These Wild Houses by Omar Sakr

$20.00 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

I won’t keep you long. First, I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, on whose land the majority of this collection was written. Now you are about to read the poetry of an Arab Australian, which is a rare thing when it shouldn’t be. Now you are about to read the work of a queer Arab Austra lian, which is a rare thing when it shouldn’t be. Now you are about to read the life of a queer Muslim Arab Australian from Western Sydney, from a broke and broken family – not rare, but it should be. This is not a definitive statement on Islam. This is not a definitive statement on Arab identity, not Arab Australian identity, not bisexuality, not even Western Sydney. It is a statement – an exploration of me and what I’ve seen. The only thing I ask of you is that you do not stop with me. Discover the other diverse writers and poets in this country – find us, find our books. We’re here, and we’re growing. –Omar Sakr ...Show more

The Book Collectors of Daraya by Delphine Minoui

$34.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

'There is no jail that can imprison the free word, nor is there a siege tight enough that can prevent the spread of information.' MAZEN DARWISH, Syrian human rights activist, in a speech given on April 23, 2016, following his release from jail in 2015. In 2012 the rebel suburb of Daraya in Damascus was brutally besieged by Syrian government forces. Four years of suffering ensued, punctuated by shelling, barrel bombs and chemical gas attacks. People's homes were destroyed and their food supplies cut off; disease was rife. Yet in this man-made hell, forty young Syrian revolutionaries embarked on an extraordinary project, rescuing all the books they could find in the bombed-out ruins of their home town. They used them to create a secret library, in a safe place, deep underground. It became their school, their university, their refuge. It was a place to learn, to exchange ideas, to dream and to hope. Based on lengthy interviews with these young men, conducted over Skype by the award-winning French journalist, Delphine Minoui, The Book Collectors is a powerful testament to freedom, tolerance and the power of literature. 'This is an urgent and compelling account of great bravery and passion. Delphine Minoui has crafted a book that champions books and the individuals who risk everything to preserve them.' Susan Orlean, author of The Library Book ...Show more

Tree Beings by Raymond Huber; Foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall

$34.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

We depend on trees for our survival, yet few of us understand just how fascinating these beings really are. With a foreword by the world-renowned anthropologist Jane Goodall, Tree Beings is an adventure through the secret world of trees. Challenging the perception that trees are just ‘silent statues’, i t focuses on four big ideas: Trees give life to the planet. Trees can help save us from climate change. Trees are like beings. Trees need our help and protection. Along the way, you'll meet some of the scientists and explorers who helped uncover the mysteries of the world's oldest living things. You’ll encounter the eccentric British professor who travelled the world for seventy years telling people how trees can save us, and you’ll learn about the 9-year-old-boy who has a plan to plant a trillion trees to save the planet! You’ll also learn the science behind trees, including discoveries about how they ‘talk’ and why they are our best allies in the fight to slow down climate change. Explore tree wisdom from many different cultures and some famous and fascinating tree species, brought to life in a vibrant combination of illustrations and text. Trees are essential to our world. Tree Beings is your guide to appreciating trees through the stories of people who love them. So strap on your hiking boots, and enjoy this informative adventure through the wonderful world of Tree Beings! ...Show more

Searching for Charlotte: The Fascinating Story of Australia's First Children's Author (Charlotte Waring Atkinson) by Kate Forsyth; Belinda Murrell

$34.95 AUD

Category: Teaching Tools & Resources

In Searching for Charlotte, Forsyth and Murrell tell Charlotte's story along with that of their own journey to discover her. In an intriguing account, the sisters join the reader in reacting to Charlotte's actions: wondering what could have motivated certain choices; admiring the strength of spirit that pushed Charlotte through turmoil in the Australian colonies; and reviling attitudes that were common to the mid-1800s but are abhorrent in the twentieth century.The extraordinary, long-buried life story of Australia's earliest published children's author, Searching for Charlotte combines elements of biography, recreation of history and rediscovery of family history. It is a sometimes confronting but ultimately heartwarming journey into the story of a family with writing in its blood. For almost 140 years, the author of Australia's first book for children was a mystery. Known only by the descriptor 'a Lady Long Resident in New South Wales', she was the subject of much speculation. It was not until 1980, after a decade of sleuthing, that legendary bibliographer Marcie Muir gave her a name: Charlotte Waring Atkinson. And not only a name, but an extensive creative family history, connecting her to two of the nation's celebrated contemporary children's writers, Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell. To Forsyth and Murrell, Atkinson (also known as Barton) is great-great-great-great grandmother and the subject of the stories they grew up on—part of a thread of creative women that runs through the history of their family. Hers is one of the great lost stories of Australian history: a tale of love, grief, violence and triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. After spending half her life educating the children of the well-to-do in England, in 1826, at 30 years of age, Charlotte Waring accepted a job on the other side of the world. She was to teach the children of Maria Macarthur, daughter of former New South Wales governor Philip Gidley King. But on the voyage, love diverted her to a different future: marriage to the eligible James Atkinson meant she spent just seven short months with her charges. What followed were years of hardship in the New South Wales bush, including the death of Atkinson and her subsequent marriage to an abusive drunk, a brutal attack by bushrangers, penury and the threat of having her children taken away. In Searching for Charlotte, Forsyth and Murrell tell Charlotte's story along with that of their own journey to discover her. In an intriguing account, the sisters join the reader in reacting to Charlotte's actions: wondering what could have motivated certain choices; admiring the strength of spirit that pushed Charlotte through turmoil in the Australian colonies; and reviling attitudes that were common to the mid-1800s but are abhorrent in the twentieth century. The extraordinary, long-buried life story of Australia's earliest published children's author, Searching for Charlotte combines elements of biography, recreation of history and rediscovery of family history. It is a sometimes confronting but ultimately heartwarming journey into the story of a family with writing in its blood. ...Show more

