Cirrus@Austlit

Discusses the genesis of Grattan's book on C. E. W. Bean Back on the Wool Track.

Lurie discusses the changing significance of literary festivals which, she argues, have become so fashionable in Australia that they are a tourist attraction in many small towns. Unlike twenty years ago, the writers' festival today 'is a supersized, big-business blockbuster affair, with spunkier writers, sexier topics and a crowd who will have a latte with that. It's great for books and great for publishing, but has it lost its soul?'

Headline: 'The arrival of the multinational megastore brought fears for the survival of the locals, but Australia's specialist bookshops are proving to be stayers.'