourages their independence of thought. I look forward to writing criticism that embodies the magazine’s rigour, fearlessness and uncompromising vision, and can think of no better place to cut my teeth as a young writer.
Peter Rose, Editor of ABR, commented:
ABR is acutely aware of the challenges facing freelance writers (especially younger ones) during the pandemic. The Rising Stars program assumes even greater importance as we mentor our best young writers and critics. Mindy Gill has made a real impression since joining the magazine in 2020. We look forward to working with our new Rising Star.
Recent writing for ABR:
Review of Racism edited by Winnie Dunn, Stephen Pham, and Phoebe Grainer
Review of Revenge: Murder in three parts by S.L. Lim
Review of We Were Never Friends by Margaret Bearman
2021, Vic.
ABR is delighted to introduce its fourth Rising Star – Anders Villani. Anders began writing for ABR in late 2020, soon after taking part in an ABR publishing masterclass. He holds an MFA from the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program, where he received the Delbanco Prize for poetry. His first full-length collection, Aril Wire, was released in 2018 by Five Islands Press. A PhD Candidate in Creative Writing at Monash University, he lives in Melbourne; his doctoral research concerns poetic representations of trauma.
The Rising Stars program is intended to advance the careers of younger writers and critics whose early contributions to ABR have impressed readers and editors alike.
On becoming our latest Rising Star, Anders Villani commented:
What began as an ABR masterclass at Monash University has bloomed into perhaps the most enriching partnership yet in my artistic and intellectual life – and now this extraordinary accolade. Poetry has been at the heart of my involvement with the magazine: as a reviewer; as a creative contributor; and, most recently, as assistant poetry editor. In each of these capacities, I have witnessed and benefited from ABR’s invaluable ongoing commitment to poetry in Australia. As the new Rising Star, I consider it my mandate to deepen that commitment, and I am so excited and honoured to get to work. In a precarious cultural landscape, ABR offers a beacon, as it has for generations. That it has not only survived the pandemic but grown stronger is a testament to its resilience and importance. I could not have wished for a better platform for doing what I love.
Recent writing for ABR:
Review of Prose Poetry: An introduction by Paul Hetherington and Cassandra Atherton
'Marlin', a new poem by Anders Villani
Review of three new poetry collections by Luke Best, Todd Turner, and Angela Gardner
2020, Vic.
ABR is delighted to name its third Rising Star, Declan Fry. The Rising Stars program is intended to encourage younger writers and critics whose early contributions to ABR have made an impression. We work closely with the Rising Stars, commissioning them often and helping them to enhance their critical work and to advance their careers.
On becoming our latest Rising Star, Declan Fry commented:
We live in a continent rich with stories. Many of these are still being told, and deserve to be widely heard. One of my earliest memories of writing publications was seeing ABR down at the local library. In a difficult environment for the arts, ABR’s support for new and emerging talent is vital. To be able to connect with ABR having never published or worked with literary journals before speaks volumes, especially during the isolation of this pandemic. Opportunities like the Rising Stars initiative are a great privilege – a place to hone your writing practice, and to develop a long-term investment in the work. It gives me a real sense of hope knowing that there is a space for considered, thoughtful analysis. This opportunity would mean nothing without those who have paved the way – our ancestors, Elders, family, mentors, and teachers. They are the original critics and storytellers. We owe them so much. I can’t wait to get started! Much love and stay deadly, ABR.
About Declan Fry
Declan Fry is an essayist, critic, and proud descendant of the Yorta Yorta. Born on Wongatha country in Kalgoorlie, in 2009 he received the Tom Collins Prize in Australian Literature, and, as joint winner, the Todhunter Literary Award in 2013. He currently lives on unceded Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung land and is a board member of Books ‘n’ Boots, an organisation which distributes football boots and books to remote and regional Aboriginal communities. He first published in ABR in June 2020.
