Terms & Conditions Article Count: 3
Builder Pages Article Count: 1
ABR Online Article Count: 1
ABR’s digital archive contains review, essays, commentaries, letters, interviews and creative writing going back to 1978, when the magazine was revived. It is a unique critical resource for scholars, teachers, students, and general readers.
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2013 Article Count: 0
February 2013, no. 348 Article Count: 39
Welcome to our first issue for 2013! Highlights include Morag Fraser’s annual letter from the US – about the state of play in Washington D.C. Bernadette Brennan reviews Geordie Williamson’s controversial book The Burning Library. The first biography of J.M. Coetzee is reviewed by Gillian Dooley. We have reviews of new fiction by Brian Castro and Graeme Simsion. Brenda Niall writes at length about tensions between Henry Handel Richardson and Nettie Palmer.
March 2013, no. 349 Article Count: 30
Welcome to the March 2013 issue of ABR Online – the first to appear on our revamped website. Now all our print subscribers can enjoy ABR Online too – it comes free with your subscription.
Don Dunstan is our cover boy this month, in those infamous short pants. Ruth Starke – the fifth ABR Patrons’ Fellow – writes at length about this fascinating reformer. Morag Fraser reviews J.M. Coetzee’s new novel, The Childhood of Jesus, vis-à-vis Louise Erdrich’s award-winning novel The Round House. Other highlights include a new poem by Les Murray and Peter Rose’s editorial diary for 2013.
April 2013, no. 350 Article Count: 38
Welcome to issue number 350 of ABR! Leading the way is our Calibre Prize winner for 2013 – Martin Thomas’s magnificent account of the violation and restitution of Aboriginal bones in west Arnhem Land. Gillian Terzis and Alison Broinowski review new books by Al Gore and Oliver Stone, respectively. Patrick Allington praises a novella by Marion May Campbell, who is our guest on Open Page. There is news of two new ABR writers’ fellowships, each worth $5000. We also have poems by Laurie Duggan, Clive James, and Jennifer Maiden.
May 2013, no. 351 Article Count: 35
The May issue contains many highlights. Distinguished author-critic Kerryn Goldsworthy, in a long article titled ‘Everyone’s a Critic’, surveys the current state of book reviewing, both in print and online. Comments by senior critics and literary editors make this essential reading for anyone interested in the health of our critical culture. Andrew Fuhrmann rips into the new production of A Clockwork Orange. We review major new novels by Andrea Goldsmith and Ashley Hay, and Melinda Harvey reviews Alice Munro’s latest valedictory collection of stories. Thanks to the generosity of our Patrons, we also advertise the new ABR Patrons’ Editorial Internship, worth $20,000.
June 2013, no. 352 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the June issue of ABR – another highly varied one. Emma McEwin – Douglas Mawson’s great-granddaughter – writes about Mawson’s ‘iron gut’ and his fellow Antarctic explorers’ dietary habits, including a queasy penchant for ‘penguins on horseback’. Miriam Cosic reviews the Coetzee–Auster correspondence, and Pascall Prize-winner Kerryn Goldsworthy reviews Lionel Shriver’s new novel. Brian McFarlane is underwhelmed by Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Opera is a major theme this month. World-renowned conductor Jeffrey Tate is intrigued by the controversial new biography of Benjamin Britten, and Peter Rose writes about three productions in Melbourne.
July–August 2013, no. 353 Article Count: 39
Welcome to our annual Art issue! Noted photography scholar Helen Ennis – in her ABR George Hicks Foundation Fellowship – writes about Olive Cotton’s second marriage and slow re-emergence as a photographer. Mark Dober and Mary Eagle review the big new NGV Monet and NGA Turner exhibitions. Other highlights include Tim Rowse’s review of Marcia Langton’s 2012 Boyer Lectures and Morag Fraser’s reading of Joyce Carol Oates’s new novel. In Advances we question the Melbourne Writers’ Festival’s strong emphasis on the London Review of Books in its new program. Our Open Page guest this month is the Pascall Prize winner, Kerryn Goldsworthy.
September 2013, no. 354 Article Count: 42
We have a bumper issue for you in September. In Advances the Editor reports on the PM’s Literary Awards ceremony in Brisbane, especially Michelle de Kretser’s electrifying speech. In our lead review Gillard biographer Jacqueline Kent writes about Kerry-Anne Walsh’s heart-on-sleeve account of Gillard’s deposition. It’s great when seasoned critics choose to rhapsodise. Peter Craven does just that in his review of the new Text Classics edition of Kenneth Mackenzie’s 1937 novel The Young Desire It. Also, keep an eye out for information about our events, fellowships, prizes, and performing arts reviews. ABR is so much more than just a magazine!
October 2013, no. 355 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the October issue! The ABR Elizabeth Jolley Prize is now firmly established as one of Australia’s most prestigious and lucrative short story competitions. 1200 people entered this year. Our judges have whittled them down to a shortlist of three stories, and we publish them in the new issue. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Sydney on 28 October. Otherwise, it’s a peak season for new fiction, and several major new novels are reviewed – Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North (James Ley), Alex Miller’s Coal Creek (Brian Matthews), Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam, and Roger McDonald’s The Following. In our Theatre column, Ben Eltham finds little to like in David Williamson’s new play, Rupert.
November 2013, no. 356 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the November issue of Australian Book Review – our first Performing Arts issue and one of the highlights of our publishing year. Highlights are many and varied. They include Melbourne theatre critic Andrew Fuhrmann’s long article ‘A Theatre of His Own: The Problematic Plays of Patrick White’ – the fruit of his ABR Ian Potter Foundation Fellowship. It’s a huge time for fiction publishing in Australia, and Brian Matthews finds much to admire in Tim Winton’s new novel, Eyrie, while Rosemary Sorensen reviews Christos Tsiolkas’s Barracuda. Steven Carroll tackles a biography of the man who lived with and edited T.S. Eliot. We also name the winner of this year’s Jolley Prize.
December 2013–January 2014, no. 357 Article Count: 50
Welcome to our summer edition! Never before have we published 78 people in a single issue. ‘Books of the Year’ is our major feature – always fun to commission. Find out what leading writers, critics and artists enjoyed reading in 2014. Poetry is a strength this month: we have poems from Felicity Plunkett, American Paula Bohince, and Porter Prize winner Michael Farrell, among others. Dion Kagan reviews that audacious French film Stranger by the Lake, and Ian Dickson admires the STC’s Waiting for Godot. Other highlights include Robert Dessaix on Colm Tóibín’s The Testament of Mary, Robyn Williams on Stephen Hawking, and former agent Mary Cunnane’s defence of the slush pile.
2012 Article Count: 0
February 2012, no. 338 Article Count: 44
March 2012, no. 339 Article Count: 40
April 2012, no. 340 Article Count: 36
May 2012, no. 341 Article Count: 35
June 2012, no. 342 Article Count: 41
July–August 2012, no. 343 Article Count: 50
September 2012, no. 344 Article Count: 42
October 2012, no. 345 Article Count: 42
November 2012, no. 346 Article Count: 33
December 2012–January 2013, no. 347 Article Count: 43
Welcome to our mega summer issue. Readers (and authors!) are always keen to know what our key writers regard as the ‘Books of the Year’. This year 26 critics nominate their favourite books – and tell us why they like them. They include Alex Miller, Brenda Niall,Kerryn Goldsworthy and Tony Birch. Nick Hordern reviews John Cantwell’s strikingly candid book Exit Wounds. We have reviews of new fiction by David Foster, J.K. Rowling and Christopher Koch; a short story by John Bryson; and a new poem by John Kinsella.
2011 Article Count: 0
April 2011, no. 330 Article Count: 40
March 2011, no. 329 Article Count: 41
May 2011, no. 331 Article Count: 34
February 2011, no. 328 Article Count: 40
June 2011, no. 332 Article Count: 36
July–August 2011, no. 333 Article Count: 39
September 2011, no. 334 Article Count: 42
October 2011, no. 335 Article Count: 35
November 2011, no. 336 Article Count: 43
December 2011–January 2012, no. 337 Article Count: 35
2010 Article Count: 0
December 2010–January 2011, no. 327 Article Count: 35
November 2010, no. 326 Article Count: 41
October 2010, no. 325 Article Count: 35
May 2010, no. 321 Article Count: 36
April 2010, no. 320 Article Count: 34
September 2010, no. 324 Article Count: 32
June 2010, issue no. 322 Article Count: 41
March 2010, no. 319 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the March 2010 issue of Australian Book Review.
February 2010, no. 318 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the February 2010 issue of Australian Book Review.
July–August 2010, no. 323 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the July–August 2010 issue of Australian Book Review.
2014 Article Count: 0
February 2014, no. 358 Article Count: 52
Welcome to our first issue for 2014 – with 48 different writers bringing you fine reviews, poems, and arts commentary. Historian Marilyn Lake – warning us about a veritable tsunami of books about the Great War in the centenary year – reviews Joan Beaumont’s book Broken Nation. John Thompson finds much to like in Germaine Greer’s White Beech: The Rainforest Years. Jen Webb reviews Donna Tartt’s new novel, The Goldfinch. Rebekah Clarkson, Danielle Clode and Peter Kenneally review major anthologies of last year’s ‘best’ writings. We also have a major new feature – ‘Critic of the Month’.
March 2014, no. 359 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the March issue! Morag Fraser continues her series of annual Letters from America about politics in the United States. Shane Carmody tackles Senator Bernardi’s revolutionary tract. Gideon Haigh writes about the strange torpor among investigative journalists prior to the GFC. Lisa Gorton surveys David Malouf’s poetic oeuvre with particular reference to his new collection, Earth Hour. We also review new films Tracks and Dallas Buyers Club, and Michael Gow’s new play at Belvoir, Once in Royal David’s City; while Patrick McCaughey writes about the majestically restored Rijksmuseum. All this and much more in your ABR!
April 2014, no. 360 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the April issue! Our main feature is our Calibre Prize winner for 2014 – Christine Piper’s outstanding ‘Unearthing the Past’ in which Dr Piper writes about Japan’s biological warfare program and the search for answers. Also in the April issue: Adrian Walsh on austerity, Dennis Altman on Edmund White, and reviews of new fiction by Craig Sherborne, Moira McKinnon, and Abbas El-Zein. Also Kate Holden reviews the new novel from our Open Page guest Linda Jaivin and we publish new poems by Will Eaves, Brendan Ryan, Kate Middleton, and Judith Bishop.
May 2014, no. 361 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the May issue! Our main feature is our Peter Porter Poetry Prize shortlist for 2014 – featuring poems by Elizabeth Allen, Nathan Curnow, Paul Kane, and Jessica L. Wilkinson. Ann-Marie Priest is the author of the first of our Calibre-shortlisted essays: a long study of Henry Handel Richardson’s relationship with Olga Roncoroni. Also in the May issue: Joan Beaumont on the commercialisation of the Anzacs, Kevin Rabalais on David Malouf, and reviews of new fiction by Tony Birch, Siri Hustvedt, and Robert Hillman. Henry Reynolds reviews Tom Lawson’s new work on the Tasmanian genocide, and Richard J. Martin explores Aboriginal political agency.
June–July 2014, no. 362 Article Count: 50
Edward Snowden and the NSA – there has been no more riveting or consequential story in recent years. Much of the coverage has been reflexive and tendentious. In the June–July issue of ABR, James Der Derian reviews four books on the subject, including Luke Harding and Glenn Greenwald’s accounts of Snowden’s defection. Also, Neal Blewett reviews Bob Carr’s controversial diaries, and adds a twist of his own. Other contributors include Sheila Fitzpatrick, Bill Gammage, Jennifer Maiden, Richard Toye – and ABR Roving Blogger Fiona Gruber.
August 2014, no. 363 Article Count: 41
Welcome to our August issue – packed with good reading: reviews, commentary, new poetry, arts commentary. Few recent books have achieved such renown and influence as Thomas Piketty’s ‘Capital in the Twenty-first Century’; Mark Triffitt reviews it for us. We have reviews of new fiction by Gerald Murnane and Lorrie Moore; and biographies of Don Dunstan, George Herbert and Wilhelm II. Kevin Rabalais writes about ‘My Brother Jack’ on its fiftieth birthday. Finally, among our poets this month is soon-to-be-visiting UK poet Simon Armitage.
September 2014, no. 364 Article Count: 44
Welcome to the September Fiction issue! Here you will find the 2014 Jolley Prize shortlisted stories from Faith Oxenbridge, Cate Kennedy, and winner Jennifer Down. Also in the Fiction Issue: Maria Takolander on short stories, Mary Cunnane on the art of pitching, an interview with Penguin publisher Ben Ball, and ten notable Australian writers discuss their favourite short-story collections. Delia Falconer reviews Mark Henshaw’s second novel, appearing twenty-six years after his début, Felicity Plunkett reviews Helen Garner’s confronting ‘This House of Grief’, and Joel Deane reviews two titles on Julia Gillard and the Labor government.
October 2014, no. 365 Article Count: 44
Here you will find Scott McCulloch’s captivating Letter from Ukraine as well as Peter Mares on the asylum seeker situation, Patrick Allington’s review of Peter Carey’s new novel Amnesia, and Peter Rose’s examination of Erik Jensen’s unusual memoir of his relationship with the troubled artist Adam Cullen. Also, Frank Bongiorno on Don Watson’s The Bush, Bridget Griffen-Foley on Fairfax, our new Poet of the Month feature with Robert Adamson, and Alison Broinowski’s review of Haruki Murakami’s latest work. We also join in the celebration of Chris Wallace-Crabbe’s eightieth birthday with a review of his new poetry collection and of Travelling Without Gods: A Chris Wallace-Crabbe Companion.
November 2014, no. 366 Article Count: 43
Welcome to our first issue devoted largely to the Environment. Highlights include Alison Pouliot’s superb photo essay on drought in Australia; and Danielle Clode’s long article ‘Seeing the Wood for the Trees’. Other environmentally inclined contributors include Ian Lowe, Tom Griffiths, and Ruth A. Morgan. Historian Mark McKenna extols the final volume of Alan Atkinson’s The Europeans in Australia. Fiction-wise, Morag Fraser reviews Margaret Atwood’s new stories, Shannon Burns reviews J.M. Coetzee’s Three Stories, and Ruth Starke is intrigued by John Marsden’s first novel for adults. Other contributors include Dennis Altman, Judith Beveridge, and Sheila Fitzpatrick. Peter Carey is our guest on Open Page – and Geordie Williamson is our Critic of the Month.
December 2014, no. 367 Article Count: 40
Welcome to our December issue! Highlights include our popular Books of the Year feature in which leading critics, writers, and artists nominate their favourite books (providing plenty of inspiration for your summer reading lists). Also, Neal Blewett reviews Julia Gillard’s memoir of her time as prime minister; Diana Glenn reviews Clive James’s translation of The Divine Comedy; Ann-Marie Priest dives into a new collection of Gwen Harwood’s poetry; Phillip Deery reviews David Horner’s history of ASIO’s formative years; and Delia Falconer reviews Robert Dessaix’s memoir What Days Are For. Dessaix is also this month’s Open Page guest and Gig Ryan is our Poet of the Month. New poems by Gig Ryan, Tina Kane, and Stephen Edgar can also be found within.
