Cirrus@Austlit

'When the waves get rough and sea levels rise, there's only one thing to do: keep your head above water.

'Welcome to SOAK. Joining the proud legacy of the 'UTS Writers' Anthology, this edition seeks to make sense of a rapidly changing world facing its latest deluge.

'From underwater waterslides to dogs in space, internal struggles to climbing mountains, this collection of short stories, creative non-fiction and poetry brings ecocentrism, humour, creativity and resilience to the shore.

'Rich with diverse voices, this year's anthology shines a watery mirror to our current world and offers hope that despite the threats we face, we can still change the tide.

'Introduced by acclaimed literary critic Beejay Silcox, we invite you to immerse yourself in the emerging talent from one of Australia's most celebrated creative writing programs.' (Publication summary)

'When seventy year-old knitter Joyce Campbell steps onto an alien spaceship for the first time, her lifelong dream is fulfilled. But when the ship launches and she zooms away from her husband and all she knows, Joyce is cast off into an adventure she could never have imagined.

'Before long Joyce is tangled up in intragalactic intrigue as she finds herself with surprising new allies and abilities which put her at the centre of a conflict that could determine the future of the galaxy — not to mention Earth.

'If Joyce and her new-found crew are to save the day, one thing’s for sure: she can’t just stick to her knitting anymore.

'Hilarious and heartwarming, this is a coming-of-age story unlike any you’ve ever read … it’s time for an old new hero.' (Publication summary)

'When reclusive former rock-star Andrew “The Lizard” Zirk accepts an invitation to a rock and roll party in honour of Australia’s nastiest, sleaziest, crudest and most successful musician, Sydney Melbourne, he little realises he has just started a new career as Australia’s most successful crime sleuth. Before his Fender has squealed its first note in anger, Sydney is dead of an apparent drug overdose. His long-standing roadie has provided the warm-up, zapped an hour earlier by 240 volts of deadly electricity. The suspects are stacked like 45s in an old Wurlitzer.

'Get down, get funky, it’s the Murder Hour, and your M.C., Andrew Zirk, is just about to find the Groove that will unmask the killer.'

Source: Author's website.

'Foxspell is a fable of shape-shifters and animal spirits, of teenage gangs and schoolyard friends and finding your place in the world—or worlds—all concentrated in a dense, vivid corner of the half-wild Adelaide hills. A Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Older Readers, Foxspell is a mysterious and unforgettable dream.

'Deserted by his father, Tod moves with his sisters and mother into his grandmother's house in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia. He finds refuge in the hills and quarries, where he meets a fox spirit who teaches him to cross between the human and animal worlds. As his family life and his involvement in a local gang become more complicated, the lure of the fox grows ever stronger.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'My name is Tessa. I am strong. I am brave. I do not cry. These are the only things I know for certain.

'I was found in the bush, ragged as a wild thing. I have no memory - not even of how I got the long, striping slashes across my back. They make me frightened of what I might remember.

'The policewoman, Connolly, found me a place in a boarding school and told me about her daughter, Cat, who went missing in the bush. I think there is a connection between Cat, me, and the strange things going on at this school.

'If I can learn Cat's story, I might discover my own - and stop it happening again.' (From the publisher's website.)

'To the Burning City is an absorbing drama that tells of the bewildering relationship between two half-brothers, Jeb and Len, and their involvement with the past; with Len's father, Crispin Heagelow, a bomb-aimer in the 1943 Hamburg raids.

'Jeb's early awareness that Len is somehow different from other people's brothers deepens as he grows older. Gradually he comes to see Len as one of the hidden, terrible casualties of war. But what of himself?

'Set in England, Germany and Australia over a forty-year period, this is a passionate and emotionally powerful novel of family ties and filial relationships.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Riverslake arose out of Hungerford's period working at a migrant camp and his experiences of the bigotry and violence that the inhabitants suffered.

See also Graeme Kinross Smith on T. A.G. Hungerford in Westerly.

