And the book-filled week continues...

Hope to see you at Sydney Writers' Fe... Meet our two guest authors at Thursda...

And the book-filled week continues...

Dear Friends,
The week has triumphed in a show of sunshine and balmy temperatures. The ocean water is still warm and Sydney is abuzz with literary events. Monday night saw the awards ceremony for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards in the State Library's beautiful Mitchell Library Reading Room. Last night was the fabulous opening address of Sydney Writers' Festival featuring poet Ali Cobby Eckermann, author, academic and advocate Jackie Huggins and musician and author Nardi Simpson.

Tomorrow night, I'll be in conversation with Garry Disher. On Friday morning, I'll be chatting to Dinuka McKenzie, Jane Caro and Laura Elizabeth Woollett in the fabulously named session, Mother Of All Crimes, and on Sunday morning I'll be in conversation with Delia Falconer and Indira Naidoo.

Courtesy of Sydney Writers' Festival, I have two tickets to give away to my Mother Of All Crimes session at 10am on Friday at Carriageworks. Email me your book recommendation to be in the draw for the tickets.

NEW RELEASE RECOMMENDATION

A SOLITARY WALK ON THE MOON

Hilde Hinton

https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/a-solitary-walk-on-the-moon-9780733647048.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Evelyn has her routine and her interests. She runs the local laundromat and is acutely aware of the people around her, although she doesn't like to intervene too often, when she sees something wrong she likes to rectify the situation. She has her favourites, most particularly young Ben whose mother seems to be making a mess of life - not that she judges June. And whilst she likes to keep some distance from other people, she befriends kind-hearted Don from the paintshop, which leads to other connections, and decisions that aren't ordinary in scope or effect… A beautifully written and gentle story, that never categorises Evelyn's strange behaviours, accepting her neuro-diversity (my interpretation!) without judging her. Each character, no matter how minor, has their own heft and depth, and this adds to the richness of a seemingly simple tale of community and empathy. Lindy Jones Enter the code THURSDAYBOOKCLUB at the checkout for a 15% discount on Abbey's new release recommendations and our For Kids recommendations.This code will also get you a 15% discount on the books by my guests on Thursday Book Club and my latest novels, The Teacher's Secret and The Deceptions.
FOR KIDS

CHARLIE'S SWIM
Edith Wrigh t, Charmaine Ledden-Lewis

https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/charlies-swim-9781922613103.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This is based on the true story of the author's uncle, Charles D'Antoine, a Bardi man working in Broome. During the Japanese bombardment of flying boats in the harbour, Charlie risked his life to save a woman and her child from the water. Whilst the bombing of Darwin is better known, the attack on Broome also resulted in a massive toll, so this simply told and direct tale brings to young readers another episode of wartime history. Complemented by the colourful and expressive illustrations of Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, this is another fine example from Magabala Books highlighting indigenous experience. Lindy Jones
NEWS

NSW Premier's Literary Awards
Winners announced

The winners of the 2022 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards have just been announced, with a total of $295,000 in prize money awarded. Thirty judges considered a record of 746 entries across all the categories and the winners are:

Book of the Year ($10,000) & Multicultural NSW Award ($20,000)
Still Alive: Notes from Australia’s Immigration Detention System by Safdar Ahmed (Twelve Panels Press)

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction ($40,000)
Dark as Last Night by Tony Birch (University of Queensland Press)

Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction ($40,000)
The Winter Road: A story of legacy, land and a killing at Croppa Creek by Kate Holden (Black Inc. Books)

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ($30,000)
accelerations & inertias by Dan Disney (Vagabond Press)

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000)
My Brother Ben by Peter Carnavas (University of Queensland Press)

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000)
The Gaps by Leanne Hall (Text Publishing)

Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting ($30,000)
Orange Thrower by Kirsty Marillier (Griffin Theatre Company and National Theatre of Parramatta, published by Currency Press)

Betty Roland Prize for Scriptwriting ($30,000)
NITRAM by Shaun Grant (Good Thing Productions)

Indigenous Writers’ Prize ($30,000 - biennial award)
Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams by Anita Heiss (Simon & Schuster Australia)

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing ($5,000)
Hold Your Fire by Chloe Wilson (Scribner an imprint of Simon & Schuster Australia)

People’s Choice Award
The Shut Ins by Katherine Brabon (Allen & Unwin)

2022 winner of The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award

A Place Near Eden by Neil Pierce is this year's winner of The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award

2022 Pulitzer Prizes

The 2022 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family, by Joshua Cohen (New York Review Books). You can find the full list of the 2022 Pulitzer Prizes here.

