Published...Or Not

The universal need for connection and belonging is profound but is best illustrated in Catherine de Saint Phalle's novel, 'The Sea and Us' which is set in a simple fish and chip shop in Sydney Road, Brunswick. Caleb Zelic has a new motto in life - stay out of trouble, but murders seem to surround him.  He will have to work with double-crossing partner again to solve the crimes in "Darkness for Lig...

'Nothing New' by Robyn Annear traces all things second hand: the history, the stigmas attached to it and the business that it continues to be. Christos Tsiolkas provides the reader with a unique sense of enlightenmet regarding the formative years of the Christian Church in his latest novel, 'Damascus'.

What does it take to be a typical farming family in the Mallee? Youngest daughter Marjorie worries about her 'nervy' mother and wants to keep it a family secret but do others have family secrets too? Anne Brinsden's 'Wearing Paper Dresses' is a wonderful read with well developed characters and a horrendous surprise.  In a digital future, old rivalries between city states show how fantastical the w...

It's suprising the extent of crime one can find in a country town. Garry Disher's, 'Peace', builds in intensity as seemingly trivial crimes and incidents investigated by a rural cop' lead to more far-reaching and extensive corruption. Mary Moody's book 'The Accidental Tour Guide' has the subtitle 'Adventures in Life and Death'. It is her memoir of life before and after her partner of 43 years, dea...

'The Electric Hotel' is the title of one of the first silent films ever made and Dominic Smith has used the concept of film in our lives and history in his novel which goes by the same name. The influence of film on the lives of his characters and the iteration of the social impact of film through history forms the foundation of this intriguing work. The joy and wonderment of film, how people alte...

Nate is in a dysfunctional family, he is not a hero but author Vikki Wakefield gives him an honesty which is both funny and heartbreaking in 'This is How We Change The World'.'Land of Fences' is the third instalment of Mark Smith's post apocalyptic tale set in coastal Victoria. Our hero, Fin, faces ethical and moral compromises as a new society emerges.

Anna Krien draws parrallels between the lives and situations of her characters in 'Act of Grace', that show how close we are as a global community and how our actions ripple through neighbourhooods and societies. Ender Baskan's book 'A Portrait of Alice as a Young man' is about travelling, working with words and finding a confidence within ourselves.

Lucy Treloar conjurs a physical and emotional landscape in her novel 'Wolfe Island' that speaks of a looming personal and moral displacement in society. With the seriousness of sexual harassment and corporate corruption, Elliot Perlman's 'Maybe the horse will talk' is also a story of love, family, friendship and doing over the bully.

Amanda Niehaus juxtaposes the scientific and the emotional, the expextations of the natural world against the mores of cultural propriety, in her novel, The Breeding Season, in which the characters, Elise and Dan, come to terms with the loss of their first child.

There were many things that could disgrace a person in 1920's society: divorce, being placed in a mental asylum and pregnancy before marriage. Jennifer Bryce's debut novel, 'Lily Campbell's Secret', touches on them all. 'A Fixed Place - the long and short of story' is an eclectic collection of stories by Kathleen Mary Fallon that toys with story telling conventions.

'The Near and the Far - Volume 2' has over 20 writers from the Pacific region contributing, with Francesca Rendle-Short telling us about the WrICE project. Astrid Scholte's imaginary kingdom is divided into four realms ruled by four queens and each is being assassinated. Find out how and why in "Four Dead Queens".

'Here Until August' is a short story collection by Josephine Rowe with characters from many countries, on the verge of pivotal decisions. Deception and Vietnam War coding are central to Barry Heard's novel, 'The Operators', which highlights the dangers of travelling in foreign countries.

Past, present and future are combined in Claire Coleman's dystopian novel, 'The Old Lie', where we see colonialism reimagined in a galactic war. What were your favourite books as a child? Was it characters, different worlds or even a sense of fear that made you read on?  Jane Sullivan reareads the books that made an impression, with adult insight into why they did, in 'Storytime'.

'Lucky Ticket' is a story collection from a range of story tellers, connected by deing displaced in a different country or their own, with insightful writing by Joey Bui. The world can be discombobulating unless you have magic glasses. This children's book, 'The Magic Glasses', has the authors; Marcus Verstraelen, Shannon Sands and John Head, playing with language.

Vikki Pertaitis is a 'true-crime' writer. Her accounts of actual crimes in 'Inside the Law - 25 years of True Crime Writing' will shock and amaze.'The best writing is the hard writing, the honest writing' is from Chloe Higgins book, 'The Girls' a grief memoir.

Sarah Bailey writes about Detective Gemma Woodstock again in 'Where the Dead Go'. Will her personal problems interfere with her investigation of a missing girl and a murdered boyfriend? Marieke Hardy talks about this year's Melbourne Writers Festival the theme of which is 'When we talk about love'.

'The Trespassers' by Meg Mundell, is a thought provoking thriller set on an ill-fated migrant ship coming to Australia. Mel Campbell and Anthony Morris delve into the absurdity of reality television in their novel, 'Nailed It'. 

Hana Assafir's 'Arab Australian Other - stories on race and identity' speaks to the assumptions and prejudices inherent in societies about race and religion. Family life with no privacy of city life with corporate success? Penny must decide which would be most satisfying and with which man, in 'Wildflower Ridge' by Maya Linnell.

Elizabeth Bryer reveals how the corruption of stories, language and art speak to the fears within society in her novel, 'From Here On, Monsters'.Drugs and romance are alive in 'Echo Springs'. Leisl Leighton and three other authors weave crime and relationships through the police who work there.

Kerry Cue writes about how to set up a salon. It is like a book club without books, instead tales are told of love and loss with the growth of self identity. Some of the real-life stories are in 'The Sunday Story Club'.Philip Salom explores the vagaries of ordinary lives and relationships in a most revealing way though his latest novel, 'The Returns'.

Angela Savage takes us on an intriquing journey into the financial and ethical issues associated with fertitlity in her novel, 'Mother of Pearl'.Black Saturday was a firestorm situation happening 10 years ago. Alice Bishop has written about love, grief and recovery in 'The Constant Hum', over 40 tenderly written portraits of heartache.

Juvenile detention and drugs have facts readers will come to question in the fiction of 'The Subjects' by Sarah Hopkins. Melbourne has mote ghosts than you realize and Michael Pryor reveals the extent of the haunting in 'Graveyard Shift in Ghost Town'.

A world at the brink of war, a sinister conspiracy, a race to find a secret treasure, all with an archelogical bent, in 'The Emerald Tablet' by Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios.'Deviate' has author Jay Kristoff, exploring the chaos of a dystopian future in the sequel to 'Lifelike'.

Families come in all shapes and sizes as does humour. R.W.R. McDonald gives us gays, a headless body and a feisty 11 year old detective in 'The Nancys'.Alex Rance talks football, education and also about his charming children's picture book 'Rabbit's Hop,' illustrated by Shane McG.

Barry Scott talks about small indendent publishing company, 'Transit Lounge'. Being our Radiothon program we are asking and acknowledging listeners who have donated to Published or Not. You still can! (03)9419 8377