Dailies

» Book Covers: Design As You Read

Chicago designer Jenny Volvoski has set herself a fascinating new project – she designs her own covers for the books she reads.

They’re documented on her blog, From Cover to Cover.

‘I think a lot about book cover design while I am reading, and thought it would be a nice exercise to… read more

» Eco-Friendly Buildings Around the World

We share some amazing (and innovative) eco-friendly buildings from around the world – from the world’s first vertical forest in Italy to a stunning mountain hut that generates 90% of its own power in the Swiss Alps.

Bosco Verticale, Milan

The world’s first vertical forest is being erected i… read more

» Communists, Welfare Queens, and Entrepreneurs

Sylvia Nasar is best known as the author of A Beautiful Mind, which the New York Times called ‘perhaps the best economics-related book of the past quarter-century’. In her latest book, Grand Pursuit, she traces the birth and progress of modern economics – from Dickens in… read more

» Friday High Five: Gatsby, Novelist Death Threats and Satire in China

We share our favourite finds from the internet this week.

Jon Stewart and comedy in China

Jon Stewart has recently discovered that he’s a hit in China, from the millions of viewers who see his show in scattered internet clips. He recently joked that maybe he’s working the wrong continent… read more

» Working with Words: Colin Batrouney

Colin Batrouney is a Melbourne-based writer. His second novel, Creative Writing for Beginners, was published by Affirm Press this month. He has occasionally worked in professional theatre as both an actor and director. He has never attended a creative writing course.

We spoke to Colin… read more

» Aussie Strugglers or Privileged Poor?

The front page of today’s Age pictures a newlywed Altona couple, aged 25 and 27, as examples of the typical Australian, worried about rising costs of living.

They earn $130,000 a year between them, and ‘have a $420,000 mortgage, a $380,000 Pascoe Vale investment property they bought with … read more

» Patrick Ness: In Defence of Teenagers

Last year, Patrick Ness won the prestigious Carnegie Medal for the second time, for his YA novel A Monster Calls, a heartbreaking story about cancer and loss, told through the metaphor of a yew tree that comes to life outside the bedroom of a boy whose mother is dying.

In his acceptance… read more

» Friday High Five: Paid maternity leave and abandoned beauty

We share some of our favourite finds from around the internet this week.

30 abandoned places that look beautiful

Take a coffee break and have a long look at these eerily stunning images of 30 abandoned places from around the world – most of them caught in the process of being reclaimed by t… read more

» Working with Words: Tom Doig

Tom Doig is a writer, performer and editor who has been published in the Big Issue, The Lifted Brow, Sleepers Almanac and Voiceworks magazine (where he was once editor). His plays include Survival of the Prettiest, Hitlerhoff and Selling Ice to the Remains of the Eskimos. Tom is… read more

» Fruitful Anxiety and Grey Areas: Helen Garner and Anna Krien

Due to a technical failure, there will be no video of last night’s session with Anna Krien and Helen Garner. Luckily, we were there with a notebook and pen … please enjoy our account of last night’s stellar event.

A packed crowd gathered at the Wheeler Centre last night to listen to a… read more

» Why 'Sausage Fests' Should Be Reserved For Barbecues

By Paul Mitchell

There’s been a lot of talk about ‘sausage fests’ over the past few weeks, with the first all-female Miles Franklin shortlist sparking memories of the all-male lists of the recent past – which were given the meaty nickname. Writer Paul Mitchell tells why the term is not… read more

» Shutting Them Out: One Parent's Story of Disability, Discrimination and Our Schools

By Joel Deane

People with disabilities – and the everyday challenges they face – have been in the spotlight over the past week, as the national Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has dominated headlines and political coverage. For Joel Deane, the political is deeply personal: his… read more

» Friday High Five: Sonya Harnett on film, reviews in the internet age and the DSM

We bring you some of our favourite finds from around the internet this week.

Why Steven Soderbergh quit making movies

Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Magic Mike, the Oceans Eleven series) has recently announced that this year’s Side Effects will be his last film; he blamed his decision on the w… read more

» A Treasury of Melbourne Comics

By Pepi Ronalds

Pepi Ronalds takes us on a tour of Melbourne’s locally-made comic book scene – up alleyways, behind hidden doors and down in the tunnels below Flinders Street Station.

I am yet to ride an elevator and walk though a basement in search of illustrated treasure, but for now, my … read more

» Working with Words: Kylie Ladd

Kylie Ladd is a Melbourne writer and novelist whose essays and articles have appeared in the Age, Griffith Review, Sydney’s Child and O magazine, among others. She works part-time as a neuropsychologist. Her third novel, Into my Arms (Allen & Unwin) was published this month.

We spoke to… read more

» 2013 Miles Franklin Shortlist: All Women, For the First Time

The Miles Franklin shortlist for 2013 has been announced – and in a reverse of the much-talked-about ‘sausagefests’ of 2009 and 2011, all five of the shortlisted authors are women.

This is the first ever all-female shortlist.

There have been four all-male shortlists since 1987 (the first y… read more

» Meet the Hot Desk Fellows: Round Two, 2013

It’s that time of year again, where we welcome a new batch of writers to our Wheeler Centre hot-desks. And a wonderfully varied crowd it is.

There’s a singer–songwriter venturing into memoir, a poet seeking refuge from a Duplo-strewn house, a Zimbabwe migrant writing about her… read more

» Working with Words: Anna Goldsworthy

Anna Goldsworthy’s first book, the memoir Piano Lessons, has been released in the US and Korea, adapted for the stage, and is currently in development as a film. Anna’s writing has appeared in the Monthly, the Age, the Australian, and Best Australian Essays. Her new memoir Welcome to… read more

» 'Knowledge Dispels Fear': On Aboriginal victimhood and empowerment

By Shauna Bostock-Smith

Shauna Bostock-Smith reflects on her family’s past, and the way personal stories are shaped and interpreted – and the importance of acknowledging both the bad and the good in Aboriginal history. She asks: How can ancestral knowledge empower us in the present? And… read more

» Basically Silly, But Deadly Serious: Why Game of Thrones Doesn't Work

By Anthony Morris

Game of Thrones is the hit show of the moment – and holds the dubious honour of producing some of the most pirated television episodes ever. It’s rare to hear a bad word about it, especially on social media. So when we overheard film and television critic, HBO… read more

» Textbooks, Biscuits, Poppies: What Does Anzac Day Mean to the Young?

By Billie Tumarkin

We asked Year Eleven student Billie Tumarkin to explore what Anzac Day means to her generation. She dabbled in some amateur psychology with friends and reflected on Anzac Days past. What did she find? Mixed messages about the day’s meaning, history lessons that bored… read more