Cirrus@Austlit

'Mountains are memories… 

'The stories of mountains may be set in stone but they reveal change we can scarcely imagine. Extinctions, volcanos, dinosaurs – we all know they existed but how are ancient worlds and their inhabitants connected to us today? 

'Take a journey through deep time, to a place long ago where the bones of kunanyi/Wellington were formed from the remains of a frozen sea.  Not everything that is ancient is lost.' (Publication summary)

'The true story of two Tasmanian soldiers caught up in the horrors of World War I. One is Ivor Margetts, the charismatic young football star destined for greatness. The other is Charlie Simmons, a militia pioneer and loyal servant of the state. One would lose his life on the Western Front and the other his health and career in Hobart.Using long-lost letters sent home from soldiers at Gallipoli and the Western Front to friends and family in Tasmania, journalist Hugh Jones has pieced together the tale of a remarkable friendship at a tragic time in history.'  (Publication summary)

'This is an amusing collection of short stories that takes readers from Tasmania to far north Queensland' with stops in The Lone Star State of Texas and the manicured fairways and greens of Augusta National Golf Course' the home of The Masters Tournament. Along the way there are car chases' gambling' fistfights' food fights' dates that go sour' ;whisky sours' risky racehorses' women with legs as long as the Bruce Highway' more gambling' sex workers' plane crashes' medical procedures' and gold outings on crocodile-free courses.'  (Publication summary)

'In 2023, Hobart was designated a UNESCO City of Literature. We always knew there was something special about our beloved town, with its myriad bookshops, reading groups, publishers and award-winning authors. But this news has given writers and bibliophiles something tangible to celebrate: we now have international recognition of Tasmania's world-class literary landscape, with its distinctive creative energy and potential. This year we are especially delighted to include the winning stories from the Junior and Senior sections of our Young Tasmanian Writers' Prize 2023. The quality and imagination of these stories was so impressive that we felt they warranted publication. We hope their inclusion here will inspire other young Tasmanians to dream new stories of their own.'  (Publication summary)

''I am George Baggs, wrenched from the cradle of my birthing and flung across the sea to this infernal place at the mercy of a pitiless wind ... a place where the western winds howl ceaselessly and rain pours down in sheets from the maw of a black sky.'

'DIEMENS is a tale of Tasmania's origins like no other, a story of how two worlds collide, transforming colonial Van Diemen's Land.

'George Baggs, a young Englishman exiled from his homeland, is crewed aboard a Bass Strait sealing ship. Fleeing the cruelty of his masters, Baggs and friend Jimmy Brown are saved by the kindness of northeast Aboriginal Tasmanian clansmen.

'DIEMENS follows the colony's first decades told through the lens of a family destined to shape Tasmanian history.'  (Publication summary)

'Most people know of the Tasmanian Tiger .Do you know how they actually became extinct¿ and were there ever "too many tigers"? Journey through this pictorial timeline to find out what really happened and how we can use our past to better care for the unique species of today.' (Publication summary)

'Dawn Meredith has created an evocative, rich world where the senses are tingled and love is deep as the Norwegian fjord itself. 

'All her life Freya has been told that the havfruer of the deep fjords are dark angels who lure children into the water and drown them. But Freya is certain that if she sings a havfrue to the shore, they can be friends. To her surprise and joy, it works! Meanwhile, in Freya’s family, secrets come to the surface and all the adults are upset. Freya’s sister Lisbet suddenly becomes angry and depressed holding in a secret of her own. And so Freya seeks comfort and advice from Lorelei, her havfrue friend, that no one else has seen. When her sister falls into the cold waters and is in danger of drowning, can Freya really trust this mysterious, oddly beautiful creature to help? Or will Lorelei choose the darker side of her nature?

 'No matter what conflict simmers in the Askvold family, the ties are strong and the patience to persist in healing wins out.' (Publication summary)

'A Place to Breathe: Poems and Images from Tasmania is a jewel. It is aptly laconic, almost sparse, with observations both personal and universal. Falconer captures the rural and isolated frugality that is part of the beauty of his homeland – which he clearly loves. - Dr Dain Bolwell, 2023 (Author of Governing Technology in the Quest for Sustainability on Earth)

'Stephen Falconer’s poetry burst like a blazing light on my poetic horizon from the first time that I encountered it some forty years ago. In the intervening years it has remained a constant source of imaginative stimulation and refreshment. Stephen writes with the electricity of the Word, like the French Symbolists, Rimbaud
and Verlaine, to whom he is a worthy successor. He senses the sparks that fly between images that defy rational explanation. Do not try too hard to explain, simply surrender to the flashes by which Stephen’s poems penetrate: travel with them, both into the depths and into the light, and be nourished.
—Melvyn Cann, 2023 (Ex-lecturer in Philosophy at La Trobe University)' (Publication summary)

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'This collection of stories started with a sticky note with the words ‘Indigenous Literacy Day’ marked on it in red. It grew into a collection of engaging personal stories about connection, culture and sharing from the people who live, walk and work in Clarence Plains, southern Tasmania.