'In Leave to Remain: A Memoir, Abbas El-Zein tells his story of growing up in a middleclass family in civil-war Beirut, a city in the throes of self-destruction, yet obstinately clinging to its cosmopolitan past. El-Zein traces the genesis of a contemporary Middle-Eastern identity - his own - under the influence of culture, religion, history and places far removed from where he grew up: Najaf and Baghdad, Paris, Palestine, London, Sydney and the American far west. With him we travel through a Middle-Eastern life, with an eye on the mundane and the everyday, as well as the cataclysmic events overshadowing them.

Threaded throughout this evocative memoir is an awareness of the impact of war and history on individuals, families and countries, with dislocation running across generations. Leave to Remain is a story of a troubled homeland, of many departures and less-than-happy returns - an autobiographical reflection on today's Middle-East and its relationship with the West.' -- Publisher's blurb

'Ros is heading for the coast with Adi and Know-it-All the camel, hoping to drop the crystal containing the Golem of Omus to the bottom of the ocean.

'Arriving in Samini, a small town on the outskirts of the Strand, the friends meet Quirk, who tells them outrageous stories about Ros's 'heroic' adventures. Ros doesn't suspect Quirk's treachery until he disappears - along with Varis, Adi's kinsman and bodyguard.

'Ros and Adi use the Change to track Varis down, but now they're up against the Scarecrow, a lethal amalgamation of man and material who will do anything to get hold of the power contained in the crystal Ros holds.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The events of April 28, 1996 in Port Arthur left Australia and the world stunned. How as a country do we ever recover, ever come to terms with what happened? How do the people who were there on the day, and those who continue to live and work at Port Arthur, move on from such a horrendous experience? Through the stories of people who were there and those left to pick up the pieces of their lives afterwards, a glimmer of hope emerges, and the possibility of healing and understanding.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Adi′s body has been borne away across the desert by her Clan, but her spirit remains Ros′s constant companion. If he can′t find the travellers in time, Adi will be presumed dead and her body cremated, leaving her a ghost forever.

'But Ros is not prepared for the dangers lurking in the shifting sands. Rescued from bandits and Dust Devils by a boy named Yury, he takes refuge in Yury′s home - an extensive network of tunnels known as Dunetown - and learns that Yury in turn needs Ros′s help. His family has been kidnapped by the sand bandits, a ruthless gang led by a psychopath obsessed with treasure and power.

'Ros must learn to trust again, and to overcome those who cannot ever be trusted. Darker things lurk in the desert than Dust Devils and sand bandits. And, all the while, Adi′s voice is a constant reminder that time is running out ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Ros is in real danger. His family are so desperate to save their drought-stricken farm that they′ll sacrifice anything - even him - for rain. His only friend is Escher, an unseen entity with a voice that whispers in Ros′s head, continuously warning him to leave before it′s too late.

'Escaping from his vengeful family astride a stolen camel, Ros decides to try his luck in the desert, discovering along the way a power he never knew he had. Through Escher, Ros learns to control the Change, a magical force that taps into the land, the water, fire and the air. He also meets Adi, a girl from a travelling clan of nomads, who asks him to save her from a future she′s desperate to avoid.

'When tragedy strikes, Ros seeks help from a powerful Stone Mage, but when even she can′t save him, he starts to question everything that has happened on his journey. He must decide who is telling the truth, and who his real friends are.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Dorothy Porter's fourth poetry collection is an exhilarating ride through passions found, imagined and richly lived.

'From a modern, petrol-headed Carmen and Don José to pairs of polar explorers and silent twins, an intersection of birds and asylums, reflections on vanished love and new desire, Driving Too Fast bursts with vitality, a horsepower rhythm and language that turns on a dime.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A young Greek fisherman, Ilias's first experience as a migrant in Australia in the 1920s is working on the docks as a 'skeb' labourer. He attempts to make his way, learning English from his workmates as he goes. With help from his Chinese friend Harry he buys a greengrocer's shop, but this venture later fails when his regular customers prefer to buy from an 'Aussie' further up the road. Pushed by prejudice and the Depression to a Victorian country town, he finds work in a timber mill. His young wife and three children settle down to a regular life. They are 'at home'.

'But Ilias longs for the sound and movement of the sea, and dreams of returning to his father's home as a success.

'Ilias is a powerfully written first novel of a young man's rites of passage in a land and time where assimilation is valued and multiculturalism unknown.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.