Foundation for Australian Literary Studies FALS Book Club
FALS Book Club
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The Foundation of Australian Literary Studies launched our book club in November 2019 with an overwhelming show of support from the Townsville community. Our aim is to celebrate Australian writers across a vast genre of works.
Over the course of the year the club will work its way through the Colin Roderick Award shortlist from the previous year. Discussing and delving into a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction writing.
This is a no-shame book club - we aim to engage with Australian literature, however expertly or inexpertly. We encourage you to grab a drink and prepare for some friendly banter. Whether you read the book or the blurb, liked it or loathed it, we would love to see you there.
COVID-19 Update
Our book club has had to move online because of COVID-19 restrictions. Become a member to receive the monthly Zoom link and join us to celebrate Australian literature.
The FALS Book Club offers some suggested summer reads, based on entries in the 2021 Colin Roderick Literary Award. We hope this offers a wide variety to appeal to a range of readers.
(Please note: This list does not reflect the opinions or recommendations of the Colin Roderick Literary Award judging panel.)
Garry’s book Peace was shortlisted for the 2020 Colin Roderick Literary Award, and in Consolation we return to Constable Paul Hirschhausen in the remote town of Tiverton, for another crime drama.
Gail won the 2016 Colin Roderick Literary Award for A Guide to Berlin, and was shortlisted in 2019 for The Death of Noah Glass. Our Shadows tells the story of three generations of family living in Kalgoorlie and tackles the shadows of the past.
Jock Serong: The Burning Island
Jock’s On the Java Ridge won the 2018 Colin Roderick Literary Award, and The Burning Island is another dramatic novel invoking the power of the sea. He was also shortlisted in 2017 for The Rules of Backyard Cricket.
Helen Garner: One Day I’ll Remember This: Diaries 1987-1995
One of Australia’s most celebrated writers, this is the Helen’s second volume of diaries that reveals the inner life of a woman in love and a great writer at work.
Trent Dalton: All Our Shimmering Skies
Trent’s debut novel Boy Swallows Universe was shortlisted for the 2020 Colin Roderick Literary Award, and his follow up All Our Shimmering Skies has been one of the most talked-about books of this year.
Maxine Beneba Clarke: When We Say Black Lives Matter
When We Say Black Lives Matter is a picture book – but that doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy it too! Maxine’s poetry collection Carrying the World was shortlisted for the Colin Roderick Award in 2017.
John Kinsella: Displaced: A Rural Life
A memoir of John’s childhood, Displaced: A Rural Life investigates what it means to belong and unbelong. John was shortlisted for the Colin Roderick Award in 2016 for Crow’s Breath.
In Friends and Rivals, Brenda navigates the intersecting lives of four prominent Australian writers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Brenda’s biography of Daniel Mannix, former Archbishop of Melbourne, was shortlisted for the 2016 Colin Roderick Award.
Set on the Tasmanian coast, The Survivors is a murder mystery that engulfs a small fishing community. Jane’s The Lost Man was longlisted for the 2019 Colin Roderick Award and was popular among book club readers.
Sofie Laguna: Infinite Splendours
A book about love and compassion, Infinite Splendours explores finding meaning and making sense of suffering. Sofie’s The Choke was longlisted for the 2018 Colin Roderick Award.
| Date | Time | Book | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 26th February 2021 | 7.00pm | The Yield, Tara June Winch An ambitious book, the foundations of which include a dictionary of the recovering Wiradjuri language; a memoir; a missionary’s journal and letters; family history and family reminiscence. Brought together, these tell a story that seeks to make sense of disruption and violence. | Townsville Yacht Club (1 Plume St, South Townsville) |
| Friday 26th March 2021 | 7.00pm | All Our Shimmering Skies, Trent Dalton | Townsville Yacht Club (1 Plume St, South Townsville) |
| Friday 30th April 2021 | 7.00pm | A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing, Jessie Tu | Townsville Yacht Club (1 Plume St, South Townsville) |
| Friday 28th May | 7.00pm | The Survivors, Jane Harper | Townsville Yacht Club (1 Plume St, South Townsville) |
| Friday 25th June | 7.00pm | Foreign Soil, Maxine Beneba Clarke | Townsville Yacht Club (1 Plume St, South Townsville) |
Joining the FALS Book Club is easy. A FALS Book Club Membership costs just $22 per year.
As a member you'll get to participate in all our book club events as well as other FALS events like the annual lecture. You'll get to hear from authors, meet new friends, and go to bed at night knowing that you are the cultural lifeblood this country needs!
If you would like more information about the FALS Book Club please email fals@jcu.edu.au