AllBlogClient book news and linksEditorial DevelopmentGrants for writersImprove your writingMemoirPianos and pianists on the stage and the pagePopularPortfolioPublishingUncategorizedYoung Widow's Book of Home ImprovementA silver lining in the time of coronavirusRead MoreTruganini biography from my client Cassandra Pybus publishing March 2020Read MoreGetting published: The Talking CureRead MoreA list of Australian publishers accepting manuscript submissions UPDATED March 2021Read MoreWriters: think twice before diving into the publishers’ slush pileRead MoreDogs and books and happy authorsRead MoreLimelight magazine interview for Girls at the Piano now onlineRead MoreUpcoming events for Girls at the PianoRead MoreMy radio interview on ABC ConversationsRead MoreClassical music’s gender gap: my piece for International Women’s DayRead MoreGirls at the Piano extract published in Sydney Morning Herald and The AgeRead MoreKill Your Darlings competition for an unpublished manuscriptRead MoreMy clients’ books, out in the worldRead MoreNeed some feedback on your manuscript?Read MoreCall for submissions: Growing Up Aboriginal In AustraliaRead MoreWriting fellowships from Australian Book Review – applications openRead MoreMy second book, Girls at the Piano, will be published in 2018Read MoreNature writing and nonfiction for women: trends from the Frankfurt Book Fair 2016Read MoreAustralian publishers talk about the slush pileRead MoreGenerous grants for Australian writers up for grabsRead MoreAdvice on how to attract a publisherRead MoreFarewell to the Father: Tim Elliott’s memoir-writing processRead MoreTim Elliott’s Farewell to the Father: from article to published memoirRead MoreI’m here to help you get publishedRead MoreHow many things are wrong with this query letter? Let us count the ways.Read MoreAustralian fiction in fine health, according to recent diagnosisRead MoreA book party for Jenny Ackland’s THE SECRET SONRead MoreJenny Ackland’s debut novel asks: Did Ned Kelly have a secret son who fought at Gallipoli?Read MoreAuthor Kellie Arrowsmith talks about editing her first book, SKIMPYRead MoreA tale of two covers: Becoming Westerly by Jamie BrisickRead MoreDevelopmental editing: Anna Bligh’s memoir Through the WallRead MoreBecoming Westerly by Jamie BrisickRead MoreLily Brett wins Prix Medicis for Lola BenskyRead MoreFiona Higgins tour dates for Wife on the RunRead MoreAbout Fiona Higgins’ new novel Wife on the RunRead MoreWhy is this aspiring author so angry at ‘lazy snob’ literary agents?Read MoreBrooke Hemphill on editing and revising her memoir Lesbian For A YearRead MoreVideo trailer for Fiona Higgins’s new novel Wife on the RunRead MoreThe illusions and delusions of a Skype-enabled lifeRead MoreHow I work with my published authors: Q&A with Brad HutchinsRead MoreBrad Hutchins’s Game, Set, Cash! is hereRead MoreAustralian publisher: “If you can Google it, it’s not a book.”Read MoreHow do I promote my novel?Read MoreThe brave new world of book publishing in AustraliaRead MoreA welcome 2014Read MoreOut of office messageRead MoreMy clients are so good looking! And other client news for NovemberRead MoreClient news: OctoberRead MoreCase study of an Australian nonfiction book dealRead MoreLily Brett’s Lola Bensky live in New York!Read MoreClient news: SeptemberRead MoreThis Big Issue makes me smileRead More8 red flags to a literary agentRead MoreAustralian launch of David Rankin: The New York YearsRead Morejust_a_girl is born!Read MoreGot a book in you?Read MorePacking my bags for FloridaRead MoreCan’t afford a freelance editor? How to get the feedback you need without burning a hole in your pocketRead MoreStalking the essayRead MoreDoes this make me a Woman of Letters?Read MoreMy most-reTweeted resources for writers: January-March 2013Read MoreHow to get permission to use song lyrics in your bookRead MoreNow open for new businessRead MoreIs your novel ready to show an agent?Read MoreWhat Australian publishers wantRead MoreLily Brett on tour in Australia to promote Lola BenskyRead