2015 Article Count: 0
January-February 2015, no. 368 Article Count: 48
Welcome to our January–February issue! Highlights include Martin Thomas on the art and life of Albert Namatjira, Jane Sullivan on Hilary Mantel’s new collection of short stories, and our new ‘Arts Highlights of the Year’ feature in which leading critics and arts professionals nominate their favourite performances of 2014. Also, Susan Lever reviews Christos Tsiolkas’s new title Merciless Gods, Geordie Williamson explores the poetry notebook of Clive James, and Gregory Day explores family ties in his Jolley Prize commended story, 'The 900s Have Moved'. On the poetry side of things, Tracy Ryan is ABR’s Poet of the Month, and we publish new poems by Cassandra Atherton, Cameron Lowe, and Tracy Ryan, as well as Clive James’s poem, ‘A Silent Speech by Julia Gillard’.
March 2015, no. 369 Article Count: 48
Welcome to our March issue – a packed one with contributions from about 50 Australian writers, several of them new to the magazine. These include distinguished journalist-editor Luke Slattery, who writes about Volume 3 of Thomas Keneally’s ‘Australians’ and finds it somewhat wanting. David McCooey offers a spirited defence of John Kinsella. Novelist Andrea Goldsmith writes about two new books on Susan Sontag – and likes one of them. We publish the first in a new series of Reading Australia essays on key Australian texts: Kerryn Goldsworthy revisits Jessica Anderson’s much-loved novel ‘Tirra Lirra by the River’. Then we have reviews by people like Glyn Davis, Joan Beaumont, Nigel Biggar, Jane Sullivan – and much more!
April 2015, no. 370 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the April issue – our first Film and Television issue. James McNamara (the latest ABR Ian Potter Foundation Fellow) looks at great US shows from The Sopranos to Game of Thrones and asks if this is really the golden age of television. Also in the issue a group of critics and arts professionals choose their favourite drama series – will yours be among them? Bernadette Brennan reviews Kate Grenville’s new book, Ben Saul looks into the treatment of David Hicks, and Tim Colebatch examines Paul Keating’s contested legacy. Then there are reviews by Catriona Menzies-Pike, Judith Armstrong, Brenda Walker, Simon Caterson and Jake Wilson. Our Open Page guest is Kate Grenville.
May 2015, no. 371 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the May Issue! Highlights include Sophie Cunningham's 2015 Calibre Prize-winning essay 'Staying with the trouble', and the Peter Porter Poetry Prize shortlist. Also, we ask critics and editors what would most improve Australian critical culture, Scott McCulloch visits Tehran, Sheila Fitzpatrick delves into Ramona Koval's memoir, Stephen Edgar reviews Les Murray's new poetry collection, and Ruth A. Morgan reviews a new book on Gunns. Plus Chris Flynn on Steve Toltz' new novel Quicksand, Doug Wallen on a live performance by Paul Kelly, Bernadette Brennan on Helen Garner's 1984 novella The Children's Bach, Luke Slattery on David Malouf’s Being There, and David McCooey is our Poet of the Month.
June-July 2015, no. 372 Article Count: 42
Welcome to the June-July double issue! Highlights this month include a major profile of internationally-acclaimed indigenous musician Gurrumul written by Felicity Plunkett as part of her Sidney Myer Fund Fellowship, and new poems by Samuel Wagan Watson and Graham Akhurst. Plus Sheila Fitzpatrick on Lenin, Neil Kaplan on genocide, Danielle Clode on nature writing, and Tony Birch’s Reading Australia essay on Thomas Keneally’s The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. We launch a new feature called ‘Future Tense’ to highlight new and emerging writers – Ellen van Neerven is our first guest. Plus we have reviews of new fiction by Lisa Gorton, Steven Carroll, and Malcolm Knox, and Maxine Beneba Clarke is our Open Page guest.
August 2015, no. 373 Article Count: 26
Welcome to the August issue! Highlights this month include a profile of Nobel Prize-nominated novelist Gerald Murnane written by Shannon Burns, our current ABR Patrons’ Fellow, and the latest travelogue from the wild side from Scott McCulloch – a Letter from Athens. Other features include Rachel Buchanan on the thalidomide cover-up and Billy Griffiths on the row between Nixon and Whitlam. Miles Franklin Literary Award-winner Sofie Laguna is our Open Page guest and Alison Croggon is our Critic of the Month. We also have reviews of new fiction by John Kinsella, Paddy O’Reilly, and Gregory Day; and Peter Goldsworthy on Clive James’s latest poetry collection. No wonder Michael Cathcart of Books and Arts described ABR as ‘Australia’s foremost literary magazine’.
September 2015, no. 374 Article Count: 32
Welcome to the September Fiction issue. Highlights include the 2015 Jolley Prize shortlisted stories: ‘Borges and I’ by Michelle Cahill, ‘Crest’ by Harriet McKnight, and ‘The Elector of Nossnearly’ by Rob Magnuson Smith. Michelle de Kretser writes about Randolph Stow’s The Suburbs of Hell. In this year’s survey a group of writers and critics nominate their favourite ‘missing novels’. Elsewhere, Gillian Dooley reviews Gail Jones’s new novel A Guide to Berlin, Susan Lever reviews The World Without Us by Mireille Juchau, and Catriona Menzies-Pike tackles Miles Allinson’s debut Fever of Animals. We also have Kerryn Goldsworthy on a new biography of Thea Astley and James Ley on a new biography of J.M. Coetzee. Our Future Tense guest is Stephanie Bishop and our Open Page guest is Charlotte Wood.
October 2015, no. 375 Article Count: 34
Welcome to the October Environment issue. Highlights include Ashley Hay’s ABR Dahl Trust Fellowship essay ‘The Forest at the Edge of Time’, and a survey of leading environmentalists, scientists, commentators, and writers on the most urgent action needed for environmental reform. Contributors include Tim Flannery, Ian Chubb and Brian Schmidt. Jo Daniell contributes a photo essay, and David Schlosberg comments on the government’s attack on renewables. Elsewhere, we have a new short story by Elizabeth Harrower, Tom Griffiths reviews Tim Flannery’s new book Atmosphere of Hope, and James Bradley tackles Jonathan Franzen’s Purity. Also we have Morag Fraser on The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks, James Ley on The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood, and Shannon Burns on the new book by Gerald Murnane (the subject of his recent ABR Fellowship). Our featured poets include Michael Hofmann and John Kinsella.
November 2015, no. 376 Article Count: 42
Welcome to the November issue. Highlights this month include our annual survey of critics and arts professionals on their favourite concerts, operas, films, ballets, plays, and art exhibitions. Bernadette Brennan greatly admires Drusilla Modjeska's new memoir, Second Half First. Robyn Archer makes the case for funding the arts and Debi Hamilton takes a four-hour trip around Melbourne on bus route 903. Elsewhere, we have Jane Sullivan on Salman Rushdie's new novel, Brian Matthews on Tim Winton's memoir Island Home, and Susan Lever on Charlotte Wood's The Natural Way of Things. Tim Colebatch reviews Catch and Kill by Joel Deane, and Mark Edele contrasts two new biographies of Stalin. Elizabeth Harrower is our Open Page guest, and Kerryn Goldsworthy is our Critic of the Month.
December 2015, no. 377 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the December issue. Highlights include our Books of the Year, where 42 major authors and critics nominate their favourite titles. Read what people like Alberto Manguel, Sophie Cunningham and Michael Hofmann enjoyed reading most this year. Elsewhere, Bernadette Brennan lauds Elizabeth Harrower's new short story collection, A Few Days in the Country. We also have Varun Ghosh on a timely new biography of Malcolm Turnbull, Judith Beveridge on the posthumous poems from Martin Harrison, and Rachel Buchanan on Rosie Batty's memoir A Mother's Story. Plus Neal Blewett on Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes and John Allison on My life With Wagner by Charles Thielemann. Don Watson is our Open Page guest, and Stephen Edgar is our Poet of the Month.
2007 Article Count: 0
February 2007, no. 288 Article Count: 35
April 2007, no. 290 Article Count: 40
March 2007, no. 289 Article Count: 30
September 2007, no. 294 Article Count: 40
May 2007, no. 291 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the May 2007 issue of Australian Book Review.
June 2007, no. 292 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the June 2007 issue of Australian Book Review.
July–August 2007, no. 293 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the July–August 2007 issue of Australian Book Review.
October 2007, no. 295 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the October 2007 issue of Australian Book Review.
November 2007, no. 296 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the November 2007 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 2007–January 2008, no. 297 Article Count: 42
Welcome to the December 2007–January 2008 issue of Australian Book Review.
2008 Article Count: 0
February 2008, no. 298 Article Count: 25
Welcome to the February 2008 issue of Australian Book Review!
October 2008, no. 305 Article Count: 41
March 2008, no. 299 Article Count: 38
May 2008, no. 301 Article Count: 34
April 2008, no. 300 Article Count: 33
September 2008, no. 304 Article Count: 41
July–August 2008, no. 303 Article Count: 41
June 2008, no. 302 Article Count: 48
Welcome to the June 2008 issue of Australian Book Review.
November 2008, no. 306 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the November 2008 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 2008–January 2009, no. 307 Article Count: 44
Welcome to the December 2008–January 2009 issue of Australian Book Review.
2009 Article Count: 0
April 2009, no. 310 Article Count: 33
March 2009, no. 309 Article Count: 33
October 2009, no. 315 Article Count: 40
July-August 2009, no. 313 Article Count: 38
February 2009, no. 308 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the February 2009 issue of Australian Book Review.
May 2009, no. 311 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the May 2009 issue of Australian Book Review.
June 2009, no. 312 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the June 2009 issue of Australian Book Review.
September 2009, no. 314 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the September 2009 issue of Australian Book Review.
November 2009, no. 316 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the November 2009 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 2009–January 2010, no. 317 Article Count: 44
Welcome to the December 2009–January 2010 issue of Australian Book Review.
2004 Article Count: 0
September 2004, no. 264 Article Count: 2
Welcome to the September 2004 issue of Australian Book Review.
May 2004, no. 261 Article Count: 43
February 2004, no. 258 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the August 2004 issue of Australian Book Review.
March 2004, no. 259 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the March 2004 issue of Australian Book Review!
June-July 2004, no. 262 Article Count: 44
Welcome to the June-July 2004 issue of Australian Book Review.
August 2004, no. 263 Article Count: 44
Welcome to the August 2004 issue of Australian Book Review.
October 2004, no. 265 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the October 2004 issue of Australian Book Review.
November 2004, no. 266 Article Count: 21
Welcome to the November 2004 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 2004–January 2005, no. 267 Article Count: 42
Welcome to the December 2004–January 2005 issue of Australian Book Review.
April 2004, no. 260 Article Count: 32
Welcome to the April 2004 issue of Australian Book Review.
2005 Article Count: 0
April 2005, no. 270 Article Count: 36
June–July 2005, no. 272 Article Count: 37
August 2005, no. 273 Article Count: 36
October 2005, no. 275 Article Count: 36
December 2005–January 2006, no. 277 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the December 2005-January 2006 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 2005, no. 274 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the September 2005 issue of Australian Book Review!
November 2005, no. 276 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the November 2005 issue of Australian Book Review!
February 2005, no. 268 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the February 2005 issue of Australian Book Review.
March 2005, no. 269 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the March 2005 issue of Australian Book Review.
May 2005, no. 271 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the May 2005 issue of Australian Book Review.
2006 Article Count: 0
March 2006, no. 279 Article Count: 41
June-July 2006, no. 282 Article Count: 36
October 2006, no. 285 Article Count: 45
Welcome to the October 2006 issue of Australian Book Review!
February 2006, no. 278 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the February 2006 issue of Australian Book Review.
April 2006, no. 280 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the April 2006 issue of Australian Book Review.
May 2006, no. 281 Article Count: 49
Welcome to the May 2006 issue of Australian Book Review.
August 2006, no. 283 Article Count: 45
Welcome to the August 2006 issue of Australian Book Review.
September 2006, no. 284 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the September 2006 issue of Australian Book Review.
November 2006, no. 286 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the November 2006 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 2006–January 2007, no. 287 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the December 2006–January 2007 issue of Australian Book Review.
2016 Article Count: 0
January-February 2016, no. 378 Article Count: 50
Welcome to the January–February issue. Highlights include the ever-sharp British critic Michael Hofmann on Jonathan Bate's biography of Ted Hughes, James Walter on Keating by Kerry O'Brien, and a long article by Suzanne Falkiner about Randolph Stow in Harwich. Sarah Holland-Batt reviews Fiona McFarlane's new collection of short stories, and Brigid Magner considers Gregory David Roberts's The Mountain Shadow. Following his recent travels, Kevin Rabalais gives us a Letter from New Orleans. Josephine Taylor reviews The Best Australian Stories 2015, Anwen Crawford examines Carrie Brownstein's memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, and Dennis Altman reviews Peter Garrett's memoir Big Blue Sky. ABR's Q&As are always popular, and this month Mireille Juchau is our Open Page guest, and Michelle Michau-Crawford is our Future Tense guest.
March 2016, no. 379 Article Count: 37
Welcome to our March issue – one of several themed issues we will publish this year. Poetry dominates the issue. First we have the five shortlisted poems in this year's international Peter Porter Poetry Prize. Then we publish the first in our States of Poetry – state-by-state anthologies designed to give readers a snapshot of some of the best contemporary poetry around the country. Peter Goldsworthy chooses six fine South Australian poets. Elsewhere, Kerryn Goldsworthy praises Suzanne Falkiner's important biography of the great novelist (and poet) Randolph Stow.
April 2016, no. 380 Article Count: 35
Welcome to our April issue – with a gory Stalin on the cover. Mark Edele reviews the new book on Stalin by distinguished Soviet historian (and ABR regular) Sheila Fitzpatrick. Elsewhere, Kevin Rabalais writes about Brazil, Miriam Cosic revisits The Female Eunuch, and George Megalogenis is our guest on Open Page. Arts Update features prominently, with reviews of The Daughter, The Lady in the Van, and Picnic at Hanging Rock and Michael Shmith interviews Leo Schofield for Stage Door.
May 2016, no. 381 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the May issue of ABR Online. In Advances we announce our major new partnership with Monash University. Peter Goldsworthy reviews a posthumous collection of poems by the great Peter Porter – after whom our Poetry Prize is named. We review novels by Patrick Modiano, David Dyer, Julian Barnes, Josephine Rowe, and Jack Cox. States of Poetry this month heads to New South Wales. State editor Elizabeth Allen has chosen poems from six NSW poets, including ABR Laureate David Malouf. We print three of them in this issue, including the extraordinary 'Visitation on Myrtle Street' (a recent online Poem of the Week) and the complete digital anthology will be available soon.
