It is good to be back and thank goodness for a mild January, because February is shaping up to be a month of hitting the ground running. The first new release for the year is out 1 March: Cow by Susan Hawthorne. This poetry collection sends the reader on a mythical journey of the history of languages and symbolic traditions through the eyes of one sacred cow, Queenie. Follow the links to read more and while you’re there, check out some other forthcoming titles due for release this year.

We are excited to now have a number of our eBook titles available on the newly launched Readings eBookshop. The first eBookshop to be stocked exclusively with locally published titles and also Australia’s first independent bookseller to sell eBooks. Easy to browse and easy to use, all titles can be accessed on any device that can host a modern web browser. 

EVENTS

On March 8, the world will celebrate the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day. Spinifex author, Unity Dow, will be in Australia for IWD as a guest of UN Women Australia. Unity Dow is the author of four novels and Botswana’s female High Court judge. For more information on Unity’s events, and to book: www.unwomen.org.au

Coinciding with the Wellington Out Games Conference, Pat Rosier, former editor of Broadsheet and author, is launching Susan Hawthorne’s poetry collection Cow. The book launch and reading will be held Friday 18 March, 5.30pm at Luna 2 Thistle Hall. Susan Hawthorne will also speak at the conference, Thursday 17 March, 4pm on her paper titled, Footnoted and sidelined: the campaign for lesbian human rights. Go to the website for more information: http://www.wellingtonoutgames.com

Also catch Susan Hawthorne reading on disaster poetry for the Melbourne Poets Union, Friday 25 March. The event – I love a Catastrophic Country will be held at The Wheeler Centre workshop space,176 Little Lonsdale St Melbourne. Entry fee: full $9, conc $7, members /students $6 and tickets available at the door. All proceeds will go to those in recent flood, fire and cyclone affected areas.

AWARDS

Congratulations to Sandy Jeffs who was highly commended for her autobiographical work, Flying with Paper Wings: Reflections on Living with Madness, in the 2010 Human Rights Award for Literary Non-fiction.

NEWS WRAP

Susan Hawthorne wrote Earth’s Breath following her direct experience and of Cyclone Larry in 2006. She shares a poem from the collection on ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraph following last week’s devastating Cyclone Yasi. 

Spinifex Press congratulates Maria Mies on her 80th birthday last week! Maria has recently published her memoir, The Village and the World: My Life Our Times.

SPINIFEX BLOG

Susan Hawthorne updates on the 2010 Frankfurt Book Fair: authors abroad and international connectivity.

Spinifex author Betty McLellan shares an open letter she wrote to White Ribbon ambassadors.

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

For more regular Spinifex updates visit our News page, join us on Facebook and follow our Twitter account: @spinifexpress.