BOOK LAUNCH

We're excited to announce that A Bit of Difference, the latest book by award winning author Sefi Atta, will be launched at this year's Melbourne Writer's Festival. Sefi Atta is a guest of the festival and will be appearing in several events, please check out the events section below.



At thirty-nine, Deola Bello, a Nigerian expatriate in London is dissatisfied with being single and working overseas. Deola works as a financial reviewer for an international charity, and when her job takes her back to Nigeria in time for her father's five-year memorial service, she finds herself turning her scrutiny inwards.

An up-close portrait of middle-class Nigeria exploring the boundaries of morals and public decorum. Pitched between humor and despair, with stripped down evocative prose, A Bit of Difference bristles with penknife-sharp dialogue, but its truths are more subtle, hiding in the unspoken.—Nii Parkes, author of Tail of the Blue Bird

When: Saturday 25th August, 1pm
Where: Yarra Building, Fed Square
Free, Non-ticketed

EVENTS

Melbourne Writers Festival:  The Other Africa
Join Sefi Atta and fellow expat African writers as they discuss literature's role in challenging the view of Africa as a continent of crisis: wars, famine, corruption.
Where: ACMI Cinema 2, Federation Square Corner Flinders and Swanston Streets, Melbourne
When: Friday 24th August, 2.30 pm
Cost: Full $21.50, Concession $19.50

Melbourne Writers Festival: The Morning Read
Get your day started with guest writers reading and discussing their work with the Festival's early bird, Angela Meyer. Your bottomless cup of pick-me-up comes courtesy of Sefi Atta, Carrie Tiffany, Uzodinma Iweala and Honey Brown.
When: Sunday 26th August, 10am
Where: Yarra Building, Federation Square, Corner Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne
Free Non-ticketed

Sefi Atta will be appearing with other guests, including Germaine Greer, in a special Melbourne Writer's Festival episode of ABC's Q&A, on Monday 27th August, 9.30pm. To be a part of the live audience, follow the link but be quick as spaces are limited.

Melbourne Writers Festival: Women in Culture
Can participation in culture be discussed along gender lines? Spinifex author and publisher Susan Hawthorne alongside Tamil feminist writer CS Lakshmi, Emily Maguire and Sophie Cunningham take up this discussion.
When: Friday 31st August, 4pm
Where: ACMI Cinema 2, Federation Square Corner Flinders and Swanston Streets, Melbourne

Melbourne Writers Festival: The Writer's Journey
Francesca Rendle-Short author of Bite Your Tongue, alongside fellow authors, will tackle the creative side of the writer’s work, looking at manuscript development and how ideas can come to fruition.
When: Saturday 25th August, 10am
Where: The Wheelers Centre, Performance Space

Melbourne Writers Festival: Fine Lines
Judy Horacek author of Life on the Edge, alongside fellow cartoonists, talk about drawing on the humour that's all around us.
When: Saturday 25th August, 4pm
Where: NGV Theatrette at Ian Potter Centre: NGV

Regarding the Earth: Ecological Vision in Word and Image
4th ASLEC-ANZ Biennial Conference in association with RMIT and Monash Universities.
Speakers at the event include three Spinifex authors, Susan Hawthorne author of Cow, Louise Crisp and Miriel Lenore co-authors of Travelling Alone Together: Ruby Camp. Conference papers will consider the ecological implications of different ways of perceiving, imagining, valuing and representing Earth.
When: August 31st to 2nd September
           1:30pm – 2:30pm LUNCH and BRUCE BENNETT POETRY EVENT
           - Miriel Lenore
           - Louise Crisp
           - Susan Hawthorne

Where: Monash University, Caulfield campus Building H, 900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield East, Victoria
Tel: 03 9903 2000


The Berlin International Literary Festival, Berlin September 4-15
Cathie Koa Dunsford, author of the much loved Cowrie series will be appearing at this years Berlin International Literary Festival in a celebration of New Zealand artists.

