Friday, February 21, 2014

An Update on Awards


http://www.blackincbooks.com/books/night-games

Anna Krien's incredible second book Night Games: Sex, Power & Sport has been longlisted for the 2014 Stella Prize.

Here's what the judges had to say:
Following in the footsteps of Truman Capote, Janet Malcolm and, closer to home, Helen Garner, Anna Krien explores the facts, the claims and the ramifications surrounding a court case in which a Melbourne footballer was tried for the rape of a young woman. Anna Krien follows the arguments and assumptions that are made as the trial unfolds, her discussion spreading out in circles of argument and questioning to examine the wider contexts of this story. Krien’s interrogation of her own relationship to the events she is recording, and the validity of her role as reporter and commentator, is a part of this book’s achievement in opening up questions and judgements about the case rather than closing them down.

The book does not merely examine the trial and the events leading up to it, but, more significantly, uses that particular story as a way of engaging with wider contemporary debates about rape and consent, as well as about the powerful sub-cultures of the big football codes, and the attitudes to women that predominate there. Krien deftly and lucidly explores the grey areas: between experience and memory, between consent and rape, between the law and justice. While Krien maintains no pretence of objectivity about these issues or the perceptions, emotions and vulnerabilities of everyone concerned, she manages to step back from the action at each point to examine every facet of the trial itself and its wider implications: for the media, for society, for sport and for women.
The 2014 Stella Prize shortlist will be announced at 12 noon AEDT on Thursday 20 March, and the 2014 Stella Prize will be awarded in Sydney on the evening of Tuesday 29 April.

Here's what other readers are saying about Night Games:

Friday, February 14, 2014

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day lovers and book-lovers! Black Inc. & Nero have some book recommendations for those in all states of relationship.

For those loved up couples in the ‘honeymoon state’

http://www.blackincbooks.com/books/love-poems

Love Poems by Dorothy Porter has to be the obvious choice for couples in the fresh stages of romance. Pack a picnic lunch and read aloud to each other some of Dorothy’s fresh and luscious verse: “Love has taken me by the throat and forced my heart upwards,” SWOON.


Valentine / Schmalentine

http://www.blackincbooks.com/books/happiness-show-0

So you think Valentine’s Day is cheesy/corporate/lame. We get the feeling Catherine Deveny does too. Spend a bit of time in her company this weekend with her debut novel The Happiness Show. It’s romance without the cheese.


Single and loving it.

http://www.blackincbooks.com/books/one-way-or-another

Who needs a relationship when you can have a new boyfriend every night! A new ROCKSTAR boyfriend! One Way or Another is Nikki McWatter’s eye-opening tale of her life as a teenage groupie in the 80s. INXS, Australian Crawl, Duran Duran. Big hair, big music and big life! 


Single and not loving it.

http://www.blackincbooks.com/books/swingland

After he couldn't get a date to save his life, Daniel Stern decided to take an alternative approach to love. Namely: swinging. Swingland is Daniel’s journey from lonely guy to sexual veteran through the strange, strange swinging community. It could be just the guide you need...



What’s your favourite Valentine’s Day read? Leave your answer in the comments to win a free copy of one of these four books!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Best Australian Writing 2014

Black Inc. is pleased to announce the editors of this year's Best Australian Stories, Essays and Poems anthologies. Amanda Lohrey will edit The Best Australian Stories 2014, Robert Manne will edit The Best Australian Essays 2014, and Geoff Page will edit The Best Australian Poems 2014.

Submissions are now open and guidelines can be found at http://bestaustralianwriting.com.au/submissions 

The editors selections will be announced in October 2014.

Friday, February 7, 2014

20 x 3: Eliminating your belly fat in an hour a week


http://www.blackincbooks.com/books/20-x-3

Think slogging it out at the gym five days a week will help you shed unwanted tummy fat? Think again. A 12-year study conducted by Dr Steve Boutcher at the University of New South Wales has proven that just 1 hour of interval sprinting a week achieves better results than five hours of intense aerobic exercise a week.

The trick is to exercise smarter not harder, and with 20 x 3, it’s all about the technique. The 20 x 3 plan for optimum fat burning involves repeated sprinting at near all-out intensity for 8 seconds followed by low intensity exercising for 12 seconds, for a period of 20 minutes. You can sprint using a skipping rope, a rowing machine, or even boxing, but the best place to start for beginners is the humble exercise bike. It’s easy to keep time and you can adjust the resistance of the bike to suit your fitness level.