The Shortlists For the Australian Book Industry Awards are out. The list is below

Australian: origins to Eureka, by Thomas Keneally (Allen & Unwin)

Bart: my life, by J B Cummings (Pan Macmillan)

Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey (Allen & Unwin)

Ransom, by David Malouf (Random House Australia)

Truth, by Peter Temple (Text Publishing).

Shortlisted for International Success of the Year are Hinkler Publishers for the children’s series of books ang games Dora the explorer and the open sea, and Allen & Unwin for The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas.

The 1st Wednesday Reading Group had their monthly meeting this week. They have discussed the book ‘1788: the brutal truth of the First Fleet’ written by David Hill.

This book is about the First Fleet and Australia Council For the Arts describes it as ‘The story of the First Fleet is one of courage, short-sightedness, tragedy and resilience. Most of the First Fleeters made it to Sydney Cove only to be confronted with conflict, starvation and despair. Combining the rigour of a vigilant journalist with the skills of a master novelist, David Hill brings the sights, sounds, sufferings and joys of the First Fleeters to life. Journals, letters and reports are all interwoven to create a narrative history that is surprising, compelling and unforgettable. ‘

The group has presented their own reviews in the following points 

• Interesting on concept of sending a large number of people to found a colony based on a few days ‘layover’ by Captain Cook and Joseph Banks.
• It was interesting that many officers had fought in American War and that several officers returned a few times to the colony.
• The insights into several characters are very fascinating, such as Arthur Philip had German heritage and spoke English with a German accent.
• The success of Norfolk Island Settlement is a pleasant surprise. It enabled food to be sent back to the Sydney colony.
• The tolerance of the Aboriginal people was brought out very well. Their willingness to help the colony was rejected by the white superiority mentality, unfortunately.
• The number of ‘mercy missions’ to bring extra food to the colony was amazing. The 6-8 month voyages made in very small ships, with the success rate that they managed was incredible and made fascinating reading.
• Demarcation of duties came very early – marines only wanted to guard the convicts, not perform any other duties. Was this the beginning of the union movement?
• The gap between convicts and officers was brought out clearly. The officers had no concept of the life of poverty experienced prior to committing crimes which led to transportation. All convicts were considered immoral and vile.
• There was no system to care for children, not even clothing provided for women and babies, and no plans to rehabilitate. Convicts were not expected to return to England but remain ostracised in the colony.
• As the book concludes, it is a miracle that the colony survived at all.

All members agree the book is very well written and makes for interesting and fascinating reading of that period of history.

Title: One hundred: a tribute to the Mitchell Library

Author: with an essay written by David Marr

Sarah’s pick 

This book was published in conjunction with an exhibition celebrating the centenary of the Mitchell library. The Mitchell library began in 1910 with a bequest of David Scott Mitchell’s collection of 40,000 printed books and now has over 800,000 items in a variety of formats. 

This book features one hundred items from the Mitchell’s vast collection. It includes some first editions and manuscripts; photographs and artworks; letters and diaries and more. 

Some of the items featured that appealed to me were old books. There is the journal kept by Joseph Banks onboard the HMS Endeavour; a late 15th century illuminated Book of Hours and a copy of the New South Wales General Standing Orders- the first book published in Australia- a compilation of Government orders. I also liked some of the ephemera- a sample of the Holey dollar and the dump used as currency in the colony under Governor Macquarie. There is a trolley of neatly boxed items of unsolicited mail collected from one household over the course of a year. I also liked the Berlei figure type indicator from the 1950s and  a beautiful wooden chest filled with specimens such as birds, insects and spiders collected in the Newcastle region over 190 years ago. 

As well as the pictures of items in the exhibiton there are a few paragraphs of information about each one. There is an introduction by the Mitchell librarian and an essay by author and journalist David Marr. 

There is a website relating to this exhibition at http://www.onehundred.sl.nsw.gov.au/                        

The winners of the 2010 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards are:

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
J.M. Coetzee - Summertime

Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
Paul McGeough - Kill Khalid: Mossad’s failed hit … and the rise of Hamas

Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
Jordie Albiston - The sonnet according to ‘m’

Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature
Pamela Rushby - When the Hipchicks Went to War

Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature
Allan Baillie - Krakatoa Lighthouse

Script Writing Award
Jane Campion - Bright Star
Aviva Ziegler - Fairweather Man

Play Award
This category did not have a shortlist. A grant of $30,000 is being made available to support professional development opportunities for new playwrights in NSW in 2011.

NSW Premier’s Prize for Literary Scholarship
Philip Mead - Networked Language: Culture and History in Australian Poetry

Community Relations Commission Award
Abbas El-Zein - Leave to Remain: A Memoir

UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing for Fiction
Andrew Croome - Document Z

The People’s Choice Award
Cate Kennedy - The World Beneath

Book of the Year ($10,000)
Paul McGeough - Kill Khalid: Mossad’s failed hit … and the rise of Hamas

Special Award
The Macquarie Pen Anthology of Australian Literature 

2010 The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists has been announced. This award is for young writers under 35 years old.

Kalinda Ashton, 31, author of The Danger Game - The judges word: Told in three voices about a family’s flight from tragedy, this novel is distinguished by intelligent writing as well as its rigorous, often caustic vision of the contradictions of class and privilege that usually go unremarked in Australia. It is a reminder not just of how easily we forget those on the fringes of society but of the human cost of that failure.

Andrew Croome, 30, author of Document Z - The judges word: A ‘factional’ novel about the Petrov affair, reminiscent of early John Le Carre, that gives us Canberra as we have never seen it before – a sinister, bureaucratic maze in which paranoia reigns. History’s one-dimensional figures become dynamic characters whose story is a powerful reminder not just of the dual nature of espionage, its unsettling combination of the mundane and the deadly, but of the human cost of power.

Emily Maguire, 33, author of Smoke in the room - The judges word: An unflinching portrait of three very different characters living in a Sydney flat, all damaged and caught between their desire for self-destruction and their need to survive. By turns raw, painful and tender, it is as striking for its intensity as for its moments of sudden, intimate fragility.

Craig Silvey, 27, author of Jasper Jones - The judges word: After the discovery of a hanged girl, a community’s fears and prejudices collide with three boys’ coming of age. Drawing on Southern Gothic influences, it has the energy of a thriller whose comedic tone underpins effortless language without loosening its grip on an intimate portrait of small-town Australia.

Parramatta City Library has all titles in its adult fiction collection and they are available for loan.