Margo Lanagan's Blog, page 18

Canberrans, 'te-e-en-shun!

I'm coming down there on Wednesday to lecture to you all, you lucky things, at the University of Canberra. I'll be talking about my creative process, such as it is, for short stories and for Tender Morsels, also about the difference awards make.

This talk is part of the Faculty of Arts and Design's Art, and other Questions lecture series. Follow the link to book in.

I'm told the extra-big lecture theatre has been organised, so please come along just to take up space and make me look good. I won...

Er, hm! (Is this thing working?)

Yes, I will be doing a live cross to Radio NZ this morning, between 9 and 10, to talk about the upcoming Writers and Readers Week in Wellington. Listen in - I will try to sparkle.

Upcoming appearances (besides Wellington)

I will be live on ABC Radio, talking about the upcoming Wellington Festival, on Saturday morning, 27 Feb—details when I know them.

I'll be giving a lecture that's open to the public on Wednesday, 3 March, at the University of Canberra, as part of the Faculty of Arts and Design's Art, and other Questions lecture series—some of the uni's Bachelor of Writing students will also be in attendance. I am told that I'll discuss my creative process and the realities of life as an award winning writer. W...

A belated snipe at some 3-month-old news

News of Tender Morsels' WFA win was apparently broadcast on 2CH on 8 November last year.

The author has responded [to the 'sordid wretchedness' accusation:] by questioning the assumption that children have the luxury of an innocent childhood. Her aim, she says, was to equip readers for life by showing them "the sorts of issues other people encounter." [What I actually said was: "How on earth do people imagine we equip children for life, if we never show them the sorts of issues other people...

ABR fave Aus. novel poll

And, cool! The Australian Book Review's poll of 290 favourite Australian books, voted by the magazine's readers, includes Tender Morsels!

Locus Recommended Reading List for 2009

Oh, this is nice! I've got two short stories:"Ferryman", from Sharyn November's Firebirds Soaring, and "Living Curiosities", from Deb Noyes's Sideshowon the list, as well as my novella,"Sea-Hearts", from Keith Stevenson's X6 (and yay to Paul Haines, whose "Wives" is on there, too!)On top of that, Jonathan Strahan's Year's Best (with "Ferryman" in it), and Rich Horton's, with "Machine Maid" (originally published in Nick Gevers's Extraordinary Engines), and Ellen Datlow's The Best Horror of...

The NZ juggernaut begins to rumble to life...

...with this article by Laura Kroetsch, who tells you what books to read in preparation for the New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week in March:

We are thrilled to be hosting Neil Gaiman, the literary superstar, and Margo Lanagan, the Australian writer whose recent novel, Tender Morsels, has done that remarkable trick of 'crossing over' to adult readers. Both Gaiman and Lanagan are fabulous writers and even those who don't think they like fantasy should give them a go

She doesn't actually te...

Causing thoughtfulness

Over here, Niall Harrison takes Seven Bites of Tender Morsels, and chews them over thoroughly. I never thought of my blandification of Liga's heaven-world as a swipe at the Grimms' makeover of Stahl's 'The Ungrateful Dwarf', but it could be nothing else:

Re-reading "Snow White and Rose Red" once done with Tender Morsels, it is a real joy to discover how clever, and how sly, Lanagan's revisioning is. The spine of the Grimm tale – two girls, living with their mother in a cottage in the forest...

Causing coldness, because someone doesn't know their Bible stories

That would be David Marshall, reviewing Jonathan's Eclipse 2:

We then come to a story by Margo Lanagan called "Night of the Firstlings". There seems to be quite a stir amongst the tastesetters with many influential voices hailing her as the best thing to come out of Australia since ostrich meat was exported as a leaner and safer alternative to beef. Frankly, having now read four or five of her short stories, I remain unconvinced. This outing is a post-apocalypse tale of a diminishing group...

Causing mirth and sneering

Philip Womack in the Literary Review holds forth on TM:

It isn't often that one reads a children's book that begins with a dwarf losing his virginity to a witch; still less that it should continue to include incest and rape [etc. etc. mirthful plot summary of the 'Her father dies (phew!)' kind:] Underneath all this is an involving, if protracted, fable about the loss of innocence and the need to face up to the horrors of everyday life. Go deeper still, and you'll find Hardy, Eliot and...