Published...Or Not

"The mystery of how boys and brothers love" is at the very core and a quote from Markus Zusak's 'Bridge of Clay'.

The latest two poetry collections by Clive James - Injury Time and The River in the Sky - seemingly defy his terminal cancer diagnosis. He continues to write and the compulsion has led to evocative recollections of his life that are touching, insightful and memorable. His inevitable demise seems to have opened up new horizons for examination and discussion.

Jock Serong delves into an often overlooked chapter of early Australian history in his novel, 'Preservation' which addresses the puzzling riddle of The Sydney Cove wreck in 1797 and its cargo of rum. Would life be simpler if relationships were mathematical instead of emotional, perhaps so, but not near as much fun as Katherine Collette has written about in 'The Helpline'.

Alec Patric delves into the impulses and desires driving individuals in his short story collection, 'The Butcherbird Stories'.A woman, learned in spirtual ways, helps to lead the tribes fighting against the Romans during the iron age in Ilka Tampke's 'Songwoman'.

Claire Varley has interconnected five characters in 'The Book of Ordinary People' who by telling their own stories, or by hearing other's stories, learn more about themselves. It is always a perfect storm of comedy, tension and second thoughts when families gather for a wedding.  Bridie Jabour fathoms these dedpths in her novel 'The Way Things Should Be'.

Maryrose Cuskelly explores the events, personalities and psychological impact of the murders that took place in the small rural Victorian town of Wedderburn in 2014. The book is entitled, Wedderburn - a true tale of blood and dust.

Sarah Myles has written a gripping moral thriller about an abduction of a young Australian aid worker. 'The Wolf Hour' is set in Africa .Myth and reality collide in Katya de Becerra's, 'What the Woods Kept'.

'August Falling' by Les Zig delves into the fraught nature of relationships and the challenges they represent. Nina Stanton chose 100 beautiful objects that related to her life and Mary Ryllis Clark wrote her biography with mini histories of the objects in 'A Tear in the Glass'.

Stuart Kells investigates the controversy surrounding the authorship of Shakespeare's works in 'Shakespeare's Library'.It is the entire family that undergoes change in 'The Last Summer of Ada Bloom' by Martine Murray.

There can never be justice after a war as Adam Wakeling's account of the Pacific War Crimes Trials in his work, 'Stern Justice' so aptly illustrates. Three women redo a 5 day trek that they did 20 years ago, will it reignite more blame and shame or restore a broken friendship in Sally Piper's 'The Georgraphy of Friendship'.

'The Honourable Thief' has archaeology, Artemis, sex and black market antiquity sales in this action packed adventure by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios. Louisa Deasey rediscovers family, her father, his love of literature and the artist's life in her memoir, 'A Letter from Paris'.

Ted Todd has written short stories about dating from a male perspective in 'Fifty Something Male' and 'A Doubtful Inheritance' is his autobiofiction as Tibor Weisz.  The title says it all - 'Sex, Drugs and the Electoral Role'. Fiona Patten reveals the current malaise within our political system.

'Into the Fog' by Sandi Wallace is a new rural crime thriller with a wild storm, a long way from home and three missing children. What lengths will you go to if your survival is at stake? Lili Wilkinson explores this conundrum in 'After the Lights Go Out', where doomsday preppers and their isolationism is challenged.

Debut director, Marieke Hardy, talks about this year's Melbourne Writers Festival, themed - a matter of life and death. Cher Chidzey's book 'Ken's Quest' has opinionated Ken wanting to live and work in Australia but will Australia, and especially Julia, change his attitudes?

'Beautiful Revolutionary' is an engrossing historical fiction by Laura Elizabeth Woollett, explaining the charismatic Jim Jones and why so many followed him to their death.  We are taken on a mythical ride in Rebecca Lim's 'The Relic of the Blue Dragon' when an ancient Chinese vase is broken releasing a girl who has been trapped for two thousand years.

'George Parker Goes Global' is a delightfully ridiculous adventure for the teenage reader by David Metzenthen. Kirsty Manning's 'The Jade Lily' is an intriguing tale of how three generations are shaped through the circumstance of war with Shanghai, as the backdrop.

The nature of narrative is exposed in 'Antidote to a Curse', an intriguing novel by James Cristina whose protagonist waits upon a HIV diagnosis. True characters give us an insight into the Victorian asylum histoy in Jill Giese's book, 'The Maddest Place on Earth'.

Alison Booth's, 'A Perfect Marriage', has domestic violence at the centre but love, loss, friendship and honesty help to heal the hurt. Peter Cotton's, 'Dead Heat' begins with a domestic murder but soon escalates to a regional, nuclear crisis.

Ten Women tell their stories in Gwenda Beed Davey's 'Girl Talk: One Hundred Years of Australian Childhood'.Jacqui Horwood from Sisters-in-Crime talks about the upcoming Davitt Awards.

Alli Sinclair has set 'Burning Fields' in the sugar cane area of northern Queensland in 1945 with a character, Rosie, who wants to rebuild her family without losing the man she loves.  Moreno Giovannoni takes us into the unique atmosphere of rural Tuscany in his collection of tales 'The Fireflies of Autumn'.

Who is your best friend and why? In 'The Art of Friendship' Lisa Ireland writes about two women who share a histroy but question whether they should continue with their friendship. Trauma is seen through the eyes of a child in Kate van Hooft's 'WE See the Stars'.

A brazen murder with hundreds of witnesses takes place on the streets of Melbourne, in Sarah Bailey's crime novel 'Into the Night'.Clare Strahan tackles the challenging topic of adolescent sexuality in her novel, 'The Learning Curves of Vanessa Partridge'.

The Emerging Writers Festival Artistic Director, Izzy Roberts-Orr, highlighted the  interests and challenges of running this festival for the new creative voices in the community during our Radiothon programme.

Blue Justice is a gritty Melbourne crime novel that draws on Phil Copsey's four decades in the police force. Other Worlds is an intriguing series by Melbourne author, George Ivanoff, that invites the younger reader to let their imaginations run wild and visit impossible but plausible worlds.

Megan Goldin’s novel, The Escape Room, delves into the murky world of finance where people are literally prepared to murder to make money. But what happens when some of those corrupt executives become caught in an elevator? A Penguin publication. The Bridge by Enza Gandolfo is a moving and poignant novel that revolves around Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge. Two tragic accidents four decades apart dee...