Biography and memoir
The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel must be the graphic novelist with the richest density of ideas-per-square- inch; no blurb could do justice to the wide-ranging subject matter of her new book, The Secret to Superhuman Strength. Taking as its starting point the…
The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar
Amani Haydar is a remarkable woman. A lawyer by training, she is also an acclaimed artist who has been a finalist for the Archibald Prize, and with the publication of her memoir, The Mother Wound, she can add ‘accomplished…
In My Defence, I Have No Defence by Sinead Stubbins
Author and comedian Sinéad Stubbins has created a warm collection of stories to illustrate, very finely, that we all feel unconvinced and insecure at times. As a writer, her particular superpower is clearly the art of observation, and each written…
Whisper Songs by Tony Birch
2021 is the year of Tony Birch, with two new books: one short story collection (Dark as Night, August) and one poetry collection. Birch has always been a beautiful writer, and it feels particularly fortunate that we as…
Real Estate by Deborah Levy
Deborah Levy sits at the top of my list of brilliant women I’d like to have a few drinks with. I imagine we’d sit in a smart London bar, martinis in hand, and across several hours she’d reveal to me…
Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours by Sarah Sentilles
If you don’t know Sarah Sentilles, you should seek her out. Go read her earlier books. She’s a writer of uncommonly beautiful creative nonfiction, her pages filled with grace and honesty.
In her award-winning book Draw Your Weapons, she…
Still Alive: Notes from Australia’s Immigration Detention System by Safdar Ahmed
It is difficult to find the right words when you want to recommend a book that made you feel sick with rage. So I will start by telling you how important it is that this book exists,in spite of all…
The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen by Krissy Kneen
Much loved and admired author Krissy Kneen is back with another heartfelt exploration of her personal history, but because this is a Krissy Kneen book, we are taken on a greater journey than just her own. This book is an…
As Beautiful As Any Other: A Memoir of My Body by Kaya Wilson
I confess to feeling completely at a loss for how to review Kaya Wilson’s breathtaking memoir As Beautiful As Any Other. How on earth will I be able to do it justice? I must begin somewhere and so I…
The Shape of Sound by Fiona Murphy
‘The hearing world rarely welcomes deaf bodies,’ writes Fiona Murphy in her heartbreakingly honest memoir The Shape of Sound. Murphy kept secret that she is deaf in her left ear for 25 years. In her debut, she explores the…
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