Tell Me I’m Okay (2018) is a memoir by Dr. David Bradford, a gay man who worked as the ‘chief venereologist’ of Victoria (Venereal disease is an old term for sexually transmitted infections) when the AIDS epidemic began in the 1980’s. Bradford worked as a doctor throughout the epidemic and continued to work as a […]
The Astral Traveller’s Handbook and Other Tales by David Michie Hay House Subiaco writer David Michie is best known for his delightful novel / introduction to Buddhist philosophy The Dalai Lama’s Cat, so it is only appropriate that the very same cat write the foreword to Michie’s latest book. The enlightened cat reminisces about a […]
Black Inc Books is creating a new anthology of stories about growing up queer in Australia, and they’ve just opened the submissions to writers. The collection will be edited by author Benjamin Law, who wrote the Quarterly Essay Moral Panic 101 as well as the books Gaysia and The Family Law. His own recollections of growing […]
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang Allen & Unwin When Helen Hoang’s pre-school teacher suggested that her daughter might have high functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, Helen did some research. She found that there is are major differences between the condition in females as they mask their awkwardness and hide their autistic traits to become […]
The House on Half Moon Street by Alex Reeve Raven Books In 1880, Victorian London was full of desperate characters that profited from other people’s weaknesses. It was a terrible time for most women and there is no way to romanticize the exploitation and the conditions in which the majority of the population struggled to […]
Bluebottle by Belinda Castles Allen & Unwin “After midnight the heat swelled in the house on the cliff while the cool surf pounded below.” Set on Sydney’s Northern beaches, sixteen year-old Lou, fifteen year-old Jack and younger sister Phoebe live in a house overlooking the sea with their parents Charlie and Tricia. Although the novel […]
Big Rough Stones by Margaret Merrilees Wakefield Press Reading Margaret Merrilees’ latest novel is a bit like doing a jigsaw. The narrative is littered with lesbians who all connect in some way. Poet Miriel Lenore says at the beginning of the book that to build a lesbian wall, you need big rough stones. Some bits […]
Tired of heading out to same events week after week, here’s something a little different. Lit Live is a monthly event held at the Centre for Stories which sees some of Perth’s best actors read entertaining short stories. The gathering is held on the first Wednesday of every month and the next event is on […]
The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara ONEWORLD When Blondie and Diana Ross were pumping on the radio, Angel was 16 years old and they realised they were a she. She didn’t need to actually be a woman to have the air of a woman and the sass of Bette Davis, and when she […]
White Houses by Amy Bloom Allen & Unwin Although Amy Bloom states that she worked from books by actual historians, the creative writing professor declares her book a work of fiction, from beginning to end. There are certainly numerous facts to work from. Franklin Roosevelt occupied the White House for a record four terms – […]
