We’re finding it hard to believe it’s September already, but for the sake of our Spin friends the newsletter is complying. So much is happening and this next month continues to be a busy time, with the release of My Sister Chaos in September and three non-fictions titles due for release in October.

Fethiye Çetin has been in Melbourne since the beginning of the month taking part in a number of literary and community events. There has been a wonderful community response with crowds at the Melbourne Writers Festival (where her memoir was listed among the festival bestsellers!) and other talks in awe of her strong, generous and warm presence. Thanks to our partners, Melbourne PEN and the Victorian Women's Trust for making Fethiye's tour possible.

For more news online about Fethiye and her recently released memoir My Grandmother, here are some news clippings:

An excellent profile from the Weekend Australian; a radio interview on Turkish SBS and a couple of reviews from The Age. Look out for an opinion piece on Fethiye and the Armenian Genocide in the ‘world’ pages of tomorrow’s Australian too.

NEW RELEASES

Just over a week ago we released debut author Lara Fergus’ My Sister Chaos, the story of two sisters’ escape from an unknown war-torn country into lives of separate exile. Chaos and order in tension provide the scaffolding for this compelling work of fiction. My Sister Chaos is available in print and digital formats.

The month of October will see the release of three non-fiction titles. Pornland is just back from the printer and all production is so far on schedule. Read more about these new titles:
Pornland, by Gail Dines, takes an unflinching look at pornography and its effect on our lives, showing that today's pornography is strikingly different from yesterday's Playboy.
Unmaking War Remaking Men, by Kathleen Barry, explores soldiers' experiences through a politics of empathy. She reveals how men’s lives are made expendable for combat, and how military training drives to them kill without thinking and without remorse, only to suffer both trauma and loss of their own souls.
The Village and the World is Maria Mies’ autobiography and packs in seventy-seven years of life: from the small German village of her childhood, to the world of the Indian subcontinent. Sociologist and Women’s Studies researcher, scholar, ecofeminist, and international activist, Maria Mies is one of the world’s original thinkers.

NEWS & EVENTS

If you are in Sydney this weekend you still have a chance to catch Fethiye Çetin in conversation with Katerina Cosgrove at Gleebooks on Friday night, 6.30pm. Bookings can be made through Gleebooks.

This month our friends at the New Internationalist are launching a special issue of their award-winning magazine on the future of seeds. It's an important issue for food security: currently, there is a bid by industrial agriculture to take complete control over seeds. And seed-saver networks around the world are fighting back. The work of peasant farmers and their seed-bank partners is the key to averting food catastrophe and biodiversity collapse. Click on the link to take out a free trial subscription to the New Internationalist magazine to ensure you receive the Saving Seeds issue.

And for something different, our friends at the Women’s Circus, as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, will be performing their show ‘Quite Contrary’ in September and October. Click on the link for dates and booking information.

Looking ahead, the Wheeler Centre has launched its third program, which features two Spinifex authors:

Lara Fergus will read at ‘Debut Mondays’ on October 25. To find out more about My Sister Chaos and Lara Fergus, check out the informative/eloquent interview she did recently with Readings.

In November, Vandana Shiva will be visiting Australia to accept the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize. Her one-off Melbourne engagement is at the Wheeler Centre on November 5.

The Wheeler Centre has also kindly offered us several giveaways for their IQ2 debate, ‘Feminism Has Failed’. For a double-pass for the debate at Melbourne Town Hall on Sept 22, email women@spinifexpress.com.au.

SPINIFEX BLOG

Here is what has been happening last month on the Spinifex blog:

Evocative stories from Fethiye Çetin at the Melbourne Writers Festival Poetry of Rebellion event.

Melinda Tankard Reist commented on the lawsuit against former David Jones executive Mark McInnes, and designer Alannah Hill's response to the lawsuit.

The Spinifex blog can be found at the ‘News & Events’ link at the top of our website. You can also find our news page and the newsletter archive there.

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