MorePopular links for July-AugustRead MoreGrants for Australian writers due in September 2012Read More“Not for us at this time”: What that publishing euphemism really meansRead MoreCall for submissions: The Nature Conservancy’s Nature Writing PrizeRead MoreGone readingRead MoreWhat do I look for in an unsolicited manuscript?Read MorePopular links for June: the agent-author relationship, Granta’s online submissions, and the anatomy of book discoveryRead MoreSome thoughts on the 2012 Publishers Launch conferenceRead MorePoint-of-sale and selling points: How to market a debut novelRead MorePopular links of the month – LinkedIn writers’ groups, obtaining copyright permission, and bad literary agentsRead MoreUsing lyrics or an epigraph in your book? Curious about copyright?Read MoreGrants for Australian writers due by the end of May 2012Read MoreThe young widow and the academyRead MoreFiona Higgins talks about the process of writing The Mothers’ GroupRead MoreMy most popular links this month: on literary agents and memoirRead MoreCAL Creative Industries Career Fund: deadline 20 AprilRead MoreThe gestation of Fiona Higgins’ The Mothers’ GroupRead MoreMy most popular links on editing and memoirRead MoreClient focus: Fiona Higgins’ The Mothers’ GroupRead MoreOpportunities for emerging and established Australian writers due in MarchRead MoreReading irrespective of the subject: Geoff Dyer on nonfictionRead MoreTurning academics into writers for general readersRead MoreApplications to Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund due 24 FebruaryRead MoreFiona Higgins’ The Mothers’ Group is almost here!Read MorePut on these glasses if you’re going to write memoirRead MoreMamamia announces e-book publishing divisionRead MoreMy most-retweeted writers’ resources linksRead MoreFinding grants as a writer: a few key resources for US and Australian writersRead MoreLooking for a critique? Look no further!Read MoreNew year resolutions for literary typesRead MoreMike Nock Trio Plus: music to ease anyone’s painRead MoreOn being widowed: Sarah Watt and William McInnesRead MoreCross-dressing writers in Theresa Rebeck’s “Seminar”Read MoreThe New York memoirRead MoreTop secrets of writing a memoirRead MoreA “tiny master” of an essay on writing personal essaysRead MoreAustralia: the flavour of the next few months for literary magazinesRead MoreLosing the plot: How do you write fiction or nonfiction without a plot?Read MoreIs writing memoir a transgressive act?Read MoreStories and digressions: Geoff Dyer with Rebecca Mead at The New Yorker FestivalRead MoreLet’s Take the Long Way Home: a memoir of friendship and griefRead MoreA lovely triangle: Eliot Weinberger, Ramona Koval and the London Review of BooksRead MoreVisual example of the Oxford comma’s usefulnessRead MoreMemoir-related links I liked this weekRead MoreHelp support Indigenous Literacy todayRead MoreHow are books like a pair of jeans?Read MoreBook reviewing 101Read MoreSuch is Life: Griffith Review memoir issueRead MoreMemoir-related links I liked this weekRead MoreDon’t count the words in your memoir: make your words countRead MoreMemoir links I liked this weekRead MoreWhat’s your memoir structure?Read More21st century PR: Organizing a blog tourRead MoreHow to get useful feedback on your memoir from a trusted readerRead MoreNumber 1 tip for nonfiction storytellingRead MoreThe evolution of the book editorRead MoreA meta-magazine for the 21st centuryRead MoreA platform to stand onRead MoreThe best laid plans …Read MoreHappy 40th birthday, Maud NewtonRead MoreMemoir and the sins of omission: Joyce Carol Oates responds to her criticsRead MoreAn eye for an I – seeing beyond the self in memoirRead MoreGood griefRead MoreElif Batuman: Possessed of a great sense of humourRead MoreIs that a memoir or a family history you’re writing?Read MoreProcrastination and pavlovaRead MoreA Memoir ManifestoRead MoreGuidelines for memoirists: discovery, not regurgitationRead MoreWord count for memoirsRead MoreMemoir: Getting the title rightRead