June–July 2016, no. 382 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the June-July issue of Australian Book Review. The highlight of this issue is the winning essay in this year's Calibre Prize. Michael Winkler's winning essay is titled 'The Great Red Whale'. It was chosen from almost 200 entries. Lucas Grainger-Brown reviews two new books on Tony Abbott's downfall, Sheila Fitzpatrick reviews a biography on Stalin's daughter, and Peter Stanley examines Henry Reynolds's new book on Australia's long history of bellicosity. Novelists reviewed in this issue include Toni Jordan, Jane Harper and Patrick Holland. Distinguished US poet Sharon Olds publishes her first poem in ABR.
August 2016, no. 383 Article Count: 41
The highlights of the August Fiction issue are the three stories shortlisted in the prestigious $12,500 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize. Other highlights include an extract from poet Michael Aiken's ABR Laureate's Fellowship project: Satan Repentant. Also in the issue, we have Peter Mares on Manus and Nauru, Ilana Snyder on American Jewish divisions about Israel, Neal Blewett on The Killing Season Uncut, Simon Tormey on Thomas Piketty's new work, and Bruce Moore reflects on the new Australian National Dictionary. Novelists reviewed in this issue include Annie Proulx, Louise Erdrich, Katherine Brabon, Mark O'Flynn, Zoë Morrison, and Liam Pieper. Historian Tom Griffiths is our Open Page guest.
September 2016, no. 384 Article Count: 39
The highlight of the September issue is distinguished historian Alan Atkinson's searching and timely RAFT Fellowship essay on the Australian national conscience. Other highlights include Glyn Davis on Britain's Europe from birth to Brexit, Beejay Silcox's fly-on-the-wall account of a Donald Trump Rally, Bernadette Brennan on the works of Kim Scott, Simon Caterson on Brett Whiteley, Joy Damousi on the Armenian Genocide, and a poem from New Zealand's poet Laureate Bill Manhire. We review fiction by authors including Steven Amsterdam, Nick Earls, Tara June Winch, Howard Jacobson, and Anna Spargo-Ryan. Michael Shmith interviews Brett Dean for Green Room, and author Fiona Wright is our Open Page guest.
October 2016, no. 385 Article Count: 38
Highlights of the October issue include Kate Burridge's assessment of the colourful, yet 'selfieless' new Australian National Dictionary and David Rolph on 'the most famous statutory provision in Australia' - section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. Other highlights include Catherine Noske on two books by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Dennis Altman on a new biography of Jack Mundey, Sue Kossew on J.M. Coetzee's new novel, Critic of the Month James McNamara on Dark Money, and David Smith on David Cay Johnston's three-decade pursuit of 'con artist' Donald Trump, as well as Nicholas Jose on Dorothy Hewett, a new short story from Cate Kennedy, and poems from Jill Jones, Stuart Cooke, and Poet of the Month Sarah Holland-Batt. We also review new fiction from Hannah Kent, Ann Patchett, Jock Serong, Rajith Savanadasa, and Michelle Wright.
November 2016, no. 386 Article Count: 42
Welcome to the November Arts issue. We are delighted to announce Robyn Archer as our new Laureate. Other highlights include our annual survey of critics and arts professionals on their favourite concerts, operas, films, ballets, plays, television programs, and exhibitions. We also look at musical memoirs, rivalry in art, the joys of binge-watching boxed-sets, music competitions during the Cold War, transgressions in cinema, the history of Indigenous art and of the Australian art market, and art during Germany’s Weimar period. ABR Chair Colin Golvan QC explores the cultural risks of parallel importation, and Neal Blewett reviews a new biography of H.V. Evatt. We review new fiction from Margaret Atwood, Jacinta Halloran, Laura Elizabeth Woollett, A. N. Wilson, Sam Carmody, Sean Rabin, Kristel Thornell, and Hebe de Souza, as well as classic fiction from New Zealand. Bill Manhire is our Poet of the Month.
December 2016, no. 387 Article Count: 39
Welcome to our much-anticipated December issue!
• Books of the Year - More than forty senior critics, writers, broadcasters, and booksellers have nominated their favourite books of the year
• Publisher’s Picks - a dozen major publishers/editors nominate 2016 books from other publishing houses
• Paul Genoni on George Johnston and Charmian Clift’s time on Hydra
• Peter Craven on Tim Winton’s ‘rich and brilliant’ essay collection The Boy Behind the Curtain
• Fiona Gruber on Scientology
• Philosopher Peter Singer is our Open Page guest
2017 Article Count: 0
January–February 2017, no. 388 Article Count: 38
Welcome to our January–February issue! Highlights of the double issue include:
- Klaus Neumann on refugees
- Angelo Loukakis on Don Watson
- Gabriel García Ochoa – Letter from Mexico
- Publisher of the Month – our new Q & A
- Three new ABR Writers’ Fellowships, each worth $7,500
March 2017, no. 389 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the March issue! Highlights include:
- Ross McKibbin on the Chilcot Report into the Iraq debacle
- Margaret Harris on an ‘enthralling’ study of Queen Victoria
- Morag Fraser on Mark Colvin’s dual memoir
- Beejay Silcox on George Saunders’s début novel
- The 2017 Peter Porter Poetry Prize shortlist
- News from the Editor's Desk
April 2017, no. 390 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the April issue! Highlights include:
- Colin Golvan on Albert Namatjira’s copyright
- Elizabeth McMahon on NZ literature
- Kerryn Goldsworthy reviews The Refugees
- Open Page with Ashley Hay
- Andrew Fuhrmann on Paul Robeson
- News from the Editor’s desk
May 2017, no. 391 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the May issue! Highlights include:
- James McNamara on the Trump presidency
- Morag Fraser’s tribute to John Clarke
- Jan McGuinness on a study of Helen Garner
- Open Page with Louis Nowra
- Beejay Silcox on The Idiot
- News from the Editor’s Desk
June-July 2017, no. 392 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the June-July issue! Highlights include:
- The 2017 Calibre Essay Prize winner: 'Salt Blood' by Michael Adams
- Kerryn Goldsworthy on Arundhati Roy's second novel
- Henry Rosenbloom is Publisher of the Month
- Varun Ghosh reviews two books on Obama's legacy
- Robin Gerster reviews a comprehensive history of Vietnam
- Phoebe Weston-Evans's 'Letter from Paris'
August 2017, no. 393 Article Count: 28
Welcome to the August Fiction issue! Highlights include:
- The three shortlisted stories in this year’s Jolley Prize
- Peter Rose on same-sex marriage
- Darius Sepehri’s Calibre Prize essay ‘To Speak of Sorrow’
- Tom Griffiths reviews a new book on the climate catastrophe
- Bernadette Brennan on Sarah Sentilles’s hymn for the victims of war
- Interviews with Louise Adler and Gregory Day
September 2017, no. 394 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the September issue! Highlights include:
- Same-Sex Marriage - Yes for Equality
- Philip Jones’s Fellowship Essay ‘Beyond Songlines’
- John Rickard on Judith Brett’s biography of Alfred Deakin
- Brian Matthews on Jim Davidson’s memoir
- Sue Kossew on J.M. Coetzee’s essays
- James Ley reviews The Choke by Sofie Laguna
- Richard Walsh (Allen & Unwin) is Publisher of the Month
- 'The same-sex marriage debate' by Peter Rose
October 2017, no. 395 Article Count: 28
Welcome to the October Environment issue! Highlights include:
- Stephen Orr’s Eucalypt Fellowship essay, ‘Ambassadors from another time’
- Mark Edele on the centenary of the Russian Revolution
- Susan Reid on the proposed Adani Carmichael Coal Mine
- Tim Flannery’s review of Call of the Reed Warbler
- Beejay Silcox on Michelle de Kretser’s new novel
- A photo essay by Philip Jones
- Open Page with Josephine Wilson
November 2017, no. 396 Article Count: 32
Welcome to the November Arts issue! Highlights include:
December 2017, no. 397 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the December issue! Highlights include:
- Marguerite Johnson on Picnic at Hanging Rock, fifty years on
- Shaun Crowe reviews two books on Pauline Hanson and One Nation
- ABR’s 2017 Books of the Year
- Peter Rose on the results of the marriage equality survey
- Kevin Foster on Peter Greste’s new memoir
- Richard Walsh on a new book of interviews with Bob Hawke
- Beejay Silcox on Gerald Murnane’s new novel
2003 Article Count: 0
February 2003, no. 248 Article Count: 9
Welcome to the February 2003 issue of Australian Book Review.
April 2003, no. 250 Article Count: 41
October 2003, no. 255 Article Count: 36
November 2003, no. 256 Article Count: 39
December 2003–January 2004, no. 257 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the December 2003–January 2004 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 2003, no. 253 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the August 2003 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 2003, no. 254 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the September 2003 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 2003, no. 251 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the May 2003 issue of Australian Book Review.
June–July 2003, no. 252 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the June–July 2003 issue of Australian Book Review.
2018 Article Count: 0
January–February 2018, no. 398 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the January–February issue! Highlights include:
- 2017 Publisher Picks
- Michael Winkler reviews Alexis Wright's book on 'Tracker' Tilmouth
- Peter Goldsworthy on a new biography of Czesław Miłosz
- Barbara Keys on Odd Arne Westad's new history of the Cold War
- Kevin Foster on Chris Masters' new book on the ADF
- Memoirs by Claire Tomalin, Mike Willesee, and Tina Brown
- Chris Masters is our Open Page guest
March 2018, no. 399 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the March issue! Highlights include:
April 2018, no. 400 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the April 400th issue! Highlights include:
May 2018, no. 401 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the May issue! Highlights include:
- 'Once Again: Outside in the House of Art' by Kirsten Tranter
- Alan Atkinson on a new study of the Bible in Australia
- Morag Fraser on a new book of essays by Marilynne Robinson
- Billy Griffiths on Australia's overdue republic
- Shaun Crowe on a new book of essays by Robert Manne
- Pam Brown is Poet of the Month
- Justine Ettler is our Open Page guest
June-July 2018, no. 402 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the June-July Film and Television issue! Highlights include:
August 2018, no. 403 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the August Fiction issue of ABR! Highlights include:
• Review of the Month: Marilyn Lake reviews Peter Cochrane’s Best We Forget
• ABR Fortieth Birthday Fellow Beejay Silcox on MFA culture
• The 2018 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize shortlist
• Historian Alan Atkinson on The Sydney Wars by Stephen Gapps
• Jen Webb on Ryan O’Neill’s new satire The Drover’s Wives
• Shannon Burns on Sam Twyford-Moore’s memoir The Rapids
• Dorothy Driver on Sisonke Msimang’s memoir Always Another Country
• Interviews with legendary Australian publisher Carmen Callil, and author Rose Tremain
September 2018, no. 404 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the September issue of ABR! Highlights include:
• Review of the Month: Clare Corbould reviews Joseph Crespino's 'biography' of Atticus Finch, Harper Lee's great creation
• Brenda Niall on the correspondence of Vance and Nettie Palmer
• Gideon Haigh on Seymour Hersh's memoir
• Stephen Mills on Bob Carr's new memoir
• Beejay Silcox on Michael Ondaatje’s new novel Warlight
• Michael Shmith on journalist Les Hinton’s memoir
• Johanna Leggatt on Stephanie Bishop's Man Out of Time
October 2018, no. 405 Article Count: 44
Welcome to the October Environment issue of ABR! Highlights include:
• Review of the Month: Felicity Plunkett on Behrouz Boochani’s powerful memoir No Friend But the Mountains
• Susan Reid looks at Adani and the coal industry’s influence on Australian politics
• Tim Flannery on Bruno Latour’s new book on climate change
• Cassandra Atherton on Haruki Murakami’s new novel
• Fiona Gruber on Chloe Hooper’s book on Black Saturday
• Lauren Rickards comments on coal, fossils, and aluminium
• Nicole Abadee on Markus Zusak’s new novel Bridge of Clay
• Gail Bell on Leigh Sales’s new book on unexpected trauma
November 2018, no. 406 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the November issue of ABR! Highlights include:
• Review of the Month: Paul Strangio on Laura Tingle’s new Quarterly Essay Follow the Leader on Australian politics
• Beejay Silcox’s new Fellowship essay on the evolution of misery literature and trauma voyeurism in fiction
• Arts Highlights of the Year: twenty-nine critics nominate their most memorable events across the arts
• Astrid Edwards reviews Clementine Ford’s new book Boys Will Be Boys
• Jane Cadzow reviews the new memoir from Gillian Triggs
• Varun Ghosh on Bob Woodward’s book on Donald Trump
• Maggie MacKellar on Clare Wright’s new history of women’s progress in Australia
December 2018, no. 407 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the December issue of ABR! Highlights include:
• Books of the Year: 34 critics and authors, including Michelle de Kretser, Fiona Wright, Beejay Silcox, Gregory Day, and Gideon Haigh, nominate their favourite books of 2018.
• Review of the Month: Glyn Davis on David Marr’s new collection of speeches, essays, and stories, My Country.
• Peter Goldsworthy lauds the Collected Poems of Les Murray.
• Professor Joy Damousi on the controversial vetoing of eleven ARC grants, and brief statements from a further thirteen academics.
• Andrea Goldsmith’s tribute to her late partner and poet Dorothy Porter.
2001 Article Count: 0
August 2001, no. 233 Article Count: 27
October 2001, no. 235 Article Count: 31
November 2001, no. 236 Article Count: 28
February–March 2001, no. 228 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the February–March 2001 issue of Australian Book Review!
July 2001, no. 232 Article Count: 28
Welcome to the July 2001 issue of Australian Book Review!
April 2001, no. 229 Article Count: 32
Welcome to the April 2001 issue of Australian Book Review.
May 2001, no. 230 Article Count: 26
Welcome to the May 2001 issue of Australian Book Review.
June 2001, no. 231 Article Count: 26
Welcome to the June 2001 issue of Australian Book Review.
September 2001, no. 234 Article Count: 30
Welcome to the September 2001 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 2001–January 2002, no. 237 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the December 2001–January 2002 issue of Australian Book Review.
2002 Article Count: 0
October 2002, no. 245 Article Count: 37
June–July 2002, no. 242 Article Count: 11
December 2002-January 2003, no. 247 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the December 2002-January 2003 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 2002, no. 241 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the May 2002 edition of Australian Book Review!
April 2002, no. 240 Article Count: 12
Welcome to the April 2002 issue of Australian Book Review!
November 2002, no. 246 Article Count: 28
Welcome to the November 2002 issue of Australian Book Review!
March 2002, no. 239 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the March 2002 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 2002, no. 243 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the August 2002 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 2002, no. 244 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the September 2002 issue of Australian Book Review.
2019 Article Count: 0
January-February 2019, no. 408 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the January-February 2019 issue of ABR.
March 2019, no. 409 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the March 2019 issue.
April 2019, no. 410 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the April 2019 issue.