Recent writing for ABR:
Review of After Australia edited by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Review of Fire Front: First Nations poetry and power today edited by Alison Whittaker
Review of Elephants with Headlights by Bem Le Hunte
Previous Rising Stars
2019, NSW
Alex Tighe
Alex Tighe is a writer and editor, and the winner of the University of Sydney’s 2018 Wentworth Medal essay prize. He is the ABC / Kidney Health Australia’s inaugural Mark Colvin Scholar.
Recent writing for ABR:
Review of Stop Being Reasonable by Eleanor Gordon-Smith
Review of Delayed Response by Jason Farman
Review of Net Loss by Sebastian Smee
2019, Vic.
Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker is a Melbourne-based writer, photographer, and fine artist. In 2017 she won the Sydney Road Writer’s Cup and the Sydney Road Storytelling Prize, and was a runner-up in the Darebin Mayor’s Writing Award. She was runner-up in the 2019 Calibre Essay Prize.
Recent writing for ABR:
Review of Sky Swimming: Reflection on auto/biography, people and place by Sylvia Martin
'Contested breath: The ethics of assembly in an age of absurdity' by Sarah Walker
2019 Calibre Essay Prize (runner-up): 'Floundering' by Sarah Walker
2020 Calibre Essay Prize Judges
J.M. Coetzee was born in South Africa and educated in South Africa and the United States. He has published nineteen works of fiction, as well as criticism and translations. Among awards he has won are the Booker Prize (twice) and, in 2003, the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is currently Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide.
Lisa Gorton, who lives in Melbourne, is a poet, novelist, and critic, and a former Poetry Editor of ABR. She studied at the Universities of Melbourne and Oxford. A Rhodes Scholar, she completed a Masters in Renaissance Literature and a Doctorate on John Donne at Oxford University. Her review essays and poetry have appeared in ABR since 2002. Her first poetry collection, Press Release (2007), won the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Poetry. She has also been awarded the Vincent Buckley Poetry Prize and the Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal. Lisa’s novel The Life of Houses (2015) shared the 2016 Prime Minister’s Award for fiction and received the NSW Premier’s People’s Choice Award. Her third poetry collection Empirical appeared with Giramondo in 2019.
Peter Rose has been Editor of Australian Book Review since 2001. Previously he was a publisher at Oxford University Press. His reviews and essays have appeared mostly in ABR. He has published six books of poetry, two novels, and a family memoir, Rose Boys (Text Publishing), which won the 2003 National Biography Award. He edited the 2007 and 2008 editions of The Best Australian Poems (Black Inc.). His most recent publication is a volume of poems, The Subject of Feeling (UWA Publishing, 2015).
Winner | 2019 Jolley Prize | Sonja Dechian for 'The Point-Blank Murder'
2019 Jolley Prize Winner: Sonja Dechian
ABR is delighted to announce that Sonja Dechian is the overall winner of the 2019 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for her story ‘The Point-Blank Murder’. Sonja Dechian receives $5,000. Raaza Jamshed was placed second for her story 'Miracle Windows', and Morgan Nunan was placed third for his story 'Rubble Boy'. We would like to congratulate all three shortlisted entrants and thank all those who entered their stories in the Jolley Prize.
The ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize is one of the country’s most prestigious awards for short fiction. This year the Jolley Prize attracted almost 1,400 entries from 35 different countries. The judges were Maxine Beneba Clarke, John Kinsella, and Beejay Silcox. The three shortlisted stories appear in our September Fiction 2018 issue.
About Sonja Dechian
Sonja Dechian is the author of the short story collection An Astronaut’s Life, which won the 2016 UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing and was shortlisted for the Steele Rudd Award the same year. Her writing has previously appeared in The Best Australian Stories, New Australian Stories 2, and elsewhere. She has co-edited two books of children’s writing about the Australian refugee experience, No Place Like Home and Dark Dreams.
ABR Arts | Giveaways
How to enter
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Evil Does Not Exist (High Gloss Entertainment) • 5 double passes
We are delighted to offer five double passes to Evil Does Not Exist, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. Evil Does Not Exist is set in a small Japanese village that a Tokyo business plans to transform into a glamping site. Starring Hitoshi Omika and Ryô Nishikawa, Evil Does Not Exist opens nationally on April 18.