Cirrus@Austlit

'On the night of a full moon, a small tropical dingo cub is born. And it is her destiny to travel far from home to change things for her kind.

'Kimmi sleeps with her mama at her back, her aunty at her front and her three brothers squeezed in beside her. They are a family. But when the farmer who took her father returns to threaten the rest of them, Kimmi is separated from her mama.

'In an incredible act of determination, Kimmi's mama runs over mountain tops and dusty red earth to spend one last day with her cub and share with her the knowledge that will one day make her a queen.

'This is Kimmi's story, the story of how she became Queen of the Dingoes in a sanctuary that saves them from extinction. It is her mama's story, too. But mostly it is a story that goes back thousands of years, and follows the long line of female dingoes they belong to.

'An inspiring true story of survival and courage from one of Australia's best-loved writers.' (Publication summary)

'IN 2012, THE universe gave me one of the greatest gifts of my life. I won the Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship and the prize was something no amount of money could buy – a bunk on the Australian Antarctic resupply vessel, Aurora Australis, and a voyage to Casey Station in Antarctica.' (Introduction)

'A young cub is suddenly snatched from his family and home by a giant eagle, then dropped, injured and alone in a suburban garden. This is where he meets his first human, and begins his long journey to becoming the most famous dingo in the world. He will never see his mountain home again, or his family. But it is his destiny to save Alpine dingoes from extinction, and he dreams of a time when all cubs like him can live in the wild in safety instead of facing poison and bullets and hatred.

'A Children's literary classic in-the-making from one of Australia's most loved authors.' (Publication summary)

'My workspace is now a little pod in the back garden. There is no internet and no one can get to me from the outside world. It’s where I can be a total recluse. It started off very neat and tidy, but as this book grew, it became incredibly messy. There are even leaves on the floor and spiders in the corners.  Somewhere along the way I began to glue black and white photos of Prague on one wall and then I coloured them in with fluro pencils.' (Introduction)

'Prague, 1938: Eva flies down the street from her sister. Suddenly a man steps out, a man wearing a hat. Eva runs into him, hits the pavement hard. His hat is in the gutter. His anger slaps Eva, but his hate will change everything, as war forces so many lives into small, brown suitcases.

'Prague, 1980: No one sees Ludek. A young boy can slip right under the heavy blanket that covers this city - the fear cannot touch him. Ludek is free. And he sees everything. The world can do what it likes. The world can go to hell for all he cares because Babi is waiting for him in the warm flat. His whole world.

'Melbourne, 1980: Mala Lika's grandma holds her hand as they climb the stairs to their third floor flat. Inside, the smell of warm pipe tobacco and homemade cakes. Here, Mana and Bill have made a life for themselves and their granddaughter. A life imbued with the spirit of Prague and the loved ones left behind.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

A letter to Truganini from Favel Parrett. This letter was part of the Women of Letters session at the 2015 Tasmanian Writers and Readers Festival.

'The hauntingly beautiful story of a young girl transformed by the power of kindness from award-winning author Favel Parrett.

'Running away from the mainland was supposed to make their lives better. But, for Isla and her brother, their mother's sadness and the cold, damp greyness of Hobart's stone streets seeps into everything.

'Then, one morning, Isla sees a red ship. That colour lights her day. And when a sailor from the ship befriends her mother, he shares his stories with them all - of Antarctica, his home in Denmark and life onboard. Like the snow white petrels that survive in the harshest coldest place, this lonely girl at the bottom of the world will learn that it is possible to go anywhere, be anything. But she will also find out that it is just as easy to lose it all.

'For Isla, those two long summers will change everything.

'Favel Parrett delivers an evocative and gently told story about the power fear and kindness have to change lives.' (Publication summary)