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So it appears I have been shamefully neglecting this blog. If it were a garden it would be overrun with weeds by now. There are, as always, excuses, some of them even quite good ones. I have been to many places to read from and talk about my book(s), which has been both gratifying and exhausting. But I feel that the time has come to return with a trowel, some canvas gloves and a great big rubbish bag.

My immediate impetus is to tell the half-dozen of you reading this that my first three books are now all available on Amazon.

(Of course the best thing you can do to get hold of any of my books is approach your nearest independent bookseller and ask them to order it in for you. That way, they stay in business and you save on postage. However Amazon remains the most cost-effective way for non-Australian readers to get hold of my first three books. With those readers in mind, then, here are the relevant links).

Pushing thirty, wearing seventeen

• Pushing thirty, wearing seventeen (Ginninderra Press, 2001) Paperback  E-book
• Mapless in Underland (Ginninderra Press, 2004) Paperback  E-book

Mapless in Underland

• First… Then… (Ginninderra Press, 2012) Paperback only (formatting was too tricky for e-book conversion)

First… Then…

Alternatively, you can sill buy all three from the Ginninderra Press website, with postage starting from $4 within Australia. Scroll ALL THE WAY down to the authors whose surnames start with S.

And just a reminder that my latest book, Drag down to unlock or place an emergency call (Pitt St Poetry, 2013) remains available on the Pitt Street Poetry site, for only $2 postage within Australia and $5 elsewhere.

Drag down to unlock or place an emergency call

Reading in Sydney 13 September

Apologies for the long silence. Long story. Poems to follow. Happy National Poetry Week !

On the good news side of things, I am pleased to announce that I will be giving a poetry reading in Sydney on Saturday evening 13th September, at the Stanley Street Gallery in Darlinghurst.

It is a double reading with poet Nicola Bowery. Nicola will be reading from her brand new book married to this ground, and I will be reading from Drag down to unlock or place an emergency call (Pitt St Poetry 2013), and also possibly from First… Then… (Ginninderra Press 2012) and from some unpublished new material.

The event kicks off at 5pm. There is a $15 cover charge which does include a glass of wine.

Here is a Facebook Event for the reading, and here is a link to the event details at City of Sydney What’s On.

The reading is organised by Poetry Alive, which is Nicola and her partner Harry Laing, who will MC. Should be a fun night, and the formal part of proceedings should all be over by 6.15pm, so you can start your evening in Darlinghurst and then kick on to wherever your other plans take you.

Love to see you there !

First… Then… wins award

I’m very pleased to announce that my next-to-last book, First… Then…, has won the Poetry category of the ACT Writing and Publishing Awards, for books published in 2012.

Many thanks to the publisher, Ginninderra Press for nominating it, and to the judges Judith Crispin and Michael Farrell for picking it. The judges’ citation was: “[First…Then… is an] emotionally brave and truthful testimony of raising a child with autism, elegant poems across a range of diverse styles, unashamedly feminine, humorous and lively forms.”

The evidence

The awards are administered by the ACT Writers’ Centre, and were presented last night at Gorman House Arts Centre. Also nominated in my category were books by Suzanne Edgar and Leon Trainor. Very gratifying to win in such a strong ‘field’.

If you would like to find out more about the book, it has its own blog where you can browse the poems and find out how to get your hands on a copy.

Merry Christmas !

My forthcoming book of autism poems: First…Then…

Hello again world (or the six or so inhabitants of it who are reading this). And a belated Happy New Year.

So things have been a bit quiet on this blog of late.  That would be because I have been busily working away finishing my ArtsACT-funded project, a chapbook of autism poems.  The manuscript is with the publisher, the grant acquittal is done, and you can read all 24 poems here between now and April 2012, when I will be taking them down and encouraging people to buy the book instead.  The book, to be called First… Then… will be launched at a yet-to-be confirmed location by Alan Gould, with the help of Daltons Books.  It will be launched again a bit later in April at the premises of Autism Asperger ACT. Watch this space for details.

I did actually publish some early drafts of some autism poems on this blog (check out the Autism Poems Category to see some), but after a while I realised the book had such a specific audience that it really needed its own blog.  I also provided a link to the other blog over there in the side bar but have not been very good at drawing people’s attention to it.  Better late than never, I suppose….

I’ll also be reading from the book on Tuesday, 10 July as part of the Poetry at the Gods reading series. Go on, put it in your diary. Surely five and a half months in advance is not too early 🙂

Anyhoo, here’s hoping you, your loved ones and your pet projects all have a happy and productive 2012.

Cheers for now

Melinda