May 2019, no. 411 Article Count: 40
June–July 2019, no. 412 Article Count: 40
August 2019, no. 413 Article Count: 35
September 2019, no. 414 Article Count: 37
Read the September 2019 issue below.
October 2019, no. 415 Article Count: 38
Welcome to our annual Environment issue – guest edited by the award-winning young historian Billy Griffiths. Never has this themed issue been more timely. Many of the contributors share our concern – and that of countless environmentalists and scientists globally (including Greta Thunberg, who appears on our cover) – about the climate crisis. Elsewhere we have reviews of books by writers such as J.M. Coetzee, Heather Rose, Lisa Taddeo and Lisa Gorton. We also name the twenty most popular twenty-first-century novels as voted by readers in the ABR FAN poll.
November 2019, no. 416 Article Count: 36
Welcome to our November issue. Timelily, given recent concerns about government intimidation of whistleblowers and journalists, we lead with a strong article by Kieran Pender on the culture of secrecy and the need for vigilance and protest – not apathy and accommodation. Elsewhere, ABR Fellow Felicity Plunkett reviews Charlotte Wood’s new novel, and last year’s Fellow, Beejay Silcox, reviews the most ballyhooed book of the year, Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments, which she finds wanting. In the arts section, leading arts critics and professionals name their arts highlights of the year.
December 2019, no. 417 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the December issue of ABR – always our most anticipated edition of the year because of the inclusion of Books of the Year. Thirty-three leading critics and writers nominate their favourite publications of the year. Find out what people like Beejay Silcox, James Ley, Susan Wyndham, Andrea Goldsmith, and Bronwyn Lea most enjoyed reading in 2019. Other highlights include Peter Rose on Helen Garner’s brilliant and defiant diaries; Zora Simic on the legacies of sexual harassment; Angela Woollacott on Margaret Simons’s biography of Penny Wong; and Chris Flynn on Elliot Perlman’s new novel. Elsewhere, legendary journalist Brian Toohey reviews Edward Snowden’s memoirs, Monash historian Christina Twomey laments the ‘terror in extraterritoriality’, and the poet Michael Hofmann contributes a brilliant satire on Donal Dump (aka Donald Trump).
2000 Article Count: 0
April 2000, no. 219 Article Count: 33
July 2000, no. 222 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the July 2000 issue of Australian Book Review.
August 2000, no. 223 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the August 2000 issue of Australian Book Review.
September 2000, no. 224 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the September 2000 issue of Australian Book Review.
October 2000, no. 225 Article Count: 26
Welcome to the October 2000 issue of Australian Book Review.
November 2000, no. 226 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the November 2000 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 2000–January 2001, no. 227 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the December 2000–January 2001 issue of Australian Book Review.
1991 Article Count: 0
April 1991, no. 129 Article Count: 2
Welcome to the April 1991 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 1991, no. 133 Article Count: 12
Welcome to the August 1991 issue of Australian Book Review!
February–March 1991, no. 128 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the February-March 1991 issue of Australian Book Review!
July 1991, no. 132 Article Count: 9
Welcome to the July 1991 issue of Australian Book Review!
June 1991, no. 131 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the June 1991 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1991, no. 130 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the May 1991 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1991, no. 134 Article Count: 8
1986 Article Count: 0
February–March 1986, no. 78 Article Count: 32
December 1986–January 1987, no. 87 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the December 1986-January 1987 issue of Australian Book Review!
April 1986, no. 79 Article Count: 30
August 1986, no. 83 Article Count: 10
July 1986, no. 82 Article Count: 22
June 1986, no. 81 Article Count: 29
May 1986, no. 80 Article Count: 24
October 1986, no. 85 Article Count: 14
Welcome to the October 1986 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1986, no. 84 Article Count: 16
1999 Article Count: 0
June 1999, no. 211 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the June 1999 issue of Australian Book Review.
May 1999, no. 210 Article Count: 18
Welcome to the May 1999 issue of Australian Book Review.
July 1999, no. 212 Article Count: 25
Welcome to the July 1999 issue of Australian Book Review.
September 1999, no. 214 Article Count: 8
Welcome to the September 1999 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 1999–January 2000, no. 217 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the December 1999–January 2000 issue of Australian Book Review.
1988 Article Count: 0
March 1988, no. 98 Article Count: 22
Welcome to the March 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
April 1988, no. 99 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the April 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 1988, no. 103 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the August 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
December 1988, no. 107 Article Count: 21
July 1988, no. 102 Article Count: 12
Welcome to the July 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
June 1988, no. 101 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the July 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1988, no. 100 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the May 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
November 1988, no. 106 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the November 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1988, no. 104 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the September 1988 issue of Australian Book Review!
1998 Article Count: 0
November 1998, no. 206 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the November 1998 issue of Australian Book Review.
October 1998, no. 205 Article Count: 18
August 1998, no. 203 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the August 1998 issue of Australian Book Review.
June 1998, no. 201 Article Count: 25
February–March 1998, no. 198 Article Count: 28
1997 Article Count: 0
December 1997–January 1998, no. 197 Article Count: 29
Welcome to the December 1997–January 1998 issue of Australian Book Review.
November 1997, no. 196 Article Count: 36
September 1997, no. 194 Article Count: 23
Welcome to the September 1997 issue of Australian Book Review.
August 1997, no. 193 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the August 1997 issue of Australian Book Review.
July 1997, no. 192 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the July 1997 issue of Australian Book Review.
1996 Article Count: 0
February–March 1996, no. 178 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the February-March 1996 issue of Australian Book Review!
April 1996, no. 179 Article Count: 38
December 1996–January 1997, no. 187 Article Count: 2
Welcome to the December 1996-January 1997 issue of Australian Book Review.
June 1996, no. 181 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the June 1996 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1996, no. 180 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the May 1996 issue of Australian Book Review!
July 1996, no. 182 Article Count: 9
Welcome to the July 1996 issue of Australian Book Review!
1995 Article Count: 0
August 1995, no. 173 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the August 1995 issue of Australian Book Review!
July 1995, no. 172 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the July 1995 issue of Australian Book Review!
June 1995, no. 171 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the June 1995 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1995, no. 170 Article Count: 39
October 1995, no. 175 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the October 1995 issue of Australian Book Review!
1994 Article Count: 0
October 1994, no. 165 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the October 1994 issue of Australian Book Review.
April 1994, no. 159 Article Count: 8
Welcome to the April 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 1994, no. 163 Article Count: 5
Welcome to the August 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
December 1994, no. 167 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the December 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
February–March 1994, no. 158 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the February-March 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
July 1994, no. 162 Article Count: 6
Welcome to the July 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
June 1994, no. 161 Article Count: 5
Welcome to the June 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1994, no. 160 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the May 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
November 1994, no. 166 Article Count: 13
Welcome to the November 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1994, no. 164 Article Count: 11
Welcome to the September 1994 issue of Australian Book Review!
1993 Article Count: 0
November 1993, no. 156 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the November 1993 issue of Australian Book Review!
February–March 1993, no. 148 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the February-March 1993 issue of Australian Book Review!
June 1993, no. 151 Article Count: 5
Welcome to the June 1993 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1993, no. 150 Article Count: 22
October 1993, no. 155 Article Count: 2
September 1993, no. 154 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the September 1993 issue of Australian Book Review!
1992 Article Count: 0
August 1992, no. 143 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the August 1992 issue of Australian Book Review!
April 1992, no. 139 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the April 1992 issue of Australian Book Review!
December 1992, no. 147 Article Count: 46
September 1992, no. 144 Article Count: 27
1990 Article Count: 0
April 1990, no. 119 Article Count: 23
Welcome to the April 1990 issue of Australian Book Review.
December 1990–January 1991, no. 127 Article Count: 12
Welcome to the December 1990-January 1991 issue of Australian Book Review!
June 1990, no. 121 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the June 1990 issue of Australian Book Review!
November 1990, no. 126 Article Count: 10
Welcome to the November 1990 issue of Australian Book Review!
October 1990, no. 125 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the October 1990 issue of Australian Book Review!
1989 Article Count: 0
April 1989, no. 109 Article Count: 6
Welcome to the April 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 1989, no. 113 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the August 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
December 1989–January 1990, no. 117 Article Count: 5
Welcome to the December 1989-January 1990 issue of Australian Book Review!
July 1989, no. 112 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the July 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
June 1989, no. 111 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the June 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
March 1989, no. 108 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the March 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1989, no. 110 Article Count: 6
Welcome to the May 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
November 1989, no. 116 Article Count: 8
Welcome to the November 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
October 1989, no. 115 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the October 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1989, no. 114 Article Count: 3
Welcome to the September 1989 issue of Australian Book Review!
1987 Article Count: 0
April 1987, no. 89 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the April 1987 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 1987, no, 93 Article Count: 21
February–March 1987, no. 88 Article Count: 18
July 1987, no. 92 Article Count: 4
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May 1987, no. 90 Article Count: 18
November 1987, no. 96 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the November 1987 issue of Australian Book Review!
October 1987, no. 95 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the October 1987 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1987, no. 94 Article Count: 1
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1985 Article Count: 0
April 1985, no. 69 Article Count: 2
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August 1985, no. 73 Article Count: 1
Welcome to the August 1985 issue of Australian Book Review!
December 1985–January 1986, no. 77 Article Count: 27
February–March 1985, no. 68 Article Count: 3
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July 1985, no. 72 Article Count: 2
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June 1985, no. 71 Article Count: 25
Welcome to the June 1985 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1985, no. 70 Article Count: 30
November 1985, no. 76 Article Count: 2
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September 1985, no. 74 Article Count: 1
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1984 Article Count: 0
April 1984, no. 59 Article Count: 10
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August 1984, no. 63 Article Count: 2
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July 1984, no. 62 Article Count: 5
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June 1984, no. 61 Article Count: 6
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May 1984, no. 60 Article Count: 10
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November 1984, no. 66 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the November 1984 issue of Australian Book Review!
October 1984, no. 65 Article Count: 12
Welcome to the October 1984 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1984, no. 64 Article Count: 2
Welcome to the September 1984 issue of Australian Book Review!
February–March 1984, no. 58 Article Count: 27
Welcome to the February–March 1984 issue of Australian Book Review!
1983 Article Count: 0
April 1983, no. 49 Article Count: 1
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August 1983, no. 53 Article Count: 2
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July 1983, no. 52 Article Count: 8
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June 1983, no. 51 Article Count: 3
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May 1983, no. 50 Article Count: 1
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November 1983, no. 56 Article Count: 6
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October 1983, no. 55 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the October 1983 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1983, no. 54 Article Count: 9
Welcome to the September 1983 issue of Australian Book Review!
December 1983–January 1984, no. 57 Article Count: 2
Welcome to the December 1983–January 1984 issue of Australian Book Review!
February–March 1983, no. 48 Article Count: 11
Welcome to the February–March 1983 issue of Australian Book Review!
1982 Article Count: 0
August 1982, no. 43 Article Count: 6
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April 1982, no. 39 Article Count: 4
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July 1982, no. 42 Article Count: 11
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June 1982, no. 41 Article Count: 18
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May 1982, no. 40 Article Count: 16
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November 1982, no. 46 Article Count: 14
Welcome to the November 1982 issue of Australian Book Review!
October 1982, no. 45 Article Count: 4
Welcome to the October 1982 issue of Australian Book Review!
September 1982, no. 44 Article Count: 13
Welcome to the September 1982 issue of Australian Book Review!
December 1982–January 1983, no. 47 Article Count: 7
Welcome to the December 1982–January 1983 issue of Australian Book Review!
1981 Article Count: 0
April 1981, no. 29 Article Count: 31
Welcome to the October 1983 issue of Australian Book Review!
August 1981, no. 33 Article Count: 2
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March 1981, no. 28 Article Count: 36
Welcome to the March 1981 issue of Australian Book Review!
May 1981, no. 30 Article Count: 34
1980 Article Count: 0
April 1980, no. 19 Article Count: 12
August 1980, no. 23 Article Count: 7
June 1980, no. 21 Article Count: 17
May 1980, no. 20 Article Count: 1
October 1980, no. 25 Article Count: 20
February–March 1980, no. 18 Article Count: 13
1979 Article Count: 0
August 1979, no. 13 Article Count: 1
July 1979, no. 12 Article Count: 1
June 1979, no. 11 Article Count: 36
May 1979, no. 10 Article Count: 23
November 1979, no. 16 Article Count: 3
February–March 1979, no. 8 Article Count: 1
1978 Article Count: 0
June 1978, no. 1 Article Count: 1
November 1978, no. 6 Article Count: 1
October 1978, no. 5 Article Count: 28
September 1978, no. 4 Article Count: 38
December 1978–January 1979, no. 7 Article Count: 1
2020 Article Count: 0
January–February 2020, no. 418 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the January–February issue of ABR – our first issue of the new decade. Most prominently, this edition features the shortlisted poems of the 2020 Peter Porter Poetry Prize. This year the shortlisted poets are Lachlan Brown, Claire G. Coleman, A. Frances Johnson, Julie Manning, and Ross Gillett. Other highlights include Publishers Picks: a list of the finest books of the year as selected by senior publishers and editors. The issue also features Kerryn Goldsworthy’s review of Damascus, the latest work by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas; Suzy Freeman-Green’s take on Bri Lee’s dissection of contemporary beauty standards; Stephen Bennetts’s look at Derek Rielly’s biography of the venerated actor David Gulpilil; and much more.
March 2020, no. 419 Article Count: 44
Welcome to the fiery March 2020 issue of ABR! Our cover features a luminous, shocking photo from the New South Wales bushfires. Award-winning historian Tom Griffiths writes about this ‘season of reckoning’ during which we saw ‘the best and worst of Australia: the instinctive strength of bush communities and the manipulative malevolence of fossil-fuelled politicians’. Elsewhere, Dominic Kelly writes about privilege and The Economist; Yves Rees reviews several trans memoirs; and we have reviews of new novels by Louise Erdrich, Anne Enright, Philip Pullman, Evie Wyld, and Catherine Noske.
April 2020, no. 420 Article Count: 43
The April issue of ABR appears at a time of enormous crisis and seclusion around the world. Never has good journalism or creative writing been more important. In 'Coronavirus and Australian Book Review', the Editor outlines how the magazine is responding to Covid-19. Elsewhere in the issue, Jenny Hocking (Gough Whitlam's biographer) writes about John Kerr and the Palace Letters, and Johanna Leggatt laments the likely closure of AAP, with its ominous consequences for media diversity and investigative journalism. We have reviews of new books by Felicity Plunkett, Cassandra Pybus, Tom Keneally, Lydia Davis, and many more.