MorePerspectives on the future of memoirRead MorePublishing school lesson: authors and editorsRead MoreRon Charles spoof video on book appsRead MoreNew York jazz clubs, past and presentRead MoreLorrie Moore on ‘The Wire’Read MoreStephanie Dowrick reflects on grief and the Young Widow’s BookRead MoreTips for aspiring memoir writersRead MoreThe coming of The CouchRead MoreByron Bay, here I comeRead MoreThe Typewriter: A Recorded HistoryRead MoreWrite the book you really want to readRead MoreForgiveness: NSW Premier Keneally, Stephanie Dowrick … and meRead MoreMy Sydney Writers Festival eventsRead MoreConviction, typographically speakingRead MoreChansons and Chance: Bird music at the Barbican, LondonRead MoreWriters who didn’t give up their day jobsRead MoreWriters on rewritingRead MoreThe Road’s less-travelled pianoRead MoreLife from a thousand editorial cutsRead MoreeBible leaves Kindle in the Old TestamentRead MoreRule of writing fiction: go for a walkRead MoreVidal’s Wildean OatesRead MoreThe dirt on the publishing slush pileRead MoreAsking writers about writingRead MoreWishes for you in 2010: I couldn’t have said this better myselfRead MoreThe joy of rewritingRead MoreCould this have been written by a man?Read MoreWrite a list, save your lifeRead MoreReading and revengeRead Moreextempore: my first published fictionRead MoreLet us now praise famous polymathsRead MoreNew meanings for old wordsRead MoreAbsence and presenceRead MoreThe little paperback that could …Read MoreDreaming of homeRead MoreYoung Widow’s Book now out in paperbackRead MoreEight rules for writing a short storyRead MoreEvan B Harris, poet-painter of the pianoRead MoreAre American improvisers protectionist in a globalised music economy?Read MoreAuthors, be glad you’re not writing musicRead MoreHeard at the National Jazz Museum, HarlemRead MoreA night out on Our TownRead MoreChina attempts to censor Melbourne Film Festival, promotes film and activist insteadRead MoreTuesday in the Park with PhilRead MoreMusician sues venue over “karaoke” version of Wizard of OzRead MoreCar industry turns to designing pianos, who weren’t consultedRead MoreWriting and rhythmRead MoreThe Lost Mother: new book on art and love by Anne SummersRead MoreMusic, food, love: Must be Shakespeare in Central ParkRead MoreWriting in China, your signature can mean subversionRead MoreThe problem with trying to write dialogue with laryngitisRead MoreThe passe piano?Read MoreSpeed-writing with the Horribly Awkward Writers’ GuildRead MoreA corner of the blogosphere that is forever AustralianRead MoreThe media’s enduring fascination with the “blind pianist”Read MoreThe Air PianoRead MoreVariations on the lipstick economy: Romance is recession-proofRead MoreThe strange allure of books with “piano” in their titleRead MoreThe horror, the horrorRead MoreUnderground, if a little over the topRead MoreScene at the Brooklyn Public LibraryRead MoreLiterature and pianosRead MoreStarstruck at The Met: Bonnard, Shepard, LangeRead MoreShe can’t keep out of those dang jazz clubs …Read MoreBrooklyn Public Library: April 2009Read More“Torture this way!”Read MoreUnderhill Avenue, via Sierra Leone and TargetRead MorePrelude to a fugueRead MoreParisian charm: Kirk Lightsey in SydneyRead MoreUnwired and unimpressed in SydneyRead MoreOf Leichhardt and laceRead MoreThe proud work of invisible handsRead MoreFreed writer Nicolaides just one of hundreds around the world; or Why I am a member of Sydney PENRead MoreThe metaphor is the message: Obama’s inauguration speechRead MorePianists and ProjectsRead MoreFiction debut: “The Cowra Breakout”Read MoreJanuary jottingsRead MoreThree Australians make US Library Journal’s top books of 2008 listRead MoreUK debut in Psychologies magazineRead MoreThe losing of wisdomRead MoreSo says SaidRead MoreWould you rather be a mediocre plumber or a mediocre novelist?Read MoreBlasts from the pastRead MoreJazz and politics: “Pass it On”Read MorePink Ribbon breakfast raises nearly $12,000 for breast cancer researchRead MoreWorking and networkingRead