It is with great pride and excitement that I introduce Issue 16 of Kill Your Darlings, and my first issue as editor. I’m thrilled to be part of a journal that I have long admired as one of the leading literary journals in Australia, thanks to the dedication and innovation of Rebecca Starford and Hannah Kent.
As the magazine turns sweet 16, and we celebrate a new year, a new website and a new location, it seems right that much of the content of this issue focuses on origins and redirections. In Commentary the wonderful Walter Mason revisits his youth as an awkward teenager in Far North Queensland and recalls how Boy George made freakishness fabulous. Jenny Ackland investigates nostalgia and recalls a journey to Lake Eyre and an unrequited love. The effervescent Angie Hart shares with us her most embarrassing encounters with the musicians that have influenced her. Elsewhere in Commetary Rochelle Siemienowicz examines the rise of Indigenous filmmaking in Australia; Tim Robertson travels to North Korea; S.A. Jones uncovers a tale of love at an abandoned castle outside Cairns and Carody Culver explores the perils of working from home.
James Purtill’s lead feature ‘Easy Surface Gold: Protesting and Prospecting in the Godforsaken Lucky Country’ has hit a nerve and the story has been picked up by ABC Radio. Purtill gives us a different view of Kalgoorlie, behind the scenes of the mining industry and how the town really exists. It’s a must read for people looking to discover more about one of our most discussed contemporary issues.
In Fiction we have exciting new work from one of my favourite Australian writers, Romy Ash. We also have an extract from the wonderfully unusual new novel from Diego Marani, God’s Dog. This hard-boiled detective tale follows Salazar, a Haitian orphan and Vatican secret agent.
In Interviews Sam Rutter talks with Junot Díaz about laziness, living in the shadow of New York City and writing for readers not for other writers. In Reviews Sian Campbell examines the cross-cultural appeal of Lena Dunham’s Girls and how the show reflects the concerns of Joyce Carol Oates’s ‘floating generation’; Margot McGovern goes in to bat for Donna Tartt, arguing that her novels are worth the (often decade long) wait.
This is a great issue to leap into the future of Kill Your Darlings. 2014 is a huge year for the magazine, with the CAL mentorship program and our new website. I look forward to working with the new team on bringing you the best in new Australian writing.
Purchase No. 16 via the KYD Shop.
