Eltham Bookshop's New Voices festival will be held on Saturday, 25th July at St Margaret's Church Hall, Pitt St, Eltham. Featured authors include Jane Sullivan, literary writer at The Age, Arnold Zable and Julian Burnside QC.

Contact Eltham Bookshop on 03 9439 8700 or elthambookshop@bigpond.com for a program or to book tickets.

'Hamish, Australia, 8 March 2009' from Susan Hawthorne's new collection of eco-poetry, Earth's Breath is featured as this month's 'poem of the month' on the Australian Poetry Centre website: www.australianpoetrycentre.org.au

The Australian Government today announced changes to Australia's anti-people trafficking strategy to provide improved support for victims. The changes will enable a wider range of victims to access support and improve services to victims and their families. The changes to the Government's Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program and the People Trafficking Visa recognise the particular vulnerabilities of victims of trafficking and provide a more flexible framework to support victims and their families.Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor said the Government was committed to combating all forms of people trafficking, including trafficking for sexual servitude and labour exploitation. Most victims of trafficking identified in Australia have been women working in the sex industry."The changes the Government is announcing today will improve the support available for victims and their families, who have often suffered greatly as a result of the crime, and who are critical to bring offenders to justice," Mr O'Connor said. Further information: The government's media release.

The Not For Sale Media Project is currently embarking on the creation of posters that raise awareness on issues of prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. View at http://www.artemisfundinc.org/notforsalemediaproject.html Join our efforts! Take part in the Not For Sale Media Project. Design and create an 8.5"X 14" or 11"x17" poster that educates the public on the realities and harms of prostitution, pornography, and/or trafficking. If you have an idea but don't know how to turn it into a finished poster, we can help out. Share your posters and ideas with us at artemisfundinc@gmail.com or via mail at PO Box 674, Northampton, MA 01061, USA. Future media endeavours include: organizing a traveling art exhibit by, about, and for survivors; community PSAs; film shorts and documentary; and much much more. Help us fuse art, politics, and community responsibility for an end to sexual violence and abuse of women and girls.

Women's Forum Australia spokesperson and Spinifex author, Melinda Tankard Reist, has gone on the record over offensive comments made by Gordon Ramsay: 'Ramsay's sexist and demeaning actions are offensive to every Australian woman'. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8091253.stm Tankard Reist is currently working on a new book for Spinifex, Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls, which includes contributors such as Maggie Hamilton and Steve Biddulph.

Susan Hawthorne on 'Activism Makes the World Go Around'
Author, publisher, academic - and activist for 35 years - Susan will reflect on her work around issues of feminism, ecology, globalisation, disability and sexuality ... and share some of her inspiration! Wednesday 3 June, 6 for 6:30pm, $5 entry
New International Bookshop, 54 Victoria St, Carlton (Trades Hall building) http://nibs.org.au/

Spinifex May release, Eco-Sufficiency & Global Justice, is featured in ed. 116 of Island magazine. A conversation between editor Ariel Salleh and contributor Susan Hawthorne covers the lack of diversity in discussions around ecology, sustainability and economics.

See attached extract and for more: www.islandmag.com

Read Spinifex Press Director Susan Hawthorne's piece on Amazon's de-ranking of content at: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8831

Listen to Sandy Jeffs on First Person, RN The Book Show: www.abc.net.au/rn/firstperson/stories/2009/2544520.htm

Nillumbik Reconciliation Group, ELTHAMbookshop, Australian Indigenous Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne present The Past Matters, the fourth annual celebration of Indigenous writing, art and literature.

29-30 May 2009

More details at: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~nrgp/index.html

Featured speakers include Melinda Hinkson, Jeremy Beckett, Munya Andrews, Susan McCullough, Bruce Pascoe, Robert Manne, Sarah Maddison and Muriel Bamblett.

For program details: ELTHAMbookshop tel 9439 8700 or elthambookshop@bigpond.com