MoreEven in a big city, it’s a small worldRead MoreEmbarrassments of richesRead MoreSigns of gentrification on Underhill Ave, BrooklynRead MoreHot, humid, jetlaggedRead MoreIndigenous Literacy Day panel a thrilling story in itselfRead MoreWorking with Enrich AustraliaRead MoreFreehills and Company B – ABAF award winners at last!Read MoreRock in stages – Paul Weller and his fansRead MoreCelebrity or anonymity, it’s all philanthropyRead MoreThe volunteer’s vortexRead MorePublicity: the writer’s tour of dutyRead MoreGold medals but tarnished recordsRead MoreFinally, Derek Van Gieson is published in The New Yorker …’s Cartoon LoungeRead MoreI read, therefore I am …Read MoreWhat a KAK: My commercial TV debutRead MoreGreed – good, bad, or ugly? Join me tomorrow night to find outRead MoreWriters’ Workshops at the Byron Bay Writers FestivalRead MoreDecor and decorumRead MoreThe truth about RealityRead MoreSublime on the subwayRead MoreOld music to new earsRead MoreJuly note to self: regain writing muscle toneRead MoreYoung Widow pipped at the Border by the Dalai LamaRead MoreNew President for Sydney PENRead MoreThe lap of literary luxuryRead MoreA tour de force of the last decade in book publishingRead MoreSWF digestionRead MoreObservations from the festival podiumRead MoreSydney Writers Festival: Officially getting nervousRead More“June” is busting out all over, in MayRead MoreAdventures in bookstores IIRead MoreQuestions for book clubs now availableRead MoreThe “Thank You” ProjectRead MoreReading in public, writing in privateRead MoreBeing interviewed on radioRead MoreAdventures in local bookshopsRead MoreThe world, in words: Sydney Writers Festival trailerRead MoreFriends and strangersRead MoreAnne Summers launches Young Widow’s Book at Shearer’s, LeichhardtRead MoreThe Long GoodbyeRead MoreOMG: I’m marie claire’s “This Month’s Must-Read”!Read MoreCarrying the torch for freedom of expression in China: 2008 International PEN Poem RelayRead MoreIt’s Not You, It’s Your BooksRead MoreIntrospect and retrospectRead MoreBrave new websiteRead MoreThe plays are the thingRead MoreLimbo, NYCRead MoreNew York City February 2008: Back to the futureRead More“The Widowed Writer” gets her first reviewRead MoreFinished copies at last!Read MoreAmerica as “phobocracy”Read MoreDavid Kowalski wins 2007 Golden Aurealis AwardRead MoreLoss is in the airRead MoreQuestions without answersRead MorePimp this author: two writers festival invitations!Read MoreStefano Maccianti goes on TV, Manlio goes to warRead MoreA new year, a new blogRead MoreMightier than the proverbialRead MoreStoppard on StageRead MoreDon’t believe your own publicityRead MoreLondon callingRead MoreA devilish lack of detailRead MoreUpcoming presentations for Philanthropy Australia membersRead MorePublisher’s lunchRead MoreA job lotRead MoreMoving in, moving onRead MoreBook newsRead MoreApples and oranges … or bridges?Read MoreSydney, in situRead MoreIn transitRead MoreGetty me outta hereRead MoreConnections old and newRead MoreSunshine, celebrity and traffic: must be LARead MoreBack in BrooklynRead MoreStunning review for David KowalskiRead MoreMacPopRead MoreThe dilemma of “home”Read MoreA scam by any other name …Read MoreThe world’s shortest fairy taleRead MoreJust offalRead MoreHenry Moore at Kew GardensRead MoreLoitering in LondonRead MoreFrom pinxos to gastro-pubsRead MoreA pintxos in time. Or perhaps nine.Read MoreFirst NYC byline!Read MoreBilbao BagginsRead MoreATV: Actual Tuscan VillaRead MoreWhen in Pisa …Read MoreSix degrees of Stockard ChanningRead MoreBrooklyn life supportRead MoreLive from LondonRead MoreStop pressRead MoreFriday frenzyRead MorePoint and shootRead MoreA late lunchRead MoreThe Jersey ShoreRead MoreMidsummer madnessRead MoreThe Mongolia-Wide WebRead MoreA trip around my neighbourhoodRead MoreMy friend FrickRead MoreBlasts from the pastRead MoreThe young widow finds a publisherRead MoreNot working, drowningRead MoreThe law is a painRead MoreGreat moments in summer subway commutingRead MoreIn a bookstore near