May 2020, no. 421 Article Count: 39
What a difference a month makes! Happily, the outlook looks so much brighter than when we published the April issue – here in Australia at least. In our May issue, the Editor updates readers on how ABR is responding and laments the Australia Council’s non-funding of ABR and other magazines. ABR Laureate Robyn Archer reflects on what Australia might look like after the crisis. ABR Behrouz Boochani Fellow Hessom Razavi writes from the frontline – as a clinician in Perth. He interviews senior clinicians, reflects on his family’s Iranian experience, and also prepares to become a parent. David Fricker – Director General of the National Archives – responds to Jenny Hocking’s attack on the Archives over the ‘Palace letters’ in our previous issue. We have reviews of novels by James Bradley, Polly Samson, Ronnie Scott, and Chris Flynn – and new poetry by Lisa Gorton, Gig Ryan, and Paul Kane.
June–July 2020, no. 422 Article Count: 44
Our winter double issue features two superb meditations on family, gender, mourning and becoming. Yves Rees is the winner of this year's Calibre Essay Prize. 'Reading the Mess Backwards' is a story of trans becoming that digs into the messiness of bodies, gender and identity. ABR Rising Star Sarah Walker writes beautifully about losing her mother and the difficulties of commemoration during a pandemic. James Ley has a virtuoso pastiche of Philip Roth in his review of the Portnoy trials. Sophie Cunningham reviews Richard Cooke's book on Robyn Davidson. Plus poems by Gwen Harwood, Jaya Savige, and Stephen Edgar – and much more!
August 2020, no. 423 Article Count: 39
Welcome to the August issue of ABR – an unusually long issue full of reviews, literary news, and creative writing, including the three stories shortlisted in the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, to be announced on August 13. Our shortlisted authors are C.J. Garrow, Simone Hollander, and Mykaela Saunders. Happily, the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund – a long-time supporter of ABR – has enabled us to expand our commentary material with a most welcome grant. This month we lead with a major article by historian Georgina Arnott on the legacies of British slavery and their implications for Australia. James Ley laments the federal governments vendetta against the arts, the ABC, and the humanities. And Kieran Pender writes about the legal profession’s #MeToo moment in the wake of the Dyson Heydon revelations.
September 2020, no. 424 Article Count: 49
Welcome to the September issue of ABR! Our cover story, written by well-known musician and musicologist Peter Tregear, concerns the plight of classical music in the age of Covid-19. Music – like theatre and opera and film – has been devastated (silenced almost) by new restrictions and social isolation. When the lockdown is over, what will be retrievable, and will the repertoire be fundamentally reshaped? Peter Rose, in a diary piece, worries about the new era of conformism and prohibition and asks, ‘What personal freedoms are being sacrificed along the way?’ Megan Clement is underwhelmed by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s new book on women and leadership. We publish Kate Middleton’s poignant essay ‘The Dolorimeter’, runner-up in the 2020 Calibre Essay Prize. And Don Anderson, Morag Fraser, and James Bradley review new novels by Kate Grenville, Amanda Lohrey, and David Mitchell, respectively.
October 2020, no. 425 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the October issue! Our commentary material continues to grow. This month we have four major features on issues of great moment: race and the US presidential election; the pandemic and political freedom; and Twitter and cancel culture. Michael L. Ondaatje reflects on Trump’s failed courtship of black voters. Timothy J. Lynch reviews three scathing books about Trump and finds them equally wanting in terms of any explanations for Trump’s political predominance. Journalist Johanna Leggatt laments the threat posed by Twitter to the work, freedom, and reputations of journalists and writers. Finally, Paul Muldoon – in our cover piece – looks at the relationship between freedom and security and the complexities of the Victorian government’s response to the pandemic. We also review new novels by Ali Smith, Gail Jones and Steven Conte. Jane Sullivan considers Alex Miller’s memoir of Max. And Richard Fidler is our Open Page subject!
November 2020, no. 426 Article Count: 38
Welcome to the November issue! On our cover is a very young Hessom Razavi, the ABR Behrouz Boochani Fellow. In his cover article, Hessom relates his family’s trials after the Iranian Revolution, their flight to Australia, and his awareness of the immense ordeals facing refugees in Australia’s immigration centres. Tony Hughes-d’Aeth examines regional differences in Australian writing and considers the ways regional factors can influence authors. Gideon Haigh is underwhelmed by Book Woodward’s new book, Rage, and asks if Trump’s presidency has rendered traditional journalism impossible. James Ley finds much to admire in Richard Flanagan’s new novel, as does Beejay Silcox with Elena Ferrante’s first novel since the Neapolitan quartet. Susan Wyndham reviews the new novel by Craig Silvey, who is the subject of Open Page. And Judith Bishop is our Poet of the Month.
December 2020, no. 427 Article Count: 44
Welcome to our last issue for 2020. What a turbulent year it’s been – but also a rousing one for ABR, as the Editor reports in Advances. Highlights of the issue include our perennial favourite, Books of the Year: 33 ABR critics nominate some of their favourite books. The list forms a testament to the resilience of great writing even during a pandemic. Meanwhile, Morag Fraser, reviewing two new edited volumes, imagines what Australia might look like after Covid-19. Nicholas Jose reviews the second volume of Helen Garner’s inimitable diaries, and Frank Bongiorno reviews the new collection of writings from Don Watson. Anna MacDonald finds much to admire in Josephine Rowe’s short tribute to the late Beverley Farmer, and Brenda Niall relishes the task of revisiting the short stories of one of Australia’s greatest writers, Shirley Hazzard. Paul Giles – our Critic of the Month – writes about William Faulkner.
2021 Article Count: 0
January–February 2021, no. 428 Article Count: 45
Welcome to our summer issue – the first of 2021. On our cover is Peter Porter, to complement the five poems shortlisted in the 2021 Porter Prize. This year’s shortlist is wonderfully diverse, with poets from Australia, Canada and the United States. Elsewhere, Jon Piccini reviews two very different readings of the Palace Letters. Timothy J. Lynch lauds Barack Obama’s memoirs as the best presidential memoirs since Ulysses S. Grant’s, but notes a certain elephant in the room – Donald Trump and the spectre of Trumpism. Louise Milligan is our Open Page guest this month, and Beejay Silcox reviews Milligan’s new book, Witness, a searing account of the brutal cost of seeking justice in this country – especially for witnesses. Tim Byrne considers the early, rambunctious years of Nick Cave. We also review new novels by Garry Disher, Ceridwen Dovey, Dennis Glover and Anna MacDonald.
March 2021, no. 429 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the March issue of Australian Book Review. Highlights include young Melbourne historian Samuel Watts’s shocked response to the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, to which he brings a needed historical perspective, reminding us that this was not the first time that racists and insurrectionists sought to disrupt the democratic process. Peter Tregear – at a time of great stress and uncertainty in the higher education sector – reviews a new history of Australian universities. Sarah Maddison reviews Henry Reynolds’s new book, in which he calls for ‘truth-telling’ about Australia’s history. Gerard Windsor reviews Murray Bail’s new memoir, He. Beejay Silcox reviews Kazuo Ishiguro’s new novel, Klara and the Sun, and we also review fiction by Trevor Shearston, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Karen Wyld. Paul Kildea writes about the new production of Bitten’s opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Adelaide, and Michael Morley recalls the night he met John le Carré.
April 2021, no. 430 Article Count: 43
Welcome to the April issue! In our cover story, ABR theatre critic Tim Byrne examines the ways in which Australian theatre companies are coping after lockdown and the strategies they are implementing to welcome back audiences. Senior journalist (and new ABR Board member) Johanna Leggatt reviews Alan Rusbridger’s new book in which the former editor-in-chief of the Guardian offers an uneven attempt to demythologise journalism. Shannon Burns examines Steven Carroll’s fictionalised look at the life of the woman behind the notorious French novel Story of O. Claudio Bozzi, a legal academic, looks at whether the election of Joe Biden has given cause to hope that the position of Science Advisor to the President of the United States might be returned to a position of influence after years of neglect under Donald Trump. Other reviewers include Robert Dessaix, Andrea Goldsmith, Barry Hill, Kim Mahood, and Zora Simic.
May 2021, no. 431 Article Count: 41
Welcome to the May issue! Our cover story is devoted to the stubborn persistence of poverty and social inequality in Australia. Glyn Davis (CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation) draws on the writings and example of Hugh Stretton to ask why poverty continues to be handed down from parent to child. Historian Lisa Ford reviews Bain Attwood’s major new book on sovereignty, property, and native title. Stuart Macintyre’s examines the prolific Sheila Fitzpatrick’s study of postwar migration to Australia. James Ley is underwhelmed by Harold Bloom’s posthumous book – ‘a bloated mess’. We review novels by Haruki Murakami, Jamie Marina Lau, Pip Adam, and Emily Maguire. Francesca Sasnaitis is also impressed by the new memoir by Krissy Kneen, who is also our Open Page guest.
June 2021, no. 432 Article Count: 31
ABR has added an eleventh issue in 2021 – at no extra cost to subscribers – brimming with commentary, review essays, and creative writing. Ilana Snyder contextualises the recent turmoil in Israel and Palestine; Hessom Razavi turns our attention to the plight of refugees detained by Australia; Declan Fry examines the writings of Stan Grant; James Boyce laments the state of salmon-farming industry in Tasmania; and Martin Thomas revisits Patrick White three decades after his death. Elsewhere, explore a new short story by Josephine Rowe; poetry by Omar Sakr, Sarah Holland-Batt, and Derrick Austin; and much more.
This issue is generously funded by Matthew Sandblom and Wendy Beckett’s Blake Beckett Fund.
July 2021, no. 433 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the July issue! This month we celebrate the awarding of the Calibre Prize to Theodore Ell, whose essay, ‘Façades of Lebanon’, provides a powerful eye-witness account of the Beirut explosion. The issue also explores current crises in humanitarianism with an aid worker’s frontline report from Syria and Maria O’Sullivan’s review of Alexander Betts’ book on international asylum seeker policies. And turning our attention to the racial cleavages in contemporary Australia are Paul Muldoon’s essay on the risks and rewards of Victoria’s Yoo-rrook Justice Commission and Mindy Gill’s review of an anthology of stories from Western Sydney. There are also reviews of new novels by Larissa Behrendt, Stephen Orr, and Laura Elizabeth Woollett, new poetry by Eunice Andrada, Judith Bishop, and Peter Goldsworthy – and much more!
August 2021, no. 434 Article Count: 37
The August issue offers readers a feast of fiction, along with the magazine’s usual probing commentary and criticism. The issue features all three stories shortlisted for the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, as well as reviews of new books by Rachel Cusk, Tony Birch, Bill Birtles and ABR Rising Star Sarah Walker. In non-fiction, Stephen Bennetts highlights one of the overlooked contexts for the debate over Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu, while Michael Dwyer recounts Australian journalists’ enduring fascination with China. The risks of border crossing are also weighed by Elisabeth Holdsworth and Seumas Spark in their reviews of recent books on the history of transportation. Brenda Walker and Jim Davidson pay tributes to the achievements of Hazel Rowley and Robin Boyd, respectively, and there are poems by Joan Fleming, John Kinsella, and Laurie Duggan – as well as plenty more!
September 2021, no. 435 Article Count: 42
From Plato to plutocrats, the September issue of ABR brings together the best and worst of the cultural moment. In our cover feature, Joel Deane casts his eye over the ‘ugly truth’ of Facebook’s contemptuous exploitation of users, while in a thought experiment inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin, Elizabeth Oliver identifies more worthy candidates for space travel than Branson and Bezos. Megan Clement reports from Paris on the pass sanitaire and Diane Stubbings reviews Peter Doherty’s plague-year dispatches. Sheila Fitzpatrick is our Critic of the Month and was a judge in this year’s Calibre Prize, for which Anita Punton’s ‘May Day’, printed in this issue, came runner-up. We also feature reviews of new fiction by Jennifer Mills, Colm Tóibín, and Laurent Binet, and new poetry by Toby Fitch, John Hawke, and Song Lin – as well as much, much more!
October 2021, no. 436 Article Count: 42
The October issue of ABR brings together some of the country’s finest critics on the latest political and cultural developments. In our cover article, David Jack offers a trenchant critique of the privileging of ‘bare life’ in state responses to the pandemic. Morag Fraser reads Tim Bonyhady’s latest book on the politics of visual culture in Afghanistan, while James Curran assesses the recent history of Australian–American diplomatic relations. It is a blockbuster fiction issue with reviews of the latest offerings by Sally Rooney and Jonathan Franzen by Beejay Silcox and Declan Fry, respectively. Booker Prize shortlisted novels by Damon Galgut and Richard Powers are also examined. David McCooey follows poet Sarah Holland-Batt as she ‘fishes for lightning’ in her criticism, and there are new poems by Ann Vickery and Alex Skovron. The issue also looks at work by Maggie Nelson, Jeanette Winterson, Nicolas Rothwell – and much, much more!
November 2021, no. 437 Article Count: 40
With its feast of commentary and criticism, the November issue of ABR exemplifies the ‘art of more’. Judith Brett peers beneath the prime ministerial veneer with three of the nation’s top journalists, while Helen Ennis’s essay ‘Max Dupain’s dilemmas’, commended in this year’s Calibre Essay Prize, plumbs the depths of the great Australian photographer’s self-doubt. Stephen Bennetts contextualises Paul Cleary’s blow-by-blow account of the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation’s native title victory over Australia’s third-largest mining company. Further afield, ABR continues its coverage of the Middle East with Samuel Watts’s essay diagnosing the tensions between American domestic and foreign policy and Kevin Foster’s review of Mark Willacy’s exposé on Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan. The issue features reviews of new fiction by Christos Tsiolkas, Emily Bitto, Alison Bechdel, and Violet Kupersmith, work by some of Australia’s most exciting young poets – not to mention the latest by Delia Falconer, Yves Rees, Adam Tooze, and much, much more!
December 2021, no. 438 Article Count: 35
The December issue has arrived and rounds out the year in customary style: a stockingful of reviews, essays, interviews, and our annual ‘Books of the Year’ feature, in which thirty-eight ABR critics highlight their year’s most memorable reads. Paul Muldoon reviews Bruno Latour’s eco-philosophical fable, After Lockdown. While Latour takes inspiration from the termite, Krissy Kneen considers the ways of the dugong in her Calibre Prize-shortlisted essay, a poignant exploration of identity, bodies, and death. In politics, Morag Fraser reviews Judith Brett’s collection of essays and Frank Bongiorno reflects on Noel Pearson’s life in the public eye. The issue looks at fiction by Simone de Beauvoir, the Booker-shortlisted Anuk Arudpragasam, Garry Disher, and Inga Simpson. The literary careers of Gillian Mears and Gerald Murnane are retraced by Brenda Walker and Peter Craven, respectively. Traipsing from Dante’s inferno to China to Western Sydney, the December issue will keep even the most intellectually gluttonous reader sated through the festive season.
