Six minutes with Stella Glorie
This interview was so much fun: in only six minutes we discuss truth, books and Dolly Parton! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJuzlPz_nTg
Keynote Panel: The hidden history of women
I was SO looking forward to participating in this panel, in real life. I wanted to meet the other speakers, catch up with the awesome facilitator, chat with audience members afterwards. But one of the few benefits of being forced by COVID-19 to pivot to an online format is this: what turned out to be a fascinating discussion is preserved, via Zoom, for (hopefully) a wider audience. Join facilitator Kelly Gardiner (author and host of the podcast Unladylike) and panellists Mirranda Burton (author of Underground: Marsupial Outlaws and Other Rebels of [...]
Port Fairy Literary Weekend
Next weekend you'll find me in Port Fairy, enjoying and talking about all things bookish. Even The Husband will be there (although it's possible he'll spend most of his time fishing...) Why don't you join us, at the Port Fairy Literary Weekend? I'm on a panel with debut novelist Nicole Kelly (her book Lament is a re-imagining of the Ned Kelly story) and we'll be talking about history and its gendered gaze. But there are so many other excellent writers and speakers on the program that you'll be spoilt for [...]
Mary Macarthur’s Hunter Valley Home
The home of one of Elizabeth Macarthur's daughters looks set to be relocated - to make way for coal mining. According to this online article, The 1820s Ravensworth Homestead in the Hunter Valley, among the first agricultural properties in the area, is now in the way of a proposed expansion of the Glendell coal mine, which wants to extract an additional 140 million tonnes of coal from the site. As a result, operator mining giant Glencore has offered to pay an estimated $20 million to fund a local plan to [...]
All About Author Talks
I won’t lie – I LOVE doing author talks. Since my book was published in April 2018 I’ve delivered many talks and interviews. Clearly I’m not a proper writer though, because apparently real writers are meant to be all shy and introverted. Sorry, but nope. EM’s story is interesting and important and I’m very happy to tell it over and over again. However. I have been loath to blog about my speaking adventures and I think I know why. Giving an author talk is so much fun that I fear [...]
Kate Grenville’s new book
So some of you might know that Kate Grenville has a new book coming out this year. A novel. About Elizabeth Macarthur... Kate Grenville is, like me, one of Text Publishing's stable of authors and I've known for quite a while that this book was coming, and I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. The novel will be called A Room Made of Leaves and according to Books+Publishing,"This extraordinary novel takes as its starting point the story of Elizabeth Macarthur in the infant colony of Sydney, but breaks [...]
Speaking at SLNSW
I've been promoted! Apparently I'm now a member of the B-list which, according the blurb at the State Library of NSW is "an exciting, new style of book club hosted by the award-winning author and avid reader, Bri Lee. Each month Bri will be in conversation with a variety of authors previously shortlisted for one of the Library’s prestigious literary awards. After the talk, you will be invited into the our historic Friends Room to continue the conversation with your fellow readers." Bri Lee is the prize-winning author of Eggshell [...]
And now shortlisted – OMG!
In my last post I was thrilled to announce that Elizabeth Macarthur had been longlisted for the 2019 CHASS Australia Book Prize. Now I'm even more delighted to announce that Elizabeth Macarthur is now one of the three books on the shortlist. Wow! I mean - just - wow. The other two titles on the shortlist are: - The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History, by Meredith Lake and published by NewSouth Books - Eggshell Skull, by Bri Lee and published by Allen & Unwin What outstanding company Elizabeth is [...]
Longlisted!
I am absolutely thrilled to find that Elizabeth Macarthur has been longlisted for the 2019 CHASS Australia Book Prize. And she's in some pretty amazing company. The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) has announced the longlist for its prestigious 2019 Australia Prize for a Book (non-fiction). The Book Prize will be awarded to an Australian citizen or permanent resident whose nonfiction book, published between 1 January and 31 December 2018, contributes most to Australian cultural and intellectual life. The longlisted titles, from an entry field of [...]
Shortlisted!
Surprised - and ludicrously happy - to find that Elizabeth Macarthur has been shortlisted for the Ashurst Business Literature Prize. Some info about the prize, according to the website: Launched in 2004 by Blake Dawson and the State Library of NSW, the $30,000 Ashurst Business Literature Prize is acknowledged as Australia’s most important award for business writing. The prestigious prize was originally established by law firm Ashurst (formerly Blake Dawson) and the State Library of NSW to encourage the highest possible standards of literary commentary on Australian business and financial [...]