youRead MoreHave bridge, will photographRead MoreDigestion and indigestionRead MoreDon’t have an opinion? Write one!Read MoreVive le RoyRead MoreCount your blessingsRead MoreThe steam pipe explosionRead MoreDeath and taxesRead MorePostage and handlingRead MoreDon’t look downRead MoreMidtown lunchRead MoreA dog’s lifeRead MoreSummer, intensivelyRead MoreJazz messengerRead MoreA stroll through Central ParkRead MoreApparently this is a rich person’s gameRead MoreA sharp intake of breathRead MoreMy favourite t-shirtRead MoreSunday afternoon in Prospect ParkRead MoreOverheard in St John’s PlaceRead MorePlayPalsRead MoreOverheard at the Public TheatreRead MorePhilanthropy on a US-scaleRead MoreThe ExterminatorRead MoreAdventures in publishingRead MoreContraband in Central ParkRead MoreGirls on filmRead MoreThe Book of ParisRead MoreThis apple just keeps getting biggerRead MoreQuote of the dayRead MoreUnspeakableRead MoreWhat price “gas”?Read MoreThe play’s the thingRead MorePermission granted … to play tennisRead MoreSummer of loveRead MoreThere really is nothing but ‘Poo on TVRead MoreMy manuscript, on Memorial DayRead MoreItalian in SoHoRead MoreReceipt, pleaseRead MoreSaturday in the park with George … WashingtonRead MoreThe publisher’s lobotomyRead MoreEar candyRead MoreSummer is a-comin’Read More“Shoes are the forces of evil”Read MoreNew trends in givingRead More“Tell me about the wombats, George”Read MoreIt’s SO good to speak Astraayan now and thenRead MoreThe DJ remix of my reviewRead MoreMeet JasperRead MoreSpooky, but what does it all mean?Read MoreCheery cherry blossomsRead MoreSex and the single bedRead MoreWhat makes a home?Read MoreThe local wailing wallRead MoreGrant me this day …Read MoreThe mighty PENRead MoreMy Carnegie Hall review debutsRead MoreWriting shortRead MoreNew York NetworkingRead MoreTossing and turningRead More“You’re not leaving already, are you?”Read MoreR you serious?Read MoreCabin feverRead MoreApples and PuffinsRead MoreTwo degrees of separationRead MoreMetheny & Mehldau at Carnegie HallRead MoreAdventures in accountingRead MorePost-Easter postRead MoreBreaking newsRead MoreBehind closed doorsRead MoreThe Anniversary EffectRead MoreFriday night at the Metropolitan MuseumRead MoreBusy writing, just not on my blogRead MoreThe Lives of OthersRead MoreClive InactionRead MorePink Ribbons, Blue Skies, Red Nose Days ad nauseumRead MoreMy favourite ex-pat Australian?Read MoreFashion feedback on 86th StreetRead MoreAnti-war Apple in the AppleRead MoreEastern Summer – sorry, snowing – TimeRead MoreMy trip to Al-QaedaRead MoreTall tales at the Union Square CafeRead MoreThe Company of the DeadRead MoreSigns of SpringRead MoreA comforting cup of Global SoulRead MoreFrom Brooklyn to the back of Bourke, and beyondRead MoreCat plays pianoRead MoreTelevision is making me sick, or, “do I have TIMMS?”Read MoreUptown ThinktankRead MoreThe world according to Spalding GrayRead MoreImperfect MatchRead MoreThin iceRead MoreLife in a BubbleRead MoreRandy by nameRead MoreValentines on the subwayRead MoreA snow falls in BrooklynRead MoreIce, ice, babyRead MoreArts seen in BrooklynRead MoreNewswriting groanersRead MoreWhat not to eat … or drinkRead MoreI just can’t get away from university …Read MoreA clarification re CophaRead MoreHow many times do I have to tell you? New York is NOT AmericaRead MoreCommunications and virtual assassinationsRead MoreA rich woman’s townRead MoreAustralia Day in NYC!Read MoreWriting in the first personRead MoreHot and botheredRead MoreApple Girl grabs a grant!Read MoreAustralians at the Brooklyn MuseumRead MoreJihad doesn’t live here anymoreRead MoreA dusting of icing sugarRead MoreSnow!Read MoreTemperature drops below zero, time to rug upRead MoreMeditations after a month’s absenceRead MoreIvy takes up residenceRead MoreProcrastinating in Prospect ParkRead MoreThe NewlywedsRead MoreNew York rats know how to keep warmRead MoreTo comment or not to comment, ’tis a question of cultureRead More
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