2022 Article Count: 0
January–February 2022, no. 439 Article Count: 33
Welcome to ABR’s summer-sized first issue of the year. Diaries and letters abound, with Lisa Gorton delving into the final instalment of Helen Garner’s published journals, and Brenda Niall reflecting on Martyn Lyon’s epistolary collection of letters sent to Robert Menzies during his prime ministership. In poetry, ABR is delighted to publish the stunning poems shortlisted for the 2022 Peter Porter Poetry Prize, as well as reviews of new collections by Tracy K. Smith, A. Frances Johnson, and David Musgrave. Elsewhere, in historical musings, Mark McKenna looks at Doug Munro’s chronicle of the scandalous stand-off between publisher Peter Ryan and historian Manning Clark. And in fiction we have reviews of new works by John le Carré, Louise Erdrich, Hannah Kent, and Wole Soyinka. Plus much more!
March 2022, no. 440 Article Count: 37
As we enter the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’, ABR comes to you laden with the harvest from our two months’ absence. There’s a cornucopia of commentary, including Mindy Gill’s analysis of identity politics’ impact on reviewing, three scholars on political interference in research funding, and David Latham on the ‘Fund the Arts’ campaign. Gareth Evans reviews the ambitious new book by the polymathic Andrew Leigh, while Penny Russell examines Anna Clark’s more inclusive vision for Australian history. Peter Rose’s Editor’s Diary records life in lockdown as a publisher and a carer, with Thomas H. Ford providing a diagnosis of the ubiquity of ‘brain fog’. The issue looks at the long careers of Theory and Raymond Williams, while delving into the lives of Charles Lamb and Fyodor Dostoevsky. It also features reviews of new novels by Jessica Stanley, Yumna Kassab, and Hanya Yanagihara, poetry by Gary Catalano and Charles Bernstein – and much, much more!
April 2022, no. 441 Article Count: 41
April won’t quite seem the cruellest month now that the latest issue of ABR has arrived. In our cover feature, Kieran Pender retraces the ignominious history of the case against the whistleblower Bernard Collaery, while in an extended essay review, James Ley assesses the impact of Amazon on contemporary fiction. There’s a rogues’ gallery of political biographies: Patrick Mullins looks at Bob Hawke, Iva Glisic combs through Stalin’s library, David Reeve revisits the young Soeharto, Sheila Fitzpatrick reviews the late Stuart Macintyre’s final book, while Joan Beaumont reflects on the peculiar institution that is Australian Studies at Harvard. In fiction, Robert Dessaix dives into the new Edmund White, Gay Bilson takes another turn with Craig Sherborne, and Patrick Allington bids adieu to Steven Carroll’s T.S. Eliot quartet. There’s also new poetry by Judith Bishop and Anders Villani, plenty of arts reviews and much, much more!
May 2022, no. 442 Article Count: 40
The May issue of ABR has arrived to keep you company while you wait in line for the next available voting booth. In our cover feature, Frank Bongiorno details how the professionalisation of politics has starved the public of leadership, while Faith Gordon makes the case for lowering the voting age. The issue casts a spotlight on secrets as difficult to face as they are to disinter – from Simon Tedeschi’s Calibre Prize-winning essay on the burden of his grandmother’s memory, to Elizabeth Tynan’s account of the atomic tests in Emu Field, to David Hill’s story of institutionalised abuse at Fairbridge Farm School. Philip Mead assesses Judith Wright’s legacy in prose, while Beejay Silcox wonders if Helen Garner has found the right rhapsodist. There’s new poetry by Michael Hofmann, Theodore Ell, and Katherine Brabon, and reviews of new fiction by Jennifer Egan, Omar Sakr, and Benjamin Stevenson. From busting crooks (political or porcine) to Buster Keaton, there’s plenty to get you through this electoral season!
June 2022, no. 443 Article Count: 37
That there will no second term for the Morrison government will mean for many a winter of milder discontent. The subject of changing course looms large over our June issue, from John Harwood’s reconsideration of his mother Gwen Harwood’s legacy (making possible a new biography of the poet, also reviewed in this issue) to Linda Atkins’ refocusing of attention to wider social problems in the abortion debate. Elizabeth Tynan gives a timely reminder of the historic costs of colonial servility, while Ilana Snyder looks at the unrealised potential of the Gonski education reforms. In fiction, we review new titles by Douglas Stuart, Steve Toltz, Felicity McLean, and Ceridwen Dovey and Eliza Bell, while in poetry, we look at the latest by Sarah Holland-Batt, Emily Stewart, and Claire Potter. The inimitable Frances Wilson is our Critic of the Month. From convicts to caca (ahem), there’s plenty in store for the polymorphously curious!
July 2022, no. 444 Article Count: 36
St Peter’s first words to the resurrected Christ, ‘Quo vadis?’ or ‘Whither goest thou?’, capture the spirit of these reorienting times. In our July feature, senior contributors and commentators nominate key policy reforms for the Albanese government. Abroad, Ben Saul dissects the Western response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while John Zubrzycki assesses the prospects of an Indian democratic recovery. In the new mood of rapprochement, Julia Horne and Penny Russell reconsider the relationship between academics and government. New books on the historical divisions of gender and class are examined by Shannon Burns and Yassmin Abdel-Magied. Translation comes in for scrutiny with Frances Wilson’s review of Lydia Davis’s second collection of essays and Humphrey Bower’s review of Alison Croggon’s Rilke. There are reviews of new fiction by Geraldine Brooks, Michelle Cahill, and Yuri Felsen – and much, much more!
August 2022, no. 445 Article Count: 35
Among the delights at the end of winter are the return of afternoons and the arrival of ABR’s fiction-laden August issue. This month we publish the three shortlisted stories for the ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize alongside reviews of a fresh harvest of fiction by Edwina Preston, Robert Drewe, Eleanor Limprecht, and Scott McCulloch. Julieanne Lamond and Brigid Magner look at new studies of Gail Jones and Joseph Furphy, respectively, while Gary Pearce writes on the Joyce centenary. In politics, Mark Kenny analyses the Albanese government’s first chapter as Paul Strangio forecasts the challenges awaiting Daniel Andrews at the ballot box and Patrick Mullins examines Aaron Patrick’s autopsy of the post-Turnbull Liberal party. Catharine Lumby reflects on the life of Frank Moorhouse, while Ian Dickson reviews the letters of poet Thom Gunn. There’s an interview with Michael Winkler, new poetry by Jennifer Harrison and Vidyan Ravinthiran, and much, much more!
September 2022, no. 446 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the September issue of ABR. This month we look outwards, with articles on international politics and international relations. Our cover features include two compelling articles on Afghanistan by Kieran Pender and Kevin Foster, while James Curran examines Australia’s complicated relations with China. Elsewhere in the issue, Sheila Fitzpatrick reviews a new biography of Vladimir Putin and Luke Stegemann reviews two other books on Russia, including Fitzpatrick’s latest history of the Soviet Union. Alison Broinowski examines a new book by former foreign minister Gareth Evans. Also in the issue are reviews of new fiction from Sophie Cunningham, Siang Lu and Paul Daley along with Michael Hofmann’s appraisal of Elizabeth Hardwick’s uncollected essays. Other highlights include Tara McEvoy on Seamus Heaney in Australia and Michael Garbutt on Paris’s Museum of Mankind.
October 2022, no. 447 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the October issue of ABR. This month we turn to politics of various kinds – local, national, and international. Our cover features include Clare Monagle’s irreverent take on King Charles III, Gillian Russell on recent Northern Irish fiction, Claudio Bozzi on the turbulent state of Italian politics, Peter Goldsworthy on mortality and Salman Rushdie, and Gideon Haigh on a new biography of Daniel Andrews. Also in the issue are reviews of new fiction from Robbie Arnott, Ian McEwan, Kamila Shamsie, Jock Serong, and Eliza Henry-Jones. Graeme Davison reviews Jim Davidson’s book on Clem Christesen and Stephen Murray-Smith. Other highlights include David Jack on Chip Le Grand, Peter Rose on Shannon Burns, and Anwen Crawford on Jeff Sparrow.
November 2022, no. 448 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the November issue of ABR. This month we look to history and politics with reviews of works on Australia’s political history (both recent and historical), biographical studies of historical figures (from the Macarthurs to a pioneering plastic surgeon) and historical fiction from Gail Jones and Maggie O’Farrell. Also in the issue is our cover feature by Ronan McDonald on the Cambridge Centenary Ulysses, James Dunk on historians and microbes, Kirsten Tranter on Heather Rose, Amanda Laugesen on language, Geordie Williamson on Geoff Dyer, Morgan Nunan on Shaun Prescott, and Kerryn Goldsworthy on Philip Salom.
December 2022, no. 449 Article Count: 37
Welcome to the December issue of ABR. This month we celebrate the books of the year, as chosen by thirty-six ABR writers and critics including Frances Wilson, Tony Birch, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Yves Rees, and Sheila Fitzpatrick. The issue opens with a strong editorial by Peter Rose voicing concerns about the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and a thoughtful examination of Labor’s new anti-corruption bill by Stephen Charles SC. The issue also covers new works of biography and memoir with Zora Simic on Grace Tame’s memoir, Patrick Mullins on a biography of Lachlan Murdoch, and Jacqueline Kent on Bryce Courtenay. December also includes reviews of new fiction by Inga Simpson, Fiona McFarlane, Fiona Kelly McGregor (our Open Page interview subject), and much more.
2023 Article Count: 0
January-February 2023, no. 450 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the summer issue of ABR – the 450th in the second series, which began in 1978. It’s a blockbuster of an issue, commencing with a powerful account by author-journalist Zoe Holman about the current agitation in Iran following the murder of Mahsa Amini. Political scientist Timothy J. Lynch (writing from Laramie in Wyoming!) examines the recent US midterms and America’s seeming return to the centre. Turning to Australian politics, we have key articles by Mark Kenny, Dennis Altman, Frank Bongiorno, and Kim Rubenstein. We are also delighted to reveal the 2023 Peter Porter Poetry Prize shortlist. Shannon Burns reviews Cormac McCarthy’s brace of new novels, and Penny Russell critiques Alex Miller’s thirteenth novel. In our arts section, seventeen ABR regulars nominate their Arts Highlights of 2022 – to complement our highly popular Books of the Year feature (published in the December issue).
March 2023, no. 451 Article Count: 40
Welcome to the March issue of ABR. We examine everything from the new National Cultural Policy to Volodymyr Zelensky, Shirley Hazzard, First Nations incarceration, infidelity, exciting new fiction, machines behaving badly, TÁR, the young Robert Menzies, women’s cricket and much more. And while Australia is now set to receive its own Poet Laureate, ABR continues its longstanding commitment to the form, publishing four new poems and reviewing four verse collections.
April 2023, no. 452 Article Count: 30
In the April issue of ABR, we look at power, with a major commentary from James Curran on Southeast Asian perceptions of Australian foreign policy, reviews of books about Australian prime ministers, Tanya Plibersek, American myths and hyperpower, and – at the other end of power – life on welfare. We review new fiction from Alexis Wright, Eleanor Catton, Margaret Atwood, Stephanie Bishop, and others. And in a provocative commentary, Debi Hamilton describes noise as the ‘new smoking’ and Peter Rose sketches a New York portrait of writers Darryl Pinckney and Elizabeth Hardwick.
May 2023, no. 453 Article Count: 35
Welcome to the May issue of ABR. This month’s powerful cover feature is David N. Myers on the troubled state of democracy in Israel in the light of the recent protests. Meanwhile Gordon Pentland explores the impact of nostalgia on British politics and Marilyn Lake examines a new book on Gough Whitlam and women. Barney Zwartz reviews Chrissie Foster’s new memoir and Michael Easson looks at the history of the Macquarie Bank. Anthony Lynch reflects on poet Jordie Albiston’s posthumous work, Frank, and we review new fiction from Margaret Atwood, Max Porter, Pip Williams, and J.R. Burgmann. Also in the issue, we reveal the 2023 Calibre Essay prize winner.
June 2023, no. 454 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the June issue of ABR! This month ABR examines politics and influence from the media to federal and international politics. Major features include David Rolph on Lachlan Murdoch versus Crikey, Mark Kenny on the Albanese government’s first year in office, Patrick Mullins on a new book on Scott Morrison, and John Zubrzycki on Narendra Modi’s new strategy for India. Raelene Frances reviews Ross McMullin’s new group biography Life So Full of Promise and Joan Beaumont reflects on the 1943 bombing of Berlin. Also in the issue, Robyn Archer takes us behind the scenes in our new ‘Backstage’ interview series, Kate Lilley pays tribute to John Tranter, and we publish the runner-up in the 2023 Calibre Essay Prize ‘Child Adjacent’ by Bridget Vincent.
July 2023, no. 455 Article Count: 31
August 2023, no. 456 Article Count: 33
Welcome to the August issue of ABR! This month we celebrate great short fiction with the announcement and publication of the shortlist for the 2023 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize. The winner will be revealed at an online ceremony on 17 August. Also in the August issue, Dennis Altman explores some of the complexities facing Australian Jews regarding Australia’s relationship with Israel, James Ley reflects on J.M. Coetzee’s novel The Life and Times of Michael K forty years after its original publication, and Jonathan Green reviews a new biography of Rupert Murdoch. Elsewhere, Kevin Foster examines the first of two new books on the Ben Roberts-Smith case, Joan Beaumont reviews a new work of history from Robin Prior, and Shannon Burns considers a new book on Gerald Murnane.
September 2023, no. 457 Article Count: 38
In September we explore the ripple effects of Trumpian politics in Australia with Joel Deane on Melbourne’s lockdown rage, Ben Wellings on populism, and Emma Shortis on a second Trump presidency. James Curran takes issue with Clare Wright’s call for historians to ‘hold their tongues’ on the Voice and Desmond Manderson considers the political impact of the 1963 Yirrkala Bark Petition. Also in the issue, we have Nick Hordern on two books about Russia and Ukraine, Kieran Pender on the Facebook whistleblower, Penny Russell on Kate Grenville’s new novel, and Sarah Ogilvie on Australian contributors to the first Oxford English Dictionary.
October 2023, no. 458 Article Count: 39
Two weeks out from the historic Voice referendum, ABR’s Indigenous issue features our strongest-ever representation of First Nations reviewers, commentators, interviews, poems, books, and themes. Lynette Russell and Melissa Castan discuss the mechanics of the Voice, Alexis Wright describes Indigenous time as interlinked and unresolved, members of the Indigenous Australian Dictionary of Biography describe their project, and Zoë Laidlaw explores university Indigenous histories. We interview Anita Heiss, Jeanine Leane reviews Melissa Lucashenko’s Edenglassie, Mark McKenna grapples with David Marr’s Killing for Country, Tom Wright weighs a biography of Donald Horne, and Declan Fry endorses Indigenous economics. Reviews from Claire G. Coleman, Julie Janson, and Jacinta Walsh lead a stellar First Nations line-up.
