Shhh - I'm writing fiction!
Day 1 after the six week summer holiday, and I'm back at the State library, staring at the screen. The dawning of this day was actually better (not a lot better, but a bit better) than I imagined. Not...
View ArticleTalent
Here's a story. A friendy/colleaguey thing (don't want to out him) had a huge success with his first novel. I mean HUGE success. Got a prize, had a tour, made some money - the whole 9 yards plus...
View ArticleAt the Edge of the Grave (or why writers are unkind)
Fiction writers are shits. Or to use the ethical slur of the moment, we are “unkind.” Most of us know why. it It is because writers are vampires, sucking our own life experiences and those in our orbit...
View ArticleIs Silence in the Library Past Its Use-By Date?
In the morning, I can work nearly anywhere. Often I can be found in cafes, avocado toast to one hand, latte to the other, banging away on my MacBook, ears self-sealed, focus total. But by afternoon, my...
View ArticleWhy Can't Strong Women Passionately Love Men?
Just had another wonderful review of The Book of Rachael. This one in The Age, compared the novel to works by well-known NZ author C.K. Stead and issuing praise like "sure vision" and "beautifully...
View ArticleChronic Fatigue & Disingenuous Doctors?
The Health Report - which I have always believed should be called the The Medical Report - has covered a recent controversy over what appears to be a solid study into the relative merits of various...
View ArticleThe Books that Changed Me
They don't put it online, but in this week's Sunday Sun-Herald (8.5.2011), I got to name the five (5) books that changed me. Would love to get some feedback on my choices, so thought I'd reproduce my...
View ArticleMy SlutWalk Melbourne Speech 28.5.2011
Hey all you sluts!As a writer, it seems obvious to me that words matter. Words matter to every woman at this rally. They matter so much that we won’t stand for one – the same one – being slung at us...
View ArticleMy Melbourne
Seen the new interview spot in The Age? It asks minor celebrities for their secrets loves & hideouts in Melbourne. Well, I'm a minor celebrity - in my own mind at least - so here are my answers to...
View ArticlePaul is a teacher. His school has a Chaplain. This is his story.
Paul Grealy teaches in a Brisbane state school with over 2000 students from prep to Year 12. The Chaplain ministers to them all. Paul sent me his story in an email. I am publishing it here - with...
View ArticleWomen's Forum Australia
Brian Baxter of Unbelief.org wrote an article on Women's Forum Australia (WFA) and one on its founding Directors, Melinda Tankard Reist. The site is no longer operating, though its archives are likely...
View ArticleMelinda Tankard Reist - A Biography
Brian Baxter of Unbelief.org wrote an article on Women's Forum Australia (WFA) and one on its founding Directors, Melinda Tankard Reist. The site is no longer operating, though its archives are likely...
View ArticleBefore You Buy in to Porn Wars....
Interested in the facts about porn, not just strongly-held opinions? Check out these excerpts from a recent academic review of Gail Dines book Porn Wars. Pornography’s Effects: The Need for Solid...
View ArticleCathy Sherry on #MTRsues. But Who is Cathy Sherry?
Cathy Sherry has returned to the papers to defend Melinda Tankard Reist as the #MTRsues controversy rolls on. Apparently these days it doesn't matter what political agenda you endorse. Even if it...
View ArticleWrap - The High Court Challenge to Federally-Funded Chaplains in Australian...
WILLIAMS V. THE COMMONWEALTHBy Max WallaceOn 20 June 2012 the High Court of Australia handed down their decision in Willliams v The Commonwealth. The case concerned the question of whether it was...
View ArticleTranscription of Leslie Cannold's "I Had An Abortion...Or Maybe I Didn't"...
Mamamia wanted a transcription of my Tedx Talk on abortion stigma badly enough to do one. They were also generous enough to share it with me, so I can share it with you. If the talk - heard or read -...
View ArticleAnother Pregnant Woman Killed by Catholic Hospital "Ethics"
An Irish woman has died as a result of the sub-standard care provided by Catholic Hospitals to pregnant women needing life-saving abortions.This sort of disaster was narrowly averted in the US when a...
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