‘Well,’ said Caroline briskly, ’shall we choose the book for next time?’ She paused, waiting for us to answer. When nobody did, she said, ‘What about something by – ooh – say, Virginia Woolf?’ Andree, Allison and I stared into our wine glasses. Jo, who was less polite, groaned.
‘Not a good idea?’ Caroline opened the [...]

Jacqueline Kent, reviewer June 19, 2007

It is good to say “welcome back” to this, the life story of Australian artist Margaret Coen.

It is good to say “welcome back” to this, the life story of Australian artist Margaret Coen as told to, and by, her daughter Meg Stewart. First published [...]

More books than ever will be published in Australia this year. Jacqueline Kent explains why many will be badly edited.

Here’s a cautionary tale. An Australian publisher has just signed up a well known novelist. Both parties are very pleased with themselves: the author because it’s a better deal than any previous publisher has offered, the [...]

ONE of my least cherished memories is the first exam I took as a flute player. There I stood, my fingers trembling, facing a woman in a bobble-fringed poncho calmly scribbling comments as I piped way through bits of Handel and Elgar. It was an awful experience and I was so relieved to have reasonably [...]

Paper Empires: A History of the Book in Australia 1946-2005

Edited by Craig Munro and Robyn Sheahan-Bright

University of Queensland Press

For a fascinating occupation, book publishing has generated some very dull books. Histories of publishing companies plod glumly through details of turnover, staff appointments, successes and books [...]