Photograph: John Daniel Bilsborough
Although my debut novel 1961 is a work of fiction, elements in the narrative do derive from my own life experience, and I'm happy to share at least some of that background here.
Since The Accident is certainly an odd novel, not least in its adoption of the "shaggy dog tale" form. Its oddness, though, is not without precedent, and its rewards are many.
A cold, benumbing, mindfuck of a book? Or is there more to this debut novel than first meets the eye?
Tsiolkas poses thoughtful readers with a dilemma: whether to sympathise with each character's situation, or to balk at the clumsy way that situation is described.
Whatever happened to the plot in this wonderful novel? Why are we left feeling Elizabeth Taylor has somehow subverted her own narrative intentions?
Charlotte Wood's subjects in 'The Writer's Room' speak passionately about the intuitive side of novel-writing, but tend to be less forthcoming on the craft side of things. I take a closer look at what they have to say.
New authors are often told they need to build their "social media platform". So, as a matter of interest, just how are established Australian and New Zealand writers currently using the web, Facebook and Twitter?
Sure, it's a slog at one level, but there are rich rewards in store for any reader who's willing to have a go, even one who reads this supposedly 'impossible' novel as naively as I did.
How does Kingsley Amis sustain narrative interest and tension in his classic comic debut 'Lucky Jim'? And to what extent (if at all) does 'Lucky Jim' employ a three act structure?
Rowe takes some big risks in presenting 'A Loving, Faithful Animal' as a three act story without a second act, but the risks pay off in the end.
How well does Graeme Simsion's 'The Rosie Project' match James Scott Bell's and Les Egerton's model of a three-act story?