November 2023, no. 459 Article Count: 40
As spring slowly turns to summer, the November issue of ABR addresses questions of memoir, biography, and autofiction. Catriona Menzies-Pike engages with Richard Flanagan’s new hybrid work Question 7 while Zora Simic assesses Naomi Klein’s journey into the ‘mirror world’ in Doppelganger and Marilyn Lake reviews Graeme Davison’s ‘uncommonly good family history’. Also, Susan Sheridan reviews a new literary biography of Dorothea Mackellar and Kerryn Goldsworthy reviews Catharine Lumby’s biography of Frank Moorhouse. Memoirist Shannon Burns reviews Christos Tsiolkas’s tangy new novel The In-Between, Felicity Plunkett looks at Amanda Lohrey’s The Conversion, and Jelena Dinić pays tribute to Charles Simic.
December 2023, no. 460 Article Count: 31
Welcome to the December issue of ABR! This month we feature illuminating commentary by Bain Attwood, Anne Twomey and Joel Deane on the historical, legal, and political implications of the Voice referendum defeat. Elsewhere, thirty-nine critics nominate their Books of the Year, James Ley writes about Ralph Ellison, Brenda Walker considers a selection of notes and letters from Alex Miller, and David Trigger reviews Michael Gawenda’s deeply personal memoir which reflects on his Jewish identity. We also review new fiction from Charlotte Wood, Suzie Miller, Tony Birch, and Laura Jean McKay. Heading Backstage, our Q&A guest is Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the Adelaide Festival.
2024 Article Count: 0
January-February 2024, no. 461 Article Count: 34
ABR’s annual double issue is packed with summer-reading features. To complement our Books of the Year feature (December issue), Australia’s top arts critics nominate 2023’s outstanding productions. Kevin Foster doesn’t pull his punches on David McBride’s whistleblower memoir, Emma Dortins reviews Kate Fullagar’s innovative biography of Bennelong and Arthur Phillip, and Frank Bongiorno considers Raimond Gaita’s tangle with life’s big questions. Gordon Pentland takes on Theresa May and Stuart Kells eyes Qantas. Ebony Nilsson unearths ASIO files to reveal ordinary lives and Peter Edwards considers political interference in official military histories. We review new fiction from Lucy Treloar, Max Easton, and Sigrid Nunez. As always, the summer issue features the five poems shortlisted in this year’s Peter Porter Poetry Prize.
March 2024, no. 462 Article Count: 33
The March issue of ABR opens with a volley of letters following Kevin Foster’s lively review of David McBride’s memoirs in the previous issue. The cover feature is a major essay from pioneering gay rights scholar Dennis Altman on being gay, eighty and a secular Australian Jew at a time of great violence and tension in the Middle East. Patrick Mullins wrestles with two books on Robert Menzies, and Clinton Fernandes shows why the European Union is founded on white myth. Nathan Hollier tells the remarkable story of Indonesia’s Buru novels – and Australia’s crucial role in them – and we review Gail Jones’s new novel. There are interviews with federal minister Andrew Leigh, historian Frank Bongiorno, and pianist-writer Anna Goldsworthy.
April 2024, no. 463 Article Count: 32
This April ABR considers the importance of talk. In his cover essay, historian Frank Bongiorno argues that the Albanese government’s storytelling, not just its actions, directs the ‘possibilities of politics’. Sheila Fitzpatrick gives a moving portrait of her friendship with ‘recording angel’ Katerina Clark and G. Geltner pushes us to rethink our Middle-Ages chatter. Sascha Morrell comes around to the ‘winks and nudges’ in a major new biography of Frank Moorhouse and Frances Wilson insists Hilary Mantel will speak for herself in death. Glyn Davis tells us about a floating university and Morag Fraser puzzles over mothers. There’s Michael Hofmann on Nam Le’s 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem, Stuart Kells on rogue corporations, and Robyn Arianrhod on the moon.
May 2024, no. 464 Article Count: 35
This issue includes the winning essay in the Calibre Essay Prize. Scott Stephens considers clerical narcissism and brutality, and Patrick Mullins reviews a new profile of Peter Dutton, that former copper with a ‘suspicious instinct’. In her review of James Bradley’s Deep Water, Felicity Plunkett asks why we turn away from disaster’s proximity, Tony Hughes-d’Aeth explores an ‘inflexion point in Indigenous letters’, ex-ambassador Geoff Raby ponders ‘Chairman of everything’ Xi Jinping, and Alice Whitmore reviews the new-old Gabriel García Márquez. Essays from Heather Neilson and Maggie Nolan look at Gore Vidal’s posthumous life and the expansion of Australia’s storytelling database, AustLit. We review novels by Charmian Clift, Melanie Joosten, Liam Pieper, Siang Lu; poetry by David Brooks and Omar Sakr; film, music, memoir and more.
June 2024, no. 465 Article Count: 31
The June issue goes subterranean with James Curran on AUKUS and the stark differences between US and Australian rhetoric about the submarine program. Miranda Johnson reports on the erosion of a bicultural consensus in Aotearoa New Zealand. Peter Rose reviews the letters of Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower. Matthew Lamb tells of the covert actions involving Frank Moorhouse and a photocopier that strengthened Australia’s copyright laws. James Ley considers Salman Rushdie’s Knife, and Anna Krien a pioneering environmentalist in John Büsst. We review memoirs by Bruce Pascoe and Werner Herzog, and fiction from Shankari Chandran, Louise Milligan, Ceridwen Dovey, and more. And in ABR Arts, Neil Armfield is our guest on Backstage.
July 2024, no. 466 Article Count: 32
The July issue of ABR features journalist Nicole Hasham’s searing Calibre essay on the Pilbara’s pockmarked mining landscape. Historian Joan Beaumont travels to Ambon, asking whether the ever-growing number of Australian war pilgrims reflects a turn towards ‘postmemory’. Timothy J. Lynch considers America’s unending conflict with itself, Ben Wellings writes about another fractured union in the United Kingdom, and Jessica Lake examines the use of defamation in sexual assault cases. There is new poetry from John Kinsella, Julie Manning, and Andrew Sant, and we review Seamus Heaney’s letters, new poetry from Judith Bishop, fiction by Colm Tóibín, Francesca de Tores, Dylin Hardcastle, Percival Everett, theatre, music, television and more.
August 2024, no. 467 Article Count: 34
The August issue of ABR includes the 2024 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize shortlist – three stories chosen from more than 1,300 entries worldwide. We celebrate James Baldwin’s centenary with an essay on his matchless legacy and Juno Gemes’s cover photograph, taken on a London rooftop in 1976. Robyn Arianrhod surveys the parlous state of Australian science writing and Peter Goldsworthy recounts his first encounter with film director Stanley Kubrick. Our non-fiction reviews include Marilyn Lake on Nuked, Zora Simic on Personal Politics, Nick Hordern on The Trial of Vladimir Putin, and Zoë Laidlaw on The Truth About Empire. We review novels by Jordan Prosser, Rachel Cusk, and Evie Wyld and poetry by Judith Beveridge. ABR’s arts reviews – on King Lear, Paul Gauguin, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? – are not to be missed.
September 2024, no. 468 Article Count: 35
In ABR’s September issue, writers pick over the bones, stare into the cracks, weigh, measure, and search for the words. There’s Joel Deane on Peter Dutton, Ian Hall on Narendra Modi, and Kevil Bell on homelessness. Gabriella Coslovich sums up the case against Planet Art, the world’s wealthiest museums, and Dominic Kelly ponders two conservative lamentations for the Voice. Patrick Mullins asks if we need yet another Hawkie bio, and we review exhumations of extraordinary lives by Yves Rees, Penny Olsen and Aarti Betigeri as well as memoirs by Leslie Jamison, Kári Gíslason, Olivia Laing and Theodore Ell. There’s James Ley on Rodney Hall’s thirteenth novel, Vortex, and Geordie Williamson on Fiona McFarlane’s Highway 13, plus reviews of poetry, theatre, art, essays and technology.
October 2024, no. 469 Article Count: 39
This month ABR sharpens its memory, looking back at Australia’s involvement in East Timor on the twenty-fifth anniversary of its liberation. We ask what the US invasion of Afghanistan revealed, how referendums have been lost and won, and if we’ve heeded the lessons of the pandemic. Bridget Griffen-Foley reviews a book on media moguls, Scott Stephens explains why 2024 looks a lot like 1939, and we consider ancient India’s transformation of the world. Shannon Burns, Michael Winkler, Heather Neilson and Alex Cothren review novels from Robbie Arnott, Brian Castro, Emily Maquire and Malcolm Knox. ABR Arts interviews pianist Angela Hewitt and reviews The Australian Ballet’s Oscar and MTC’s Topdog/Underdog. There’s Proust, Shakespeare, new poetry, poetry reviews and more.
November 2024, no. 470 Article Count: 35
In November, ABR surveys some of Australia’s most stimulating thinkers on Australia-US relations, asking whether our almost compulsive fascination with the US election is good for Australian democracy. Elsewhere, Josh Bornstein shows how corporations feed the social-media beast, and Ruth Balint cautions against mob politics in reporting. Paul Giles praises Tim Winton’s new novel and its ‘colloquial brevity’, and our reviewers consider new works by Michelle de Kretser, Alex Miller, Rachel Kushner, and Alan Hollinghurst. We examine life writing on Nancy Pelosi and Race Matthews, and books on film, theatre, law, heritage, robot tales, medicine, information networks, and much, much more.
December 2024, no. 471 Article Count: 38
In November, ABR surveys some of Australia’s most stimulating thinkers on Australia-US relations, asking whether our almost compulsive fascination with the US election is good for Australian democracy. Elsewhere, Josh Bornstein shows how corporations feed the social-media beast, and Ruth Balint cautions against mob politics in reporting. Paul Giles praises Tim Winton’s new novel and its ‘colloquial brevity’, and our reviewers consider new works by Michelle de Kretser, Alex Miller, Rachel Kushner, and Alan Hollinghurst. We examine life writing on Nancy Pelosi and Race Matthews, and books on film, theatre, law, heritage, robot tales, medicine, information networks, and much, much more.
2025 Article Count: 0
January–February 2025, no. 472 Article Count: 36
In the January-February issue, we feature our annual Arts Highlights, as nominated by twenty-one critics and arts professionals. We also reveal the 2025 Peter Porter Poetry Prize shortlisted poems. Matthew Lamb reviews a book on Elon Musk, Eve Vincent assesses Rick Morton’s deep dive into Robodebt, and Mark Finnane has a fascinating article on the new phenomenon of Citational Justice in academic research. Julie Janson reviews a book of provocative Indigenous visions, Nick Hordern weighs Geoff Raby’s account of the Russia/China struggle, and Jonathan Ricketson reviews the adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novels. There’s Toby Davidson on Francis Webb, Georgina Arnott on Judith Wright, and reviews of works by Robert Fisk, Joe Aston, John Farnham, Inga Simpson, Kim Carr, Al Pacino, and more.
March 2025, no. 473 Article Count: 42
ABR looks at lives and their legacies. Timothy J. Lynch reviews a biography of Ronald Reagan, Sheila Fitzpatrick another on Angela Merkel, and Simon Tormey surveys a memoir by Boris Johnson. We have Susan Sheridan on Joan Lindsay, Glyn Davis on great leaders, and James Walter on Robert Menzies. Our cover features You Yang Ponds by Fred Williams and Christopher Allen reviews The Diaries of Fred Williams, 1963-1970 by Patrick McCaughey. Ebony Nilsson unearths letters sent to Menzies during the Petrov Affair and Andrea Goldsmith addresses her ‘unread books’. We review works by Fredric Jameson and Colm Tóibín, about Indie porn, films The Brutalist and Babygirl, a poetry collection from Eileen Chong, fiction by Olga Tokarczuk and much more.
April 2025, no. 474 Article Count: 34
This April, ABR eyes the fragile state of Australian democracy and institutions. In a special election survey, senior ABR contributors brace for a federal election at a time when democracy around the world is under threat. We ask leading voices in the arts about the future of Opera Australia, a major cultural institution now under review by Creative Australia. ABR reports from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on cancel culture and the Pope’s memoir, and reviews work by Geraldine Brooks, Santilla Chingaipe, Laila Lalami, Martha C. Nussbaum, Caro Llewellyn, Kevin Brophy and more.
May 2025, no. 475 Article Count: 37
ABR marks the end of an era as Peter Rose publishes his final issue after twenty-four transformative years as Editor. We feature Peter’s final Diary and tributes from senior contributors, including new Editor Georgina Arnott, and we announce the creation of the Peter Rose Editorial Cadetship. Also in the issue, we announce the winners of the 2025 Calibre Essay Prize, now worth $10,000, and feature the winning essay. Simon Tormey investigates ‘British politics in an era of poly-crisis’ and ABR turns its eye to colonial legacies as it considers Näku Dhäruk by Clare Wright and Unsettled by Kate Grenville. We review books about second-wave feminist Beatrice Faust, Henry James, and Dante, the Hong Kong exhibition Picasso/Asia, and books by Colm Tóibín, Robert Dessaix, Sonia Orchard, Bill Gates, Josephine Rowe, Gregory Day and more.
June 2025, no. 476 Article Count: 37
From frontier wars to artificial intelligence, the June issue of ABR explores Australia’s past and present – and what it all means for our future. In this first issue from Editor Georgina Arnott, we include a special long-form essay by philosopher and author Raimond Gaita on the irreducible humanity of others. Rebecca Strating reports on how Trump’s America is reshaping our global region and John Byron explains why the federal election result was not as emphatic as we might think. The June issue features Natasha Sholl’s stunning Calibre essay ‘The Chirp/The Scream’, and reviews by Kate Fullagar, André Dao, Clinton Fernandes, Emma Dawson, Kerryn Goldsworthy, and Marilyn Lake on books about the Middle East, national myth, and the careers of Jenny Macklin and Mary Fortune. We review fiction by James Bradley, Jennifer Mills, Matthew Hooton, poetry by Alan Wearne, theatre, books about Melanesia, Australian music, ‘inconvenient’ women, and much more.
June’s cover artwork is by Alice Lindstrom.
July 2025, no. 477 Article Count: 34
This July, ABR looks at major global shifts underway. Sheila Fitzpatrick reports from Europe on the changing face of World War II commemorations and James Curran examines the ledger in Australia’s relationship with the United States. We announce the ABR Science Fellow and feature reviews of books about Antarctica, carbon, rivers, and genetics. Geoff Raby, Shan Windscript, and Nick Hordern review revelatory new titles on Russia, China, and Ukraine, and our fiction reviewers consider novels by Gail Jones, Isabel Allende, Jane Caro, and more. ABR publishes ‘Consolation of Clouds’ by Robin Boord, which was placed third in the 2025 Calibre Essay Prize, Felicity Plunkett reviews Antigone Kefala’s poetry and fiction, and Kirli Saunders is Poet of the Month.
July’s cover artwork is by Marc Martin.
