#SaveOzStories

by Geraldine Brooks, Isobelle Carmody, Peter FitzSimons

#SaveOzStories is a gift to book lovers from Australia’s finest writers and the industry that supports them. Jackie French, David Malouf, Tim Winton and many more of our best writers have come together to issue a clarion call to all Australian citizens to defend writers and writing. If politicians have their way we will be the only nation to give away our right to tell our own stories. If you think a world without the next Richard Flanagan, Andy Griffiths or Monica McInerney will be a poorer one, then read this collection of impassioned arguments from our most esteemed wordsmiths.

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia

155 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Australian-born Geraldine Brooks is an author and journalist who grew up in the Western suburbs of Sydney, and attended Bethlehem College Ashfield and the University of Sydney. She worked as a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald for three years as a feature writer with a special interest in environmental issues.

In 1982 she won the Greg Shackleton Australian News Correspondents scholarship to the journalism master’s program at Columbia University in New York City. Later she worked for The Wall Street Journal, where she covered crises in the the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans.

She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 2006 for her novel March. Her first novel, Year of Wonders, is an international bestseller, and People of the Book is a New York Times bestseller translated into 20 languages. She is also the author of the nonfiction works Nine Parts of Desire and Foreign Correspondence.

Brooks married author Tony Horwitz in Tourette-sur-Loup, France, in 1984. They had two sons– Nathaniel and Bizuayehu–and two dogs. They used to divide their time between their homes in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and Sydney, Australia.

Reviews

[Suresh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read as much as I wanted to in this book and I learnt more about the Australian writing scene, some of the prominent writers, the hard work of Miles Franklin to set to her award to promote writing, and it led me to thinking about the Australian publishing industry.
Reading this also inspires me to write.
A unique and substantial effort to create this offering as a form of awareness raising and protest by the Australian publishing industry in response to the Productivity Commission in 2016, with many organisations and people coming together to produce this for free.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving it the five stars because I like that they have done this, they ought to have done it and I like that it is free. It is not really "short stories" as at first I thought and although exceptionally well written (well look who is doing the writing) they are all more or less the same.

So I would recommend you choose your two favourites from the pack and read theirs and then assume everyone else pretty much agreed with them. And then maybe read Morris Gleitzman as well (if he wasnt one of your favourites as he was for me) because the way he writes makes it seem fresh and different (same message though). To be fair many of the writers had reprinted a speech or article from elsewhere where they were the entire argument so that is why they all say the same thing.

What they are in effect saying is we need to stop the government dismantling and sabotaging one of the most functional industries Australia has (a lot of people have jobs in the non-subsidised book industry) AND then arguing for the ways that continuing to have a strong Australian publishing industry with profits for authors is in the best interests of present and future authors, publishers, consumers/readers (yep even you and me) and the nation. Also it seems to me that some of the governments proposals amount to intellectual theft (so there's an ethical question to go with the economic one)

Anyway if you like reading Aussie books/authors (and who doesn't) then they make a strong point!

A fairly diverse field here. I think most people would find one or two of their beloved authors in the mix!

[Sarah Fairbairn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I managed to grab a copy of #SaveOzStories when I went shopping last weekend. It was an interesting and infuriating read. Interesting reading input from all the different awesome aussie authors and infuriating because, f*** me what a horrid mess this government is making -but I won't go into that or I'll be ranting for days. All I will say is; If you at all care about Aussie stories go to www.bookscreateaustralia.com.au and get on board with #SaveOzStories

[Glenys · Rating 5 out of 5]

A selection of Australian Writers championing a cause that is close to their hearts and to the hearts of all readers in Australia. The right to their intellectual property for more than 15 - 25 years. The right for their work to be kept in the context it was written in, there was a really interesting story by Chloe Hooper; with what would be suggested edits to a story which would turn it away from its Tasmanian Base story line and references to our indigenous people and topics pertinent to them to basing it in another country and no reference to indigenous persons, thereby altering the entire context and meaning of the story. The effect parallel imports would have on the publishing market, for them and for us the readers.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad this book exists but sad it needs to. I will be leaving my copy around for someone else to pick it up!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays which highlight the importance of Aussie stories and the need to prevent laws from passing that will harm the Australian publishing industry.

Support local stories!