ABA Booksellers Choice Awards 2022
Congratulations to those writers shortlisted for the ABA Booksellers Choice Awards 2022. You can find all the shortlists here.

Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist

Meg Mason was born in New Zealand and now lives in Australia. Her novel,Sorrow and Bliss, completely captivated me - the voice, the humour, the poignancy of it - and is now in contention for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction. I've got my fingers crossed for her!

The Stella Prize

Congratulations to Evelyn Araluen who has won the 20022 Stella Prize for her debut collection of prose and poetry, Dropbear.

Words on the Waves Writers Festival

I'm very excited to be interviewing Bryan Brown and Chris Hammer at the Words on the Waves Writers Festival on Sunday 5 June. Hope to see you there!

WRITERS' CORNER

Writing Competitions

22 May 2022: ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize
The ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize rewards original short stories of between 2,000 and 5,000 words on any subject and in any style. Total prize money of AU$12,500 – 1st, $6,000; 2nd $4,000; 3rd $2,500. Entry fee $15 – $25.

31 May 2022: Australian/Vogel's Literary Award
The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award is an award for an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of thirty-five and offers prize money of $20,000 plus publication by Allen & Unwin with an advance against royalties.

1 June 2022: The Novel Prize
A biennial award for a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by published and unpublished writers around the world. The winner will receive US$10000 and simultaneous publication of their novel in Australia and New Zealand, in the UK and Ireland and in North America.

6 June 2022: Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize
The 2022 winner of the Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize will receive $3000 and two highly commended entrants will be awarded $500 each.

15 June 2022: ARA Historical Novel Prize
The ARA Historical Novel Prize awards $50000 to the Adult category winner, with $5000 awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors. In the Children and Young Adult category, the winner will receive $30000 while the two shortlisted authors will receive $5000 each.

17 June 2022: Writing for the Environment Prize
The 2022 Sutherland Shire Environment Centre’s national invites writers to submit a fictional piece of prose on the topic of peace and sustainability.
4 July 2022: The ACU Prize for Poetry
The theme for the 2022 ACU Prize for Poetry is 'Hope.' The winner will receive $10 000, with a $5000 second prize and a $3000 third prize.

What is Thursday Book Club? Thursday Book Club is a relaxed, friendly book club connecting readers online. We meet on Zoom from 8 - 8.30pm. There are no scheduled books to read: we simply chat about books we like & books we’re reading. Once a month, a guest writer joins us.

Zoom in as you can – it doesn’t matter if you’re late or have to leave early. Just join my Zoom conference room between 8pm and 8.30pm on Thursdays by clicking on this link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8521042343

If prompted, here are the details to manually enter:

Meeting ID:852 104 2343

Password 886 196

On 26 May, we'll be joined by two guest authors: Toby Roberts, whose debut novel is Two Mums and a Dad and Dina Davis, whose new novel is A Dangerous Daughter.

Thursday Book Club Recommendations

My Recommendation

The Secret Wife by Mark Lamprell

Your Recommendation

Noela A
The Jane Austen Remedy by Ruth Wilson

Dina D
The Ripping Tree by Nikki Gemmell
Goodnight, Vivienne, Goodnight by Steven Carroll
A Dangerous Daughter by Dina Davis

Minal R
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Ravi S
The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Barbie R
My Heart is a Little Wild Thing by Nigel Featherstone
This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan
The Very Last List of Vivian Walker by Megan Albany
The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer
A Solitary Walk on the Moon by Hilde Hinton

For Kids
The Boy, The Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Macksey
Phyllis & Grace by Nigel Gray and Bethan Welby
Piano Fingers by Caroline Magerl

Take care,

PS. Would you like me to drop in to your book club?

If your book club has chosen to read The Deceptions or The Teacher’s Secret, I’d be delighted to attend your meeting by Zoom (whether your group is meeting online or gathering together in person) to answer any of your questions. To schedule a date, please email me here. Click here for my Zoom Meeting You can buy The Deceptions and The Teacher’s Secret
directly from my publisher here:
Kindle version
Paperback