ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE

PA/04/2007                                                                                  31 January 2007

A flavour of Australia: Australian books and writers in Kolkata 

The Australian High Commission, New Delhi presents “Australian Books and Writers”, a 10-day display of books and presentations by authors at the National Library of India, Alipore, Kolkata, from Friday, 2 February 2007 to 11 February 2007.

“The authors in Kolkata, including the writer of Schindler’s Ark, Tom Keneally (later filmed as Schindler’s List), who were originally scheduled to participate in the Kolkata Book Fair, offers a good opportunity for the book- loving people of this city to get a flavour of Australian writing and literature”, said Mr John McCarthy, Australian High Commissioner to India.

"We hope that the presence of major Australian authors will resonate well with the people of Kolkata. It will also be a great opportunity for the authors to experience the literary traditions of India, and Bengal in particular, and will strengthen the shared English language and literature connections that exist between Australia and India,” said Mr McCarthy. “We hope that our presentation in the next few days at the National Library will be welcomed and that the audience will enjoy the range and depth of Australian literature on offer,” added the High Commissioner.

The program will feature components of the rich Australian literary traditions, which would have been featured in the Kolkata Book Fair. The literature program is being brought under the auspices of AusArts India: film, arts, literature, a two- year cultural promotion program presented by the Australian government in India.

The authors represented in Kolkata include:

Tom Keneally is perhaps best known for his Booker prize-winning novel, Schindler’s Ark, the basis for the film Schindler’s List. A two time winner of Australia’s prestigious Miles Franklin Award, and thrice shortlisted for the Man Booker, Keneally has also written screenplays, memoirs and non-fiction. In 1983 he received an Order of Australia for his services to literature. While many of his recent books deal with Australian history and society, Keneally has also tackled topics such as the American Civil War and famine in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

John Zubrzycki is an award-winning journalist who has travelled and worked in India over the past 30 years. He is currently a senior writer for The Australian and lives in Sydney. The Last Nizam is the story of an extraordinary dynasty, the Nizams of Hyderabad, which tells how the last Nizam gave up a kingdom for the rugged expanse of outback Australia. With vivid detail and anecdote, the book charts the rise of the dynasty to fabulous wealth and prominence under the Mughul emperors of India, providing a rich and vibrant portrayal of a realm soaked in blood and intrigue.

Margo Lanagan is an editor and highly acclaimed writer of novels, short stories and poetry. Based in Sydney, she has won many Australian and international prizes, including an Aurealis Award, a World Fantasy Award, an International Horror Guild Award and the prestigious Michael L Printz Award. Black Juice is a collection of ten outstanding stories that intrigue, shock, delight and move the reader to tears with their complexity, unpredictability, subtlety and humanity.

Bruce Bennett is Professor of English at the University of New South Wales. A Fellow and Council member of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, a Board member of the Australia-India Council and chief investigator of AustLit, his books include Spirit in Exile, Australian Short Fiction: A History and Homing In.

Bem Le Hunte was born in India to an Indian mother and English father, grew up in England and, after emigrating to Australia, is now an Australian by choice. An anthropologist turned advertising copywriter, Bem has also worked in the music industry and for Indian television before turning her hand to fiction, producing two breathtaking novels set in India, The Seduction of Silence and There Where The Pepper Grows.

Luke Beesley writes poetry, short fiction and arts critique and has been published widely in Australia's major newspapers and literary journals. His first book of poetry and short prose Lemon Shark was published in early 2006. Presently, he is a critic for The Courier Mail and the Australian Book Review, completing a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing at the University of Queensland, and is the fiction editor of LiNQ.

Graham Reilly emigrated from Glasgow to Melbourne with his family when he was 13. He has worked as a cook, carpet shampooer and meatworker, but for the last 20 years has been a journalist mostly for The Age. His first novel, Saigon Tea, is based in Vietnam where he lived for several years. His other books are Sweet Time, an affectionate look at Melbourne’s western suburbs and a return to Saigon with Five Oranges.

Kirsty Murray writes for young people with an emphasis on historical fiction. Whether the book is a contemporary novel, time travel, or historical fiction, each one of her stories is set in the real world and connects to real people, events and places. While Kirsty lives in Melbourne, she spends a great deal of her time travelling and talking with children all over the world.

AusArts India: film, arts, literature is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia International Cultural Council an initiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in partnership with Australian Film Commission and the Australia-India Council.

For further information, please contact Mr Shekhar Nambiar, Senior Public Affairs Adviser, Australian High Commission, on 098101 54167.