Soft Launch High Wire Step

On the 16th of December, Flying Island Books held a wonderful Poet’s Picnic in which several books from the new Pocket Poets series were launched.  I’m very honoured that my new book High Wire Step was part of the launch, along with Toby Fitch’s ILL LIT POP and Danny Gentile’s The Icicle Tree. My husband very kindly read out the launch speech that Beth Spencer, who had last minute car trouble, wrote.  Beth’s speech was rich and moving, and will hopefully be printed in full at some point. Here’s a tiny excerpt: 

"This is a history … not in the sense of it being always faithfully corresponding to events and facts, but in the sense of it being true. True to a way of experiencing the world. I love the way the leaps create space that allows us to weave into it our own stories.. and our own emotions…or something beyond that… something beyond the culturally scripted response that is emotion  to something like a colour or a sensation, a burning.”

The book (and more info) is now available for sale here: High Wire Step and will also be (hard) launched in Newcastle at the Newcastle Writers’ Festival in April. 

CR Newsletter for Dec

Hi everyone, Compulsive Reader news for Dec is now out.  This month’s issue features a great new giveaway for subscribers, interviews with Ber Carroll, Tom Maremaa, and Imogen Edward-Jones, as well as a bunch of new reviews for books such as my heart crumples like a coke can by Ali Whitelock, The Usual Story by Libby Sommer, All The Answers by Michael Kupperman, Writing a Novel by Faber Academy’s Richard Skinner and many others as well as our roundup of literary news for the month.  If you haven’t gotten yours, you can grab a copy from the archive here: Compulsive Reader Archive and if you’re not a subscriber, sign up here: http://www.compulsivereader.com.  Happy reading!

CR Newsletter for November

Compulsive Reader’s November newsletter has now gone out to subscribers.  This month’s newsletter has the usual literary news roundup, a bunch of fresh new reviews including Markus Zusak’s 12-years-in-the-making new book Bridge of Clay, Thread For Pearls by Lauren Speeth, New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction edited by James Thomas and Robert Scotellaro, Normal People by Sally Rooney, and many others as well as a terrific interview with The Second Cure’s Margaret Morgan, and of course some fantastic book giveaways for our happy subscribers.  If you want to check it out, go to: Compulsive Reader Newsletter November, or to subscribe, for free of course, visit http://www.compulsivereader.com and sign up on the upper right hand side.  No horrible captchas or too much info required - just your name and email and you’re in.

CR Newsletter for Oct is out

The October edition of Compulsive Reader News has just gone out.  This month we have interviews with Governor Bligh and the Short Man's Peter Cochrane, as well as reviews of new books by Paige VanZant, David W. Blight, Tanja Maljartschuk, Paula McLain and lots more, as well as giveaways of Normal People by Sally Rooney and Witches of St Petersburg by Imogen Edwards-Jones.  If you haven't received it or want a taste, you can grab a copy right here: Compulsive Reader News  If you’d like to subscribe, visit http://www.compulsivereader.com, and for ultra early notification of new reviews and interviews, you can visit our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/TheCompulsiveReader
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CR Newsletter for Sept is out

The Sept edition of Compulsive Reader News has just gone out.  This month we have interviews with Twin Peaks’ Kimmy Robertson, Swimming Between Worlds’ Elaine Neil Orr, and our Compulsive Reader Talks features poet Steve Armstrong. We also have reviews of new books by Kenneth Salzmann, Joan Schweighardt, James Molony, Gale Massey, Charlotte Guest and lots more, as well as our new giveaway of a copy of Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey.  If you can’t wait for it to arrive you can grab a copy right here: Compulsive Reader News  If you’d like to subscribe, visit http://www.compulsivereader.com, and for ultra early notification of new reviews and interviews, you can visit our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/TheCompulsiveReader
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CR Newsletter for August is out

The latest Compulsive Reader newsletter has just gone out with the usual bevy of reviews and interviews (14 this month!) including Amy Bloom, Steve Armstrong, Justine Ettler, Twin Peaks’ (yes, the Twin Peaks) Sabrina Sutherland, and a lot more.  We also have two new giveaways for our subscribers, the big literary news round-up, and lots more.  If your copy has gone missing in cyberspace, you can grab it from the archive here: http://www.compulsivereader.com/sendpress/email/?sid=MA&eid=MTM2Njk

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Compulsive Reader newsletter for July

The July Compulsive Reader newsletter has now gone out and should be in your inboxes today.  This month’s issue is a bumper crop of 13 new reviews including the latest by Vicki Salloum, Kai Carlson-Wee, Gabrielle Reid, Kerri Shying and many others.  We also have interviews with Bill Luvaas, Jill Jones, Kathryn Fry (Jill and Kathryn are audio podcasts).  Of course there’s also a subscriber giveaway.  If you haven’t received it or want to check it out, you can grab a copy here in our Compulsive Reader Archive.
To subscribe, just visit http://www.compulsivereader.com and click in the upper right hand corner.

