Things are tantalisingly uncertain as we go to print with Issue Three – the minority government is yet to be determined, but it appears that real democratic and parliamentary changes may be coming our way with the rise of the Greens. And so we’re that extra little bit excited to be returning in spring with Issue Three, bringing you new Australian fiction, commentary and reviews.
The issue opens with journalist Antony Loewenstein’s troubled and frustrated observations about the recent Australian election campaign, where Labor and the Coalition remained silent on Israel’s continued occupation of Palestine. We publish a chapter from rock journalist and foreign correspondent Andrew Mueller’s forthcoming book, Rock and Hard Places, in which he recounts the dubious pleasures of book touring in the UK. In a tale of the ambivalent Good Samaritan, Eleanor Hogan offers fascinating insight into living in Alice Springs, while Emmett Stinson stokes recent debate about the apparent ‘navel-gazing’ in tertiary creative writing programs. Clementine Ford returns to the Centrelink line once again, none too happy, and Ben Kooyman details recent – and surprisingly undisputed – changes to legislation in South Australia surrounding censorship and classification. And finally, Rachel Power explores the perennial problem of how domestic labour is divided between heterosexual couples.
There’s new fiction from award-winning Karen Hitchcock, with an extract of her novel in progress. We also publish new stories from Annie Condon, Nick Smith and David McLaren.
Kill Your Darlings chats about politics, writing and the trappings of infamy with Booker-prize winner DBC Pierre, a charming, roguish but thoroughly conscientious man. His new novel, Lights Out in Wonderland, is an angry, debauched allegory set in London, Japan and Berlin. We’ve also got reviews on Chris Lilley’s comedy television series and a retrospective on The Adventures Tintin. Our cartoon comes from Melbourne-based illustrator Craig Perry, and Jeremy Ley has once again drawn our cover girl. Enjoy!
