Cirrus@Austlit

'Some time in the late 1990s, a man is hiking through Tasmania’s Central Plateau, hoping to kill a thylacine. He’s a mainlander, and he has come to a Tasmania that no longer exists: before MONA, before Jetstar, before secret saunas and mountain bike trails, before the Tasmanian Forest Agreement, before Richard Flanagan won the Booker Prize.' (Introduction)

'Breathing Space is a book of essays, poems and stories about Tasmanians' changing relationship with nature, commissioned to mark the TLC's [Tasmanian Land Conservancy] 20th birthday.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Nature in Australia is a mess. There’s no need to go into details. You’ve seen it: the thousands of dead fish in drying rivers, three billion animals killed or displaced by bushfire, environmental legislation that privileges developers over endangered species. Up against all this are conservationists—scientists and activists slogging away in a losing battle to explain the size of the problem, to get laws changed, to stop a tree being felled or a mine being opened, to pluck species from the brink of destruction with monitoring and intervention.' (Introduction)

'The overarching project of my life has been making myself safe. But what is the point if everyone else is drowning and burning and starving?' 

'In 2019, there will be no Vogel’s literary award. None of the manuscripts – the prize’s press release suggests – were up to scratch: ‘the judges’ decision speaks to their respect for the award and their desire to maintain the excellent standards of previous winning manuscripts.’ In other words: we’d be embarrassed to publish any of the submissions.' (Introduction)

'Unusually for literary fiction, Alice Robinson’s The Glad Shoutopens right in the thick of the action:

Jostled and soaked, copping an elbow to her ribs, smelling wet wool and sweat and the stony creek scent of damp concrete, Isobel grips Shaun’s cold fingers and clamps Matilda to her hip, terrified of losing them in the roiling crowd.

'Isobel and her family are escaping a terrible flood that has destroyed Melbourne. Holed up in a stadium – perhaps the MCG – Isobel has no idea what is left of her beachside home or whether there are any plans for anyone to help her or the hundreds of other evacuees now trying to survive amid the bleachers.'  (Introduction)

'For three years I edited the environment pages of the Conversation website. I published article after article about extinction, bee-colony collapse, the last tortoise of its kind, the last rhinoceros of its kind. I thought I knew how badly things were going for animals. I had no idea.' (Introduction)

In an interview with publisher Ticonderoga, Rawson noted:

"The right side of history" is set in a future Australia, where the world has decided to concentrate human habitat to leave a bit more space for other species. Humans can choose between moving to a super-high-density, well-designed urban area, or having their mind transferred into the body of a native species. This story is about a long-married couple who come to realise they have very different ideas about how best to help the planet.

Source: http://ticonderogapublications.com/web/index.php/our-books/195-ecopunk/422-ecopunk-a-minterview-with-jane-rawson (Sighted: 10/01/2018)

'From the Wreck tells the remarkable story of George Hills, who survived the sinking of the steamship Admella off the South Australian coast in 1859. Haunted by his memories and the disappearance of a fellow survivor, George’s fractured life is intertwined with that of a woman from another dimension, seeking refuge on Earth. This is a novel imbued with beauty and feeling, filled both with existential loneliness and a deep awareness that all life is interdependent.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.