Cirrus@Austlit

'She first came to prominence on ABC TV's The Gruen Transfer, but Jane Caro - novelist, commentator feminist and atheist - had already been working as an advertising copywriter for decades. Her new novel, Just a Queen, tells the story of young Queen Elizabeth I and the treachery that swirls around her recent ascent to the throne. Here Jane tells us about the books that have shaped her.' (Publication abstract)

'Debra Oswald has written plays, TV scripts and novels. She was co-creator and head writer on hit TV series Offspring, for which she won the NSW Premier's Literary Award and the AACTA for Best TV Screenplay. Her other TV credits include Palace of Dreams, Sweet and Sour, The Secret Life of Us, Bananas in Pyjamas and award-winning episodes of Police Rescue. Her plays have been performed around Australia and in several overseas productions. The Peach Season, Gary's House and Sweet Road were all nominated for the Premier's Play Award. She has written four plays for young audiences - Dags, Skate, House on Fire and Stories in the Dark (which won the NSW Premier's Play Award). Eight of her plays are published by Currency Press.' (Publication abstract)

'Chinese Australian author Li Feng talks about her memoir, Dollar, and the relentless persecution Forged from Silver Dollar and privations that her family endured under the reign of Chinese strongman Mao Zedong.'

'When did the word bogan replace its older counterparts such as ocker and larrikin? What does it mean to be un-Australian and why is the definition of this word so slippery? And why are typographical errors - or typos - so much fun to see in someone else's writing but not in our own? Susan Butler, editor of the Macquarie Dictionary, ponders these questions in the extracts below from her book The Aitch Factor: Adventures in Australian English.' (Publication summary)

'A car accident at three years of age resulted in a spinal injury that put him in a wheelchair. So any dreams that IAN SIMPSON might have had of being a stand-up comedian were not going to be fully realised – at least not the ‘stand-up’ part. But this Paralympian and history teacher has never believed in taking himself seriously, and in his new memoir, Rolling with the Punches, Ian writes of the different perspective on life that his view from a wheelchair has given him. In the first extract below he tells of his life in hospital as a three-year-old a few weeks after the accident, and in the second extract he recounts his childhood attempts to get involved in sport, despite the obstacles. ' (Publication abstract)

'Thousands of people in South-East Asia are affected each year by unexploded bombs from the Vietnam War. With the help of a crowdfunding campaign, a dedicated and creative trio of Australians has produced a moving and beautiful picture book, One Step at a Time, which tells the story of an injured baby elephant’s resilience and a young boy’s love for him.' (Publication summary)

'This special 40th anniversary edition of the first collection of cartoons by artist Michael Leunig celebrates the absurdities and the pathos of everyday life as seen through the eyes of one of Australia’s most popular cartoonists and cultural commentators.' (Publication abstract)

'Reproductive technology has come a long way since birth of the first IVF baby in 1978, and couples who only a decade ago would have been remained infertile can now experience the thrill of childbirth. But despite the best of intentions, things can nonetheless go horribly wrong. Debut author AMANDA ORTLEPP tells ANGUS DALTON about psychotic mothers, the complex world of modern parenthood and her novel, Claiming Noah.' (Publication abstract)