IN MEMORIAM 

 

Beloved Spinifex author, Pat Rosier, passed away last month at the age of 72.  

She was a feminist pioneer and the author of Spinifex titles Poppy's Return and Poppy's Progress. 

Tributes were gathered on GayNz.com, among them were words from Spinifex Directors Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein: "We will miss all the things Pat did in the world and we know only a little of it." 

Another fitting tribute came from the Gay and lesbian Wellington choir - the Glamaphones - from Dublin for the Various Voices festival, they have paid tribute to Rosier through music.

NEW RELEASE

 
 
New Spinifex book Surviving Peace: A Political Memoir by Olivera Simić arrived in the office this month. And while the book won't be released until August 19, we are currently sending out pre-orders. 

Surviving Peace is one woman’s story of courage that echoes the stories of millions of people whose lives have been displaced by war. As we still face a world rife with armed conflict, this book is a timely reminder that once the last gunshot has been fired and the last bomb dropped, the new challenge of surviving peace begins.

Julianne Schultz from Griffith Review had this to say about the book: "It brings to life personal and political tragedies with courage, strength and compassion. Olivera Simić is a brave woman, and this book shows that she knows better than most the painful consequences of speaking truth to power, and the courage that is needed to do so. For those who have followed events in the former Yugoslavia periodically and from a distance, glancing occasionally at headlines and news flashes, Surviving Peace explains what happened and what it means. Her hope, that despite the trauma and devastation a future that transcends ethnic, nationalist and religious lines may prevail, is an inspiration."

EVENTS

 
The new edition of Judith Wright's classic The Coral Battleground will be launched on Thursday 3 July. Full details atninneyrise.com

"The Great Barrier Reef is still the closest most people will come to Eden." So said Judith Wright, arguably one of Australia’s greatest poets. Over a long and distinguished literary career she published poetry, children’s books, literary essays and works of non-fiction. She also published The Coral Battleground in 1977; it tells the story of a group of dedicated conservationists in Queensland who battled to save the Great Barrier Reef from coral-limestone mining and from oil exploration.
And now, nearly 40 years later, a new edition of The Coral Battleground will be re-launched at a special event celebrating stories of rainforest and reef conservation next week in Mission Beach.

The launch coincides with a forum that brings together some of the people involved in those rainforest and reef campaigns – scientists, campaigners and artists - who will gather at historic Ninney Rise to share their stories.
Rainforest and Reef Conservation Stories will be held at Ninney Rise from Thursday 3 – Saturday 5 July and includes the option of a field trip to the Reef.

The new edition of The Coral Battleground will be launched on Thursday 3 July. Full details at ninneyrise.com, and
Spinifex Press directors Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein will be available for interview both at the event and prior.

 
Spinifex is thrilled to announce that author Kajsa Ekis Ekman will be speaking at the Sydney Opera Houses's Festival of Dangerous Ideas. 

Kajsa will do a Keynote on surrogacy (30 August) and also be on a panel on prostitution (with Lydia Cacho) on 31 August. 

Kajsa is the author of Being and Being Bought: Prostitution, Surrogacy and the Split Self, and her keynote 'Surrogacy is Child Trafficking' promises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking event: Surrogacy—or contract pregnancy—has become a global industry, growing at unprecedented speed. In India alone, this industry is valued at over US$450 million per year. Whereas the sex industry is increasingly targeted by legislators as exploitation, the surrogacy industry retains a rosy image. Helping an infertile couple to have a baby of their own is seen as a generous and compassionate gesture from a woman who can help: a sign of female empowerment and free will. In this way, everyone can have their own genetic children without having to undergo pregnancy, and poor women can earn some extra money. It looks like a win-win situation. But is it? At a closer glance, the surrogacy industry has more to do with prostitution than we might think. Not only is it exploitation of women's bodies—in fact surrogacy is nothing but baby trade.

Multipacks go on sale 30 June 
Single tickets go on sale 2 July

REVIEWS



A wonderful review of The Coral Battleground appeared in Verity La. Tristan Foster had this to say about the new edition of Judith Wright's classic: "The Coral Battleground is a statement of property, a loving statement, but with the clear message that the Reef belongs to the people. People working together saved it, and people working together can save it again. But – and you know what’s coming next – in the same way that we have the power to save it, we have the power to both kill it or idly allow it to be killed. Wright, in closing, points out that the fate of the Reef is symbolic of the fate of the planet – when it’s doing okay, the rest of the place is doing okay. The Reef is about to be tested again."

Me, You and Books also reviewed The Coral Battleground last month: "In offering a new edition of The Coral Battleground, publishers Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein explain the relevance of Wright’s book for our world today. Along with Margaret Thorsborne, they note current threats to the reef, such as the establishment of super ports along the Queensland coast, increased ship traffic over the reef, and runoff from mainland agriculture and industry. And, of course, the Reef suffers from changes in the sea that accompany climate change."

AUTHOR NEWS

 
The new edition of Diane Bell's Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin: A World That Is, Was, and Will Be was successfully and enjoyably launched at Readings Bookshop, Hawthorn last month. Gideon Haigh and Ellen Trevorrow spoke at the launch of the new edition, which also includes a new preface by Diane Bell in which she looks to the world that “will be”, where talented, committed Ngarrindjeri leaders are building the infrastructure for future generations of the Ngarrindjeri nation and challenging the very foundation of the State of South Australia.

If you'd like to listen to Diane Bell speak more about Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin - the book, and history behind it - you can listen to her interview with Ian Henschke on ABC Radio Adelaide. 

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Best Regards, Spinifex Press Staff