The constellation of Matariki (Pleiades) appears in the Southern skies of Aotearoa / New Zealand to mark the New Year for Maori. On Sept the 12th Berlin will be treated to a long night of magical stories form Aotearoa / New Zealand. Eight literary stars gather and shine on this special night, weaving together a diverse range of stories, styles, genres and backgrounds around a common theme - the influence of Maori culture and stories on New Zealand writing. The Participants: James Belich, Hamish Clayton, Alan Duff, Cathie Koa Dunsford, Joe Harawira, Witi Ihimaera, Paula Morris, Peter Walker.
When: September 12th
Where: Berlin

NEWS WRAP


(Left to right): Alex Nissen, Samah Sabawi, Onnie Wilson and Gula Bezhan after their talk at Trades Hall.

Spinifex held 'Memory, Revolution and Resilience' at the iconic Trades Hall in Carlton to discuss two recent Spinifex releases The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women's Rights and Seeking Palestine: New Palestinian Writing on Exile and Home. On the night we were all lucky enough to hear the stories of activists, Alex Nissen, Samah Sabawi, Onnie Wilson and Gula Bezhan. To find out more read Helen Lobato's blog about the event.

RadFem Reboot: Rebooting Radical Feminism was an inspiration, check out this blog from day one.

The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women's Rights edited by Minky Worden continues to receive high praise, see this review in the Sydney Morning Herald. To find out more about the editor and the bringing together of this book, read this interview in Every Mother Counts, 'Summer of Sisterhood.'
 
Gail Dines author of Pornland continues to dig a little deeper and expose the inequities in society, read her article in The Guardian 'Cosmopolitan and the false promise of an 'awesome life' and in CounterPunch 'Why are Women Devouring Fifty Shades of Grey.'

Meagan Tyler, contributor to Big Porn Inc, takes a critical look at who funds the Sex Party in an article for the Conversation, 'Political Party or lobby group? The dark side of the Australian Sex Party'.

Francesca Rendle-Short's latest book Bite Your Tongue received a great review in The Newtown Review.

To get to know Sefi Atta more check out Melbourne Writer's Festival, 5 facts about Sefi

ABC Radio National's 'Poetica' program had a special on bushfire poetry, including Susan Hawthorne's 'Bushfire four months after.'



Vandana Shiva's talk at Montsalvat last month was a true inspiration, we were glued to her every word. The room was packed and people had to be turned away. To ensure that no one missed out, a young man contacted the organiser and asked if he could film it and load it onto YouTube, check it out here.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Vandana Shiva, author of Soil Not Oil and Staying Alive, who has been honoured with the 2012 Fukuoka Grand Prize Laureate Award. For her powerful messages and the initiative in mobilizing people in a grassroots social movement, Vandana Shiva rightly deserves the Grand Prize of the Fukuoka Prize.

TRIBUTE

Maeve Binchy, bestselling Irish author who sold more than 40 million books worldwide and received a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Book Awards in 2000, has died aged 72.

Binchy was regarded as the Queen Mum of literature but saw her self as ‘a popular writer who people buy to take on vacation.’ Maeve Binchy was a contributor to the Spinifex Press bestseller Wee Girls, a moving and often amusing collection of fiction, poetry and autobiography by top-selling and award-winning authors. Edited by Lizz Murphy, the anthology features tales of blood and bloodlines –Irish grandmothers, ma’s and da’s, the Famine and the Troubles. Her works and life were celebrated in a recent San Francisco Chronicle review: "Binchy makes you laugh, cry, and care. Her warmth and sympathy render the daily struggles of ordinary people heroic and turn storytelling into art."

Maeve Binchy is survived by her husband Gordon.

BLOGS

Check out this month's blogs, there's a great range.

Danielle Binks, 'Movie Review: Brave'

Danielle Binks, 'Sexist Olympics: Flirtier, Hotter, Sexier'

Pauline Hopkins, 'Military Terminology and the Olympics'

Helen Lobato, 'Memory, Resilience and Revolution'

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

For more regular Spinifex updates visit our Newspage, join us on Facebook and follow our twitter account @spinifexpress