You'll just be the mountains
Enjoy this engrossing feature article from Laurie Steed about how he wrote a memoir in a two-weeks Varuna residency. As Laurie writes at the close of his article: I’d encourage all writers at Varuna to not necessarily emulate such productivity but to embrace the freedom that preceded it. As writers, we sometimes learn to perform rather than create. It’s only when we turn off that constant gaze and see what we so desperately need to say that we can indeed be the house, and the mountains.
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Varuna’s librarian, Barbara Palmer, and the joys of volunteering
The gift of volunteering has its own rewards, bringing the joy of connection and intellectual stimulation.
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On being in residency
To be in residence at Varuna is to briefly embody another self.
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True Colours: The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke
In the current global zeitgeist, how is it possible to not think about race?
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Caught Mapping
As I write this, Sydney, the city where I’ve set my life and much of my fiction over the past 27 years, is ringed by fire and choked by smoke.
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My Type of Fiction
In early October an attorney connected with Donald Trump, John Dowd, sent a letter to Congress stating that his clients would not be cooperating with the Ukraine inquiry.
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Bread in the pockets of the hungry
One of the most common questions I am asked when I say that I write poetry is ‘what is poetry?’
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Feminise Your Canon - Eleanor Dark
As 1936 turned into 1937, the Australian novelist Eleanor Dark found herself embroiled in an epistolary skirmish with her U.S. literary agents.
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The Struggles of Women Writers
This week as I was preparing to host the Poetry Masterclass week at Varuna, I found myself reflecting on a few things specific to the struggles of women writers.
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Member Interview with Eleanor Limprecht
This week as I was preparing to host the Poetry Masterclass week at Varuna, I found myself reflecting on a few things specific to the struggles of women writers.
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The Lure of the Writers' Colony
In Rachel Cusk's latest novel Kudos, one of the characters is ensconced at a writers' residence in an Italian castle owned by a lascivious countess.
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The Long Goodbye
I can’t remember the last time I did a first-person Monthly Feature like this – one of my ‘true confessions’ – but it was a while ago.
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Insights into opportunities for Australian writers
Amy and I spent a fascinating morning recently at an industry forum as part of the Australia Council Visiting International Publishers program.
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Kim Scott interview
As job perks go, some people love nothing more than a free lunch, tickets to see a boy band, or a boxful of Botox..
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Eddie Ayres interview
Fresh off the back of a standing ovation at Adelaide Writers' Week, Eddie Ayres found time to talk to your Features Editor as he waited to board a plane home to Brisbane.
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Poor Old Michael Finnegan Begin Again
I don't usually go in for making New Year's resolutions.
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Alumni Interview with Taryn Bashford
Welcome to the first Varuna Feature for 2018. It’s great to be back, and I’m delighted to be here talking this month with debut YA novelist Taryn Bashford.
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Between the Awful Noise and this Terrible Silence
Recently I’ve been dreaming about my neighbour.
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Alumni Interview: Mark O’Flynn
Mark O’Flynn discusses his Miles Franklin shortlisted novel, The Last Days of Ava Langdon.
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