Welcome to Issue 15 of Kill Your Darlings. A lot will have happened between the time we’ve gone to print and when you’re reading this, namely the federal election. If we’re to trust the polls, Tony Abbott is currently tipped to be our next prime minister, and with this change in government comes the continuation of prejudicial marriage laws. Even if Kevin Rudd does perform a messianic miracle, his support for reform is tepid, most recently ruling out a referendum on the issue.
Several years ago Michelle Dicinoski married her partner in the United States, only to return to Australia to have this marriage nullified at the immigration gates. Her lead feature in this issue, ‘Imaginary Futures: The Fight for Marriage Equality in Australia’, is an emotive call to arms, artfully reminding us how this discrimination continues to effect same-sex couples longing to marry and have their relationship recognised in this country.
The opposition to marriage reform remains at odds with the attitudes of the electorate: a Sydney Morning Herald survey last year indicated that more than two thirds of Australians support the legalisation of same-sex marriage. So why are politicians not listening?
Elsewhere in Commentary, Fremantle-based Zoë Barron explores the nature of vandalism after a first-hand experience, and Pepi Ronalds revisits the controversy of the ‘Yellow Peril’ and examines the role of art in public spaces.
Role-play and fandom are also explored in this issue: Sam Bolton takes us on an adventure through the world of swords, elf ears and chainmail in the increasingly popular live action role play, while Kate Goldsworthy investigates the world of slash and fanfiction with fascinating insight. Meanwhile, Laura Jean McKay and Emma Rummery have two very different travelling experiences – one heading to Indonesia for the Bali Emerging Writers’ Festival (and catching the Chikungunya virus along the way) and the other on a quest to climb Mount Everest.
In Fiction, we feature a new story from Daniel Ducrou, entitled ‘Control’, which is an incisive account of masculinity and fatherhood, while Melanie Joosten’s ‘Just Like Us’ is a satirical account of a young couple striving to meet the expectations of modern life.
In Interviews we had the pleasure of chatting with French literary sensation Laurent Binet, whose novel HHhH brought him international renown. In Reviews, Rebecca Howden discusses the literary reputations of Zelda Fitzgerald, Julia Tulloh remembers the past fifty years of Doctor Who, and Stephanie van Schilt commemorates the celebrated writer and performer David Rakoff, whose premature death last year robbed the world of an enduring talent.
There have been more staff changes at Kill Your Darlings. We’re delighted to announce that Emily Laidlaw has been promoted to Online Editor, after Imogen Kandel has gone on to a new publicity role at Black Inc. Books. We thank Im for all her hard work with us and wish her all the very best – she will be missed!