August 2025, no. 478 Article Count: 35
On the eightieth anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, historian Clinton Fernandes delivers a gripping reassessment of the world’s only use of atomic bombs against civilians and exposes the ‘superweapon alibi’ that enabled a politically convenient end to World War II for both the United States and Japan. Amanda Laugesen and Frank Bongiorno ask if the Australian language is worth saving and Ruby Lowe reports on First Nations publisher Magabala Books. ABR proudly announces the 2025 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize shortlist and Tara Sharman becomes the youngest ever winner of an ABR prize at just twenty-two years old. Elsewhere, there are reviews by Lynda Ng, Geordie Williamson, Judith Brett, Zora Simic, Bain Attwood, Jennifer Mills, Lucy Sussex, original poems by Ella Jeffery and Derek Chan, and an interview with Andy Griffiths.
August’s cover artwork is by Marc Martin.
September 2025, no. 479 Article Count: 34
In the September issue, Zoe Holman writes on life in Iran after the recent twelve-day war, asking whether conflict brought Iranians closer to democracy or further away from it. On its seventieth anniversary, Nathan Hollier looks at the first global conference of postcolonial Asian and African nations, held in the Indonesian city of Bandung in 1955, and Australia’s telling role in it. Kylie Moore-Gilbert finds hope for Israel in her review of The Holy and the Broken by Ittay Flescher. We publish Andra Putnis’s essay ‘The Art and Atrocity of Disaster Scenarios’, highly commended in this year’s Calibre Prize, and there are reviews by Mark McKenna on Jimmy Governor, Ramona Koval on Elizabeth Harrower, and Martin Thomas on Patrick White. Elsewhere, Victoria Grieves Williams examines the ‘trouble of colour’ in family history, Emma Dawson reviews a history of work hours, and former MP Kim Carr asks whether universities are in crisis. We review novels by Han Kang, Patricia Lockwood, Alex Cothren, Sinéad Stubbins, and Tony Tulathimutte, publish poems by Pulitzer prize-winning poet Carl Phillips, Chris Andrews, and Munira Tabassum Ahmed, and interview Brandl & Shlesinger publisher Veronica Sumegi.
September’s cover artwork is by Alice Lindstrom.
October 2025, no. 480 Article Count: 37
As the fiftieth anniversary of the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam approaches, ABR turns its attention to the consequences of that political rupture for land rights in Australia. In a powerfully eloquent essay, Heidi Norman and Francis Markham explain that whereas Whitlam sought a ‘national covenant’ on land rights, the dismissal stalled progress, resulting in a ‘patchwork of rights and tenures, fractured by jurisdiction and industry pressure’. Sean Scalmer looks at the rise of the terms the ‘Australian way’ and ‘progressive patriotism’ in light of Australia’s unique history of progressive labour reform and suffrage. Poet and technology writer Judith Bishop examines two major new American books on AI and ABR Poetry Editor Felicity Plunkett considers three new Sylvia Plath books about this ‘single-mother poet’. ABR reviewers look at fiction by Omar Musa, Paul Daley, Nicolas Rothewell and Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson, Solvej Balle, and Catherine Lacey. We publish poems by Ellen van Neerven, Dženana Vucic, Toby Fitch, and Charmaine Papertalk Green, plus Kate Fullagar’s essay ‘Questions for Mai: Joshua Reynolds’s portrait and the memory of Empire’.
October’s cover artwork is by Jeffrey Smart, courtesy of the Estate of Jeffrey Smart.
Information Article Count: 2
General Article Count: 15
Competitions and programs Article Count: 116
Hidden Pages Article Count: 6
ABR Online Edition Article Count: 2
About Australian Book Review Article Count: 24
From the Editor’s Desk Article Count: 17
Events Article Count: 12
Pages from old site Article Count: 3
Indexes Article Count: 36
Subscription Article Count: 4
Thanking our Partners Article Count: 15
Australian Book Review is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and is also supported by the South Australian Government through Arts South Australia. We also acknowledge the generous support of our university partner, Monash University; and we are grateful for the support of the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, Good Business Foundation (an initiative of Peter McMullin AM), the Sidney Myer Fund, Australian Communities Foundation, Sydney Community Foundation, AustLit, Readings, our travel partner Academy Travel, the City of Melbourne; our publicists, Pitch Projects; and Arnold Bloch Leibler.
ABR Arts Article Count: 1281
Welcome to ABR Arts, home to some of Australia's finest arts journalism. We review film, theatre, opera, dance, music, television, art exhibitions – and more. We have writers around Australia, and we are actively looking for more. Reviews remain open for one week before being paywalled. Read our most recent reviews.
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Roving Blog Article Count: 4
Welcome to ABR's Roving Blog, To complement our burgeoning coverage of the arts, we have created the Roving Blog. Every couple of months we will appoint a new blogger to write about, well, all manner of things – from books and theatre to politics and society – anything that takes their fancy, really; in ways that will engage our diverse, enquiring readers. The blogger will present at least four substantial posts during his or her tenure, some of which may appear in the print edition; and will also engage with our readers through social media. We’re delighted that Fiona Gruber, who will be well known to ABR readers, is our inaugural blogger. Fiona is a journalist and producer with twenty years’ experience writing and broadcasting across the events. Her interests are multifarious. Keep an eye on our website – and expect the unexpected!
Reading Australia Article Count: 47
Australian Book Review welcomes, and is pleased to contribute, to Reading Australia, a visionary new initiative of Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. Reading Australia will publish online resources for the teaching and study of Australian literature in Australian schools and universities. Distinguished Australian, scholars and commentators will appraise 200 major Australian books in stylish, helpful, accessible 2000-word essays, all intended to heighten our appreciation of Australian writing.
ABR will commission and publish some of these essays (and refers our readers to the Reading Australia website for the others). Some of the ABR essays will appear in print. All of them will appear on our website. Students and general readers will learn much from these succinct essays.
Poem of the Week Article Count: 18
Welcome to 'Poem of the Week' with Australian Book Review. Each week a different poet will introduce and read his or her poem. We are delighted to be making a lasting record of these poets' voices. We hope that you enjoy hearing these poems, freely available on our website. 'Poem of the Week' also gives us an opportunity to offer longer poems.
'Poem of the Week' is just one part of our coverage of Australian poetry. Each issue carries new poems as well as reviews of recent poetry collections. We welcome submissions from new and established poets. The Peter Porter Poetry Prize (worth a total of $7,500) is one of the country's most prestigious literary prizes and we recently launched States of Poetry.
The ABR Podcast Article Count: 20
Welcome to The ABR Podcast, a program that features extended interviews and major features from the magazine, such as essays, reviews, and short stories, recorded and discussed by their authors. Each episode will focus on a different subject or author reflecting the rich variety of content published in the magazine. Shownotes will be available on our website. Each episode will be available on our website, Soundcloud and iTunes.
ABR Fiction Article Count: 16
States of Poetry - Series One Article Count: 0
States of Poetry – a major new national resource – is the first online poetry anthology to devote equal space to each state and the ACT. The aim is to highlight the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian poetry. Funded by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, States of Poetry is federally arranged. A senior poet active in the state selects six local poets, with an emphasis (not exclusive) on early- and mid-career writers and those still active in the poetry scene. Each year the cohort of poets will be completely different, offering a different snapshot of the poetry being written and published in each state.
The individual state/territory anthologies appear free online, with introductions from the state editor, biographies, recordings, and brief remarks from some of the featured poets. Some of the poems later appear in the print magazine. One measure of the positive response to States of Poetry, ABR Laureate David Malouf – himself featured in the 2016 NSW anthology – recently stated: ‘Poetry is, at the moment, the most flourishing of the literary arts in Australia: much more interesting and much more sure of itself, it seems to me, than the novel or any kind of prose.’ Now readers throughout the world can appreciate – in this convenient and changing project – the sheer flair and pleasures of Australian poetry.
States of Poetry ACT - Series One Article Count: 37
Series One of the ACT States of Poetry anthology is edited by Jen Webb and features poetry from Adrian Caesar, Jen Crawford, Paul Hetherington, Jeanine Leane, Omar Musa, and Sarah Rice. Read Jen Webb's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Victoria - Series One Article Count: 34
Series One of the Victorian States of Poetry anthology is edited by David McCooey and features poetry from Kevin Brophy, Amy Brown, Michael Farrell, A. Frances Johnson, Cameron Lowe, and Jessica L. Wilkinson. Read David McCooey's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Queensland - Series One Article Count: 35
Series One of the QLD States of Poetry anthology is edited by Felicity PLunkett and features poetry from Stuart Barnes, MTC Cronin, Lionel Fogarty, Sarah Holland-Batt, Ellen van Neerven, Nathan Shepherdson. Read Felicity Plunkett's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry South Australia - Series One Article Count: 34
Series One of the South Australian States of Poetry anthology is edited by Peter Goldsworthy and features poetry Ken Bolton, Aidan Coleman, Jelena Dinic, Jill Jones, Kate Llewellyn, and Thom Sullivan. Read Peter Goldsworthy's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Western Australia - Series One Article Count: 34
Series One of the Western Australian States of Poetry anthology is edited by Lucy Dougan and features poetry by Carolyn Abbs, Kia Groom, Graham Kershaw, Charmaine Papertalk-Green, J.P. Quinton, and Barbara Temperton. Read Lucy Dougan's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry New South Wales - Series One Article Count: 35
Series One of the New South Wales States of Poetry anthology is edited by Elizabeth Allen and features poetry by poems by Susie Anderson, Pam Brown, Toby Fitch, David Malouf, Kate Middleton, and Fiona Wright. Read Elizabeth Allen's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Tasmania - Series One Article Count: 34
Series One of the Tasmania States of Poetry anthology is edited by Sarah Day and features poems by Adrienne Eberhard, Graeme Hetherington, Jane Williams, Karen Knight, Louise Oxley, and Tim Thorne. Read Sarah Day's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Podcast - Series One Article Count: 73
The States of Poetry podcast – a major new national resource – is the first online poetry anthology to devote equal space to each state and the ACT. The aim is to highlight the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian poetry. Funded by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, States of Poetry is federally arranged. A senior poet active in the state selects six local poets, with an emphasis (not exclusive) on early- and mid-career writers and those still active in the poetry scene. Each year the cohort of poets will be completely different, offering a different snapshot of the poetry being written and published in each state. The individual state/territory anthologies appear free online, with introductions from the state editor, biographies, recordings, and brief remarks from some of the featured poets. Some of the poems later appear in the print magazine.
States of Poetry - Series Two Article Count: 0
States of Poetry – a major national resource – is the first online poetry anthology to devote equal space to each state and the ACT. The aim is to highlight the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian poetry. Funded by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, States of Poetry is federally arranged. A senior poet active in the state selects six local poets, with an emphasis (not exclusive) on early- and mid-career writers and those still active in the poetry scene. Each year the cohort of poets will be completely different, offering a different snapshot of the poetry being written and published in each state. The individual state/territory anthologies appear free online, with introductions from the state editor, biographies, recordings, and brief remarks from some of the featured poets. Some of the poems later appear in the print magazine.
States of Poetry ACT - Series Two Article Count: 37
Series Two of the ACT States of Poetry anthology is edited by Jen Webb and features poetry from Merlinda Bobis, John Foulcher, Kerry Reed Gilbert, Geoff Page, Melinda Smith, and Isi Unikowski. Read Jen Webb's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Queensland - Series Two Article Count: 37
Series Two of the Queensland States of Poetry anthology is edited by Felicity Plunkett and features poetry from Pascalle Burton, Liam Ferney, Zenobia Frost, Anna Jacobson, David Stavanger, and Samuel Wagan Watson. Read Felicity Plunkett's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Victoria - Series Two Article Count: 28
Series two of States of Poetry Victoria is edited by David McCooey and features poetry from Bella Li, Gig Ryan, Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Brendan Ryan, and Lisa Gorton.
States of Poetry South Australia - Series Two Article Count: 37
Series Two of the South Australian States of Poetry anthology is edited by Peter Goldsworthy and features poems by Steve Brock, Cath Kenneally, Jules Leigh Koch, Louise Nicholas, Jan Owen, and Dominic Symes. Read Peter Goldsworthy's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Western Australia - Series Two Article Count: 36
Series Two of the Western Australian States of Poetry anthology is edited by Kevin Brophy and features poems by Chris Arnold, Josephine Clarke, Lucy Dougan, John Kinsella, Edwin Lee Mulligan, and Annamaria Weldon. Read Kevin Brophy's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Tasmania - Series Two Article Count: 35
Series Two of the Tasmanian States of Poetry anthology is edited by Sarah Day and features poems by Christiane Conésa-Bostock, James Charlton, Jim Everett-pularia meenamatta, Anne Kellas, Gina Mercer, and Ben Walter. Read Sarah Day's introduction to the anthology here.
States of Poetry Podcast - Series Two Article Count: 19
States of Poetry – a major national resource – is the first online poetry anthology to devote equal space to each state and the ACT. The aim is to highlight the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian poetry. Funded by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, States of Poetry is federally arranged. A senior poet active in the state selects six local poets, with an emphasis (not exclusive) on early- and mid-career writers and those still active in the poetry scene. Each year the cohort of poets will be completely different, offering a different snapshot of the poetry being written and published in each state. The individual state/territory anthologies appear free online, with introductions from the state editor, biographies, recordings, and brief remarks from some of the featured poets. Some of the poems later appear in the print magazine.
States of Poetry - Series Three Article Count: 0
States of Poetry – a major national resource – is the first online poetry anthology to devote equal space to each state and the ACT. The aim is to highlight the quality and diversity of contemporary Australian poetry. Funded by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, States of Poetry is federally arranged. A senior poet active in the state selects six local poets, with an emphasis (not exclusive) on early- and mid-career writers and those still active in the poetry scene. Each year the cohort of poets will be completely different, offering a different snapshot of the poetry being written and published in each state. The individual state/territory anthologies appear free online, with introductions from the state editor, biographies, recordings, and brief remarks from some of the featured poets. Some of the poems later appear in the print magazine.
States of Poetry ACT - Series Three Article Count: 38
Series Three of the ACT States of Poetry anthology is edited by Jen Webb and features poetry by Paul Collis, Lesley Lebkowicz, Miranda Lello, Paul Munden, Mark O'Connor, and Anita Patel. Read Jen Webb's introduction to the anthology here.
Online Exclusives Article Count: 39
ABR is expanding all the time. Subscribers can now access reviews and features that have not yet appeared in the print edition.
Subscribe to ABR now and get early online access to content before the release of each print edition.
Book Talk Article Count: 24
What goes on at magazines and inside publishing houses? What’s involved in putting together a magazine like ABR? Where do an editor’s responsibilities and entitlements begin and end? And beyond the world of magazines, what’s happening in bookshops and publishing houses and major libraries. What are the new threats to the humanities in our universities?
In Book Talk, ABR takes you behind the scenes and introduces you to a number of individuals and organisations that help to shape our cultural life.
Recent articles
The ABR Podcast Article Count: 254
Facsimile Edition Article Count: 282
Below you can browse through a digital facsimile of the print edition of the magazine across any of your devices. You must be an ABR subscriber to access this feature. If you wish to subscribe, click here. If you already are a subscriber, sign in.
Please note, we are working on constructing a complete list of Facsimile Editions.