CR Newsletter for June has now gone out

Happy June! (winter or summer - whichever season you’re in)  Our June Compulsive Reader newsletter has just gone out.  This month’s issue includes 11 (had to squeeze one more in) fresh reviews of such titles as Green Point Bearings by Kathryn Fry, The Anarchist Thing to Do by Michael Raship, Grace in Love by Ruth Latta, 16 Pills by Carley Moore and many more plus interviews with The History of the Decline and Fall of America’s Scott Erickson and A Scandal in Bohemia’s Gideon Haigh.  We also have a fantastic new subscribers giveaway and the usual round-up of literary news including the latest on the suspended Nobel Prize for Literature.  If you are a subscriber you should have received it already or you can grab it from the public archive here: http://www.compulsivereader.com/sendpress/email/?sid=MA&eid=MTM1MTI

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New Compulsive Reader Newsletter for May

The new Compulsive Reader Newsletter has just gone out with a great new giveaway, and also lots of new reviews and interviews of some of the most exciting books around, literary news, and more.  It should be in your inbox now. Don’t forget to enter out giveaway for a copy of 60 Days Left by Andrea Lechner-Becker!. if you’ve missed the emailed version, visit our public archive here:
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New CR Newsletter out for April

Hello readers, our April newsletter has now gone out.  This month we have our usual suite of 20 fresh, original reviews and interviews  (including an interview with The Lucky Galah’s Tracy Sorensen - a first novel which I predict will win a lot of awards in the year to come (you heard it here first - my predictions are rarely wrong :-), 2 fabulous giveaways, and a huge round-out of literary news.  The newsletter should be in your inbox now, but if you haven’t received it (or you aren’t a subscriber), you can grab a copy from our archive here:
http://www.compulsivereader.com/sendpress/email/?sid=MA&eid=MTM0MDE

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CR Newsletter for March

Our March Compulsive Reader Newsletter has now been fully dispatched.  This month’s issue contains a bunch of new reviews including wunderkind Gerry Orz’s book Lucky or Not Here I Come, Carolyn Taylor’s Loose Ends, Lisa Preston’s The Measure of the Moon, and many more, as well as interviews with Alan Alda (yes, the Alan Alda), and Idelle Kursman, and of course a new book giveaway, news roundup and much more.  It should be in your inbox  now, but if you’ve not got it, check it out here:
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Compulsive Reader Newsletter for Feb

The February Compulsive Reader newsletter has now gone out.  As always the newsletter has 10 fresh links to reviews and author interviews including an exclusive, in-depth chat with the amazing Kaz Cooke, reviews of the poetry books Glasshouses by Stuart Barnes and Appalachian Fall by Jennifer Maiden (which I’ll be launching in Newcastle on the 13th of Feb at Maclean’s Books - you’re invited to join us - it’s free and wine and cheese provided), great new fiction like Eye of the Moon by Ivan Obolensky, as well as a round-up of literary news around the globe, another great book giveaway, and more.  If you’re a subscriber, it should already be in your in-box (or check your spam folder and then white list me!).  Or you can grab a copy here: http://www.compulsivereader.com/sendpress/email/?sid=MA&eid=MTMyNjc

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Compulsive Reader Newsletter for January

Hello readers and happy new year!  The January Compulsive Reader Newsletter has now been fully delivered and contains the usual 10 fresh pieces including an overview of the Wollongong Writers Festival, Earthly Remains by Donna Leon, These Wild Houses by Omar Sakr, A Jarful of Moonlight by Nazanin Mirsadeghi, and lots more, as well as a great new giveaway (we had a surprise extra give-away last month and that may happen again sometime...), and the round-up of literary news, prizes and events.
If you haven’t received your copy, you can check it out in the public archive here: Compulsive Reader Jan Newsletter