EVENTS
On June 28 Lara Fergus appeared at the first 'Bespoken: Queer Writing Monthly' event, held at the Hares & Hyenas Bookshop Cafe. Lara read from her award-winning novel, My Sister Chaos, and was joined by Andrea Goldsmith, Charles Mercovich and Moth. In the lead-up to the event, GNN published an article examining Lara and Andrea's past master/pupil relationship.


Francesca Rendle-Short and Patricia Sykes enjoyed the wonderful Glen Eira Storytelling Festival on June 23, and thank everyone who attended their event 'Tongues in Flight: Unravelling Mother Stories and Convent Mysteries'.
 

Kathleen Barry, author of Unmaking War Remaking Men will be speaking at Revolution Books in Berkeley, California on July 16. And on July 31 Kathleen Barry, Susan Hawthorne & Renate Klein will be discussing Big Porn Inc at the same Revolution Books. If you're lucky enough to be in America for either of these events, email Revolution Books for further details regarding bookings: revolutionbooks@sbcglobal.net

'Getting Published' with Spinifex director, Susan Hawthorne, and senior editor at Text Publishing, Mandy Brett. In this workshop Susan and Mandy will talk about their specific publishing houses, the kinds of books they publish and about the best ways that creative writers, especially previously unpublished writers, can pitch their work to publishers.
When: Thursday 12th July, 10am to 12
Where: Room D309, Footscray Park Campus
For further information, email: Enza.Gandolfo@vu.edu.au

Susan Hawthorne will be running a poetry workshop called 'Poetry as Activism', for OLOC in Boston (USA) on Friday 20 July, as well as reading from her book Cow. The workshop will be held at the Boston Woburn Hilton. For more details check out the link.


Work in Progress: MAD
A very exciting collaboration based around the prize-winning poetry of Spinifex bestselling author, Sandy Jeffs! Observe a star team of artists led by celebrated Australian director/choreographer Meryl Tankard as they develop a new music-theatre work inspired by madness. Based on the prize-winning poetry of Sandy Jeffs, a best-selling author pigeonholed as a ‘lunatic, mental case and fruit-cake,’ Mad explores Jeffs’ struggle with schizophrenia through her extraordinary poetry. Tankard marries Jeff's remarkable words with original music, song and images to unravel the connection between creativity and madness. Australian composer Elena-Kats-Chernin, video designer Regis Lansac and singer Mara Kiek, join Tankard to shape this confronting work.


Memory, Revolution and Resistence
Join Spinifex Press to celebrate the release of two new books, Seeking Palestine and The Unfinished Revolution with outstanding speakers sharing their knowledge about the challenges faced by women throughout the world to secure basic human rights.
When: 6.30pm, Thursday 9 August
Where: Bella Union Bar, Trades Hall. 54 Victoria St Carlton (enter from Lygon St)



From 27-29 July Kathleen Barry, Susan Hawthorne & Renate Klein will be in Portland, Oregon for RadFem Reboot, "nourishing the radical feminist and her movement." The itinerary is as follows:
Fri 27 July Morning
'For the Love of Women: Being Radical Feminists and Surviving.' Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein talk about radical feminist strategies used over the last 30 years to survive and thrive. Together, alone, with friends. As academics, poets, critics of the medicalisation industry and publishers of Spinifex Press that turned 21 in 2012.
Fri 27 July afternoon
Book Launch of Big Porn Inc: Exposing the Harms of the Global Pornography Industry (Edited by Melinda Tankard Reist and Abigail Bray) to be launched by Kathleen Barry.
28 July Key Note:
'Masculinity of War: An Urgent Radical Feminist Issue' Presentation, followed by Strategy Session (after morning tea) with Kathleen Barry.
For more information on the RadFem event, email Sistersunderground@gmail.com

NEWS WRAP
Patricia Sykes appeared in the Melbourne Weekly Times article, 'Poetic memories bring the Abbotsford Convent to life', discussing her poetry book The Abbotsford Mysteries.

Gail Dines was in Overland, writing about pornography with Sharon Smith in their article 'Porn and the Misogyny Emergency.'

A father/blogger who was inspired after attending a Melinda Tankard Reist event, weighs in on why 'Lingerie Football is just plain wrong'

Lambda Literary review of Lara Fergus's My Sister Chaos: "The world of My Sister Chaos reminds us of both nagging terrors and the possibilities of being human."

Wonderful review of The Village and the World: My Life, Our Times by Maria Mies.



Exciting news that Nigerian producer and former actress, Ego Boyo, has plans to do a film adaptation of a play, written by award-winning writer, Sefi Atta! Spinifex released Sefi's novel 'Everything Good Will Come' in 2008, and her new book 'A Bit of Difference' is coming in September this year! This is very exciting news, and we'll keep you posted on any developments.

Seeking Palestine: New Palestinian Writing on Exile & Home, edited by Penny Johnson and Raja Shehadeh, continues to receive wide-acclaim. 'The Hindu' calls it "...a tribute to a people who no matter how displaced and dispossessed remain nevertheless determined." And upstart praises the collaboration of Seeking Palestine: "...their task is to write and in doing so teach, inform, enlighten and entertain."

Susan Hawthorne's Cow continues to receive stellar reviews, but the Lesbian Caucus says it best: "Quite simply, Cow is exquisite."

Listen to Minky Worden, editor of The Unfinished Revolution, discuss women in Iran in Podcast 49.

AWARDS
The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women’s Rights has been nominated for the Amelia Bloomer Project. The Project creates an annual booklist of the best feminist books for young readers, ages birth through 18.

RANDOM
SPUNC have a 'Call out for Academic Papers', for the Independent Publishing Conference 2012. It's a great chance to get published, so make sure to check it out!

BLOG
Patricia Sykes 'From Neanderthal to App'

Susan Hawthorne, 'Losing Language, Losing Knowledge'

HUNGRY FOR MORE?
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