'Staff and volunteers at the Clarence Plains Child and Family Learning Centre and 26TEN assisted in collecting these stories of memories, experiences and our connection to Country.' (Publication summary)

'The best of the VAN DIEMEN HISTORY PRIZE 2022-2023 selected by Dr Kristyn Harman, Kirstie Ross, Tony Fenton and Chris Champion.

'The idea for The Van Diemen History Prize came out of a conversation with Associate Professor Kristyn Harman, of the University of Tasmania. Her idea was then honed to fit the underlying philosophy of Forty South Tasmania - high-quality writing on a Tasmanian theme, aimed at a general audience. The competition is for articles up to 3,000 words on any aspect of Tasmanian history prior to the 21st century.' (Publication summary)

'After a slight accident with the Christmas tree and its decorations, Dunstan and Theodore host a wonderful party for their guests. Joining Dunstan, Theodore, Blue Ted and Steve the monkey for the celebrations is a very special friend, Tigey, who lives at 5 Teacup Street.' (Publication summary)

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'More than twenty years on from the formation of the Australian Haiku Society in 2000, and the publication of the First Australian Haiku Anthology (2001), haiku in this country has continued to evolve, diversify and to extend its reach far beyond our borders. 

'There are 104 poets represented in under the same moon, each one helping to form and shape a unique Australian voice, whether that is through haiku with distinctly Australian kigo or through senryu which explores the human element of life in this country from its cities, suburbs and rural towns to the natural environment. 

'Alive with birds and frogs, suffused with the threat of bushfire and flood, these haiku sing with the uniqueness of Australian life. The skill on show is breathtaking, as distinctive individual voices lay bare moments of joy, loss, awareness and connection to inner and outer landscapes. 
Esther Ottaway, Winner, Tim Thorne Poetry Prize, Arts Tasmania Literary Awards, 2022

'As you read each haiku here in the time it takes for a frog to swim the length of a pear leaf, your senses will fizz like a rocket landing in an armchair.
Kevin Brophy, Emeritus Professor, University of Melbourne' (Publication summary)

'It seemed it was a common thing, to classify all creatures, to sort them into different groups, depending on their features. Platypus thought about this theory, as she swam along. But she was left wondering, "Where do I belong?"' (Publication summary)

'The ten best entries from the Tasmanian Writers’ Prize 2023 as selected by Amanda Lohrey, Mallika Naguran & Rayne Allinson.

'The stories in this year’s anthology include supernatural voyages, a solitary woman’s sense of home, a family’s attempts to connect offline, a mysterious island ritual, a criminal’s new beginning, a flash of colour in a child’s hand, a man who disappears then reappears transformed, a lighthouse keeper’s vigilant watch, and a coming -of-age story amidst devastating floods.' (Publication summary)

'Set in the 1830s during the convict transportation era between England and her colonies on the other side of the world, thirteen-year-old Walter Paisley is convicted of burglary and transported to Van Diemen's Land to serve his sentence. Tara Harford and her father are wrongfully charged before they are separated and sent abroad to serve life sentences as convicts of the Crown. Walter must learn to find hope amidst the ever-rising challenges of his life as a convict. Tara is unaware of the dangers threatening her survival that come with her choice to find her father. Beautifully written in the historical world of the Port Arthur convict settlement in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), suspense and romance combine to create a compelling and captivating story of the intertwining lives of a convict boy who tries to find his place in society, and an innocent girl who is thrust into a world she was never meant to be part of.' (Publication summary)

'A vibrant, fully-fledged and friendly alphabet of Australian birds, including counting, life cycles and seasons, by Tasmanian author and illustrator Monica Reeve, author of Bug Soup Beat (“Highly Recommended” by the Children’s Book Council of Australia), Pecking Order? and Camping Chaos - all published by Forty South Publishing. Suitable for children aged three and up, and for ornithophiles of all ages.' (Publication summary)