'This is a tale that never takes its foot off the accelerator . . . Part journey into the dark heart of Australia, part love story, this electric, defiant, darkly funny memoir is fuelled by the outsized passions of youth and tempered by the retrospective wisdom of age.' Sydney Morning Herald'Hilarious, terrifying and fun - much like the 80s, only smarter.' ANNA FUNDER'Fiercely funny. This is a road trip of danger, love and hope. Br...

An Authentic Glimpse of a North Korea We’ve Never Seen Before, by a Prize-Winning FilmmakerAnna Broinowski is the only Westerner ever granted full access to North Korea’s propaganda machine, its film industry. Aim High in Creation! is her funny, surreal, insightful account of her twenty-one-day apprenticeship there. At the same time it is a fresh-eyed look, beyond stereotypes, at life in that most secretive of societies.When Anna learned that frack...

When Anna Broinowski learned that fracking had invaded downtown Sydney, she had a brilliant idea: she would seek guidance for a kryptonite-powerful anti-fracking movie from the world's greatest propaganda factory, apart from Hollywood. After two years of trying, she was allowed to make her case in Pyongyang and was granted full permission to film. She worked closely with the leading lights of North Korean cinema, even playing an American in a military thriller. Interviewing loyalists and d...

From an emerging master of short fiction and one of Canada's most distinctive voices, a collection of stories as heartbreaking as those of Lorrie Moore and as hilariously off-kilter as something out of McSweeney's.In Better Living through Plastic Explosives, Zsuzsi Gartner delivers a powerful second dose of the lacerating satire that marked her acclaimed debut, All the Anxious Girls on Earth, but with even greater depth and darker humour. Whether she casts her eye...

Asian-Australians have often been written about by outsiders, as outsiders. In this collection, compiled by award-winning author Alice Pung, they tell their own stories with verve, courage and a large dose of humour. These are not predictable tales of food, festivals and traditional dress. The food is here in all its steaming glory - but listen more closely to the dinner-table chatter and you might be surprised by what you hear.Here are tales of leaving home, falling in love, comin...

WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE AWARD'Joyous' The TimesThe Accidental pans in on the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family one hot summer. There a beguiling stranger called Amber appears at the door bearing all sorts of unexpected gifts, trampling over family boundaries and sending each of the Smarts scurryin...

No amount of YouTube videos and queer think pieces prepared me for this moment.The mantle of “queer migrant” compelled me to keep going – to go further.I never “came out” to my parents. I felt I owed them no explanation.All I heard from the pulpit were grim hints.I became acutely aware of the parts of myself that were unpalatable to queers who grew up in the city.My queerness was born in a hot dry land that was never ceded.Even now, I sometimes...

The best of the best …This essential book takes a decade of Best Australian Stories and selects the most outstanding short fiction by the country’s finest writers. These stories range widely in style and subject matter: there is drama and comedy, subtlety and extravagance, tales of suspense, love, fantasy, grief and revenge. Together they showcase the strength and diversity of Australian fiction at its very best.Contributors include: Murray Bail, D...

The ultimate book about growing up in Australia – a choice selection of wonderful stories and recollectionsThis special collection is the perfect introduction to Black Inc.’s definitive ‘Growing Up’ series. Featuring pieces from Growing Up Asian, Growing Up Aboriginal, Growing Up African, Growing Up Queer and Growing Up Disabled in Australia, it captures the diversity of our nation in moving and revelatory ways.Growing Up in Australia

This remarkable memoir begins with Don Walker's early life in rural Australia and goes up to the late ’80s. In mesmerising prose, Walker evokes childhood and youth, wild times in the ’70s, life on the road and in Kings Cross, music-making and much more. Shots is a stunningly original book, a set of word pictures – shots – that conjure up the lowlife and backroads of Australia.‘Singular, strong and beguiling’ —The Sydney Morning Herald‘Better than good. Mos...

‘You will find in these pages a colourful and gripping pastiche that updates the experience outside Australia's cities and large regional centres. You will find, despite the absolute variety in these essays, that there is still something ineffable about life in the country.’ -Rick MortonGrowing Up in Country Australia is a fresh, modern look at country Australia. There are stories of joy, adventure, nostalgia, connection to nature and freedom, but also grimmer tales - of d...

A stunning collection of Oceanic stories for the 21st century. Stones move, whale bones rise out of the ground like cities, a man figures out how to raise seven daughters alone. Sometimes gods speak or we find ourselves in a not-too-distant future. Here are the glorious, painful, sharp and funny 21st century stories of Maori and Pasifika writers from all over the world. Vibrant, provocative and aesthetically exciting, these stories expand our sense of what is possible in I...