Kristina Olsson

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Phillipp Meyer at Brisbane Writers’Festival

Philipp MeyerThere was some unusual feedback from American novelist Phillipp Meyer, (pictured left) author of the knock-out The Son, who is star attraction at the Brisbane Writers’ Festival this week.“Praise is just as bad as criticism when you’re doing work,” he said in an interview with The Australian newspaper. “You can’t have anyone else’s voice in your head but your own, so the way I deal with it is I just don’t think about it,” he said. “When I see those sort of comments they have no emotional effect. It’s like a pretty girl getting your attention at a bar. If you did actually think about it, artistically you’d be ruined, you’d turn into a monster.”

He’d better get used to ignoring a lot of pretty girls in bars as the plaudits are

Queensland Literary Awards

There’s rich literary pickings in Queensland, Australia, as the shortlist for the Queensland Literary Awards reveals. It used to be the Queensland Premier’s Award until the Government pulled its support but all credit to the businesses and academic organisations that stepped in to provide the funds for the Awards to continue.

There are 42 books, whittled down from more than 200 entries, in the running for awards in more than 10 categories. The spectrum covered is vast. The Man Who Invented Vegemite (that oh-so-Australian spread) by James Callister is one of the six battling it out for Book of the Year. Kristina Olsson’s Boy, Lost tells the heart-wrenching story of the life-long impact on a young woman and her family after her son is stolen from her by an abusive partner. Or there’s Jane Lydon’s The Flash of Recognition which looks at the roleHistory of photography as a tool for change and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Or Murray Bail’s The Voyage about Sydney piano manufacturer who travels to Vienna to present his unique concert grand piano. And as Narelle Oliver wisely warns, Don’t Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen.

The full roll call of short-listed books and authors is below and you can find out what the judges thought at http://www.queenslandliteraryawards.com/2013-shortlists.html. You can also vote on-line for the Queensland Book of the Year and People’s

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