Finding Dodge City in the bush
The Age
Saturday August 29, 2009
How the bush made its mark on David Sedaris; how Allan Fels stumped Morris Gleitzman; how Leanne Hall conquered her shyness; and happy birthday Readings. By Jason Steger. THIS time last year the American humorist David Sedaris had finished his duties at the Melbourne Writers Festival and taken off for a bit of R&R. He and his partner, Hugh, were whisked into the bush by long-standing friend and former MWF board member Pat Williams. She took them on a jaunt to Daylesford, which Sedaris recounts in his usual waspish way in the current edition of The New Yorker. So how does he view Australia? "Australia seems pretty familiar: same wide streets, same office towers. It's Canada in a thong." And what impression did Daylesford make? "If Dodge City had been founded and maintained by homosexuals, this is what it might have looked like." You can read more at newyorker.com.Lost for wordsALLAN Fels, the former boss of the ACCC and one of the most vocal supporters of the Productivity Commission's recommendations to scrap parallel import restrictions, is used to provoking the ire of those book industry people who want to preserve the status quo. What he is not used to is reducing them to silence. But that's what happened at last Saturday's MWF session on the proposals when Fels sat on a panel to argue the toss. When question time came, up popped Morris Gleitzman, a writer who had lodged a submission to the PC opposing reform early in the process. "I think Professor Fels was probably a good economics student," he said, "but didn't pay much attention to English and history and other humanity subjects . . ." Not true, Fels piped up. "I used to edit [the literary magazine] Westerly." A silence from Gleitzman, who was clearly completely thrown off track. "I've had a paradigm shift that has momentarily stunned me," he told the audience.Sharing the bountyTHERE was a big birthday bash on Monday €” with sumptuous chocolate cake €” when Readings took over Experimedia in the State Library to celebrate its 40th anniversary. It was also the occasion of the launch of the Readings Foundation, which is streamlining the company's significant charitable work. [Wednesday is Indigenous Literacy Day. Buy a book at Readings or Reader's Feast and money goes to this good cause.] Helen Garner launched the foundation, describing Readings as a "quietly funky, quietly daggy" bookshop. And she read the passage from The Children's Bach featuring Readings: "Athena was standing in the wide doorway of the bookshop, arms folded and head tilted back, scanning the window covered in hand-printed cards on which people advertised rooms to let in their rented houses." Readings business manager Steve Smith made a rare public appearance but the biggest cheer of the night went to the public face of the shops, Mark Rubbo, who admitted to loving everyone in the trade, with the exception of shoplifters. And he also confessed to still meeting his old friend, Scribe boss Henry Rosenbloom, each week to talk publishing and bookselling. "And I can't understand why anyone would get bored with that."Out of the shadowsANOTHER Readings person, Leanne Hall, one of the staff who specialise in children's books, has won Text Publishing's prize for young adult and children's writing. Rather appropriate really. She gets $10,000 and a publishing contract for her novel, This Is Shyness, about two teenagers, Wolfboy and Wildgirl, and the night they spend in Shyness, the suburb where the sun doesn't rise. At least that's what Wolfboy tells Wildgirl and she persuades him to show her. Hall says they do literally live in darkness and if there is any metaphoric intent it's to do with Wolfboy not coming to terms with things in his family history and his slight depression. It's the first full novel she's completed but she has had several short stories published. "I was on a steep learning curve." Now she says she's looking forward to the editorial process at Text €” she had her first meeting this week €” and, of course, publication this time next year.Idol search for poemsPOETRY Idol is back again tomorrow at the Melbourne Writers Festival. In fact Idol has never really gone away, as the process of whittling away a vast array of performance poets down to a final 28 has taken place at a number of heats held this year. The winning poet gets $2000 and a chapbook contract. And the event is a lot of fun. Judges this year are Christos Tsiolkas, Age poetry editor Gig Ryan, RMIT Union arts director Melissa Delaney, and RMIT theatre director Lynne Ellis. It's on at 5.30pm in the BMW Edge.Calling all storytellersHAVING awarded Steven Amsterdam the Age book of the year award for Things We Didn't See Coming €” and neither did he €” we are now calling for entries to our annual short story competition. Stories must be no longer than 3000 words and cannot have been previously published. No more than three stories per person. Closing date is October 2. Entries to Short Story Competition, The Age, 250 Spencer Street, Melbourne 3000, or to shortstory@theage.com.au. For more info go to theage.com.au/entertainment/books.
© 2009 The Age