The Relationship Is the Project: Working with Communities by Edited by Jade Lillie with Kate Larsen, Cara Kirkwood, Jax Jacki Brown

$29.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

A new ‘right now’ resource to help artists, cultural workers and organisations better engage with community-based projects There is increasing demand on artists, institutions and organisations to work well in community-engaged contexts, but few resources or training opportunities are currently available to develop the sector's capacity in this area. The breadth of the advice shared in this non-academic, practitioner-led book includes insights into the ethics and logistics of working in community contexts – from collaboration and leadership to platforming and duty of care. Contributors include Genevieve Grieves about working in First Nations contexts; Caroline Bowditch on access and disability; Dianne Jones, Odette Kelada and Lilly Brown on racial literacy; Ruth De Souza and Robyn Higgins on cultural safety in the arts; as well as Esther Anatolitis, Adolfo Aranjuez, Paschal Berry, Lenine Bourke, Tania Cañas, Rosie Dennis, Alia Gabres, Eleanor Jackson, Samuel Kanaan-Oringo, Fotis Kapetopoulos, Kate Larsen, Lia Pa’apa’a, Anna Reece, Daniel Santangeli, and Jade Lillie herself. ...Show more

The Little Green Grammar Book by Mark Tredinnick

$29.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

What really goes on inside a sentence? What is your subject, where is your verb, what is its tense, where is your modifier, and why does it matter? Where do you need a comma, and where do you not? Why are dashes and semicolons so misunderstood? When is it which and when is it that? In The Little Green G rammar Book, Mark Tredinnick asks and answers the tough grammar questions, big and small, with the same verve and authority readers encountered in The Little Red Writing Book. The Little Green Grammar Book does for grammar what The Little Red Writing Book did for style. It will have you writing like a writer in no time. ...Show more

The Little Red Writing Book by Mark Tredinnick

$29.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

"The Little Red Writing Book" is a book on technique, style, craft and manners for everyone who writes and wants to do it better. It is a manual of good diction, composition, sentence craft, paragraph design, structure and planning. Enriched by examples of fine prose from great writers including Tim Win ton; flush with exercises informed by the author's expertise in both creative writing and functional prose; and written with flair, "The Little Red Writing Book" is a lively and readable guide to lively and readable writing. ...Show more

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

$27.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

'Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and penc ils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."' Here, for the first time, is a local edition of the bible of writing guides -- a wry, honest, down-to-earth book that has never stopped selling since it was first published in the United States in the 1990s. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott, a bestelling novelist and memoirist, distils what she's learned over years of trial and error. Beautifully written, wise, and immensely helpful, this is the book for serious writers and writers-to-be. ...Show more

Love Marriage in Kabul: a Memoir by Sanaz Fotouhi

$24.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty

$32.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, distills the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. Shetty writes, "I grew up in a family where you could become one of three things: a doc tor, a lawyer, or a failure. My family was convinced I had chosen option three. Instead of attending my college graduation ceremony, I headed to India to become a monk, to meditate every day for 4-8 hours and devote my life to helping others." After three years, one of his teachers told him that he would have more impact on the world if he left the monk's path to share his experience and wisdom with others. Heavily in debt, and with no recognizable skills on his resume, he moved back home to north London with his parents. Shetty reconnected with old school friends--many working for some of the world's largest corporations--who were experiencing tremendous stress, pressure, and unhappiness, and they invited Shetty to coach them on wellbeing, purpose, and mindfulness. Since then, Shetty has become one of the world's most popular influencers. In 2017, he was named in the Forbes magazine 30-under-30 for being a game-changer in the world of media. In 2018, he had the #1 video on Facebook with over 360 million views. His social media following totals over 32 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos which have amassed more than 5 billion views, and his podcast, On Purpose, is consistently ranked the world's #1 Health and Wellness podcast. In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk in the Vedic tradition to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Drawing on ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits to access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. The lessons monks learn are profound but often abstract. Shetty transforms them into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, sharpen focus, improve relationships, identify our hidden abilities, increase self-discipline, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can--and should--think like a monk. ...Show more

The World Is Not Big Enough - A Personal Journey to Understand One Refugee's Life by Vanessa Russell

$29.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

The World Is Not Big Enough is the story of one woman's journey to understand the human cost of a broken system. At once an investigation into the murder of a refugee and an exploration of Australians' collective guilt, The World Is Not Big Enough explores the ways we are all hurt by Australia's migrat ion policies and their history.   In 2013, on a whim Vanessa Russell googled Ahmad Shah Abed, an Afghan asylum seeker she had exchanged letters with a decade earlier, to find he had been murdered in 2009. The news came as a shock. Ahmad Shah had been living in detention in Port Hedland when Vanessa had first started writing to him as a student hoping to do some good. Their relationship had been brief but impactful. After all these years, Vanessa couldn't shake the feeling that she had failed him. With the news of Ahmad Shah's murder, Vanessa realised she needed to find answers.  The World Is Not Big Enough tracks Vanessa's journey as she tries determinedly to unravel what happened to Ahmad Shah and why. Deeply felt and superbly written, the book travels with Vanessa to Port Hedland, Christmas Island and Perth as she interviews Ahmad Shah's friends, fellow refugees, refugee advocates, support workers, people who worked in detention centres, and spends a year talking with the murderer himself. What she uncovers is the multilayered and often untold story of detention in Australian and its very human consequences.   ...Show more

How to Be an Author: The Business of Being a Writer in Australia by Georgia Richter; Deborah Hunn

$34.99 AUD

Category: Non-fiction

Georgia Richter and Deborah Hunn look at the business of becoming an author. In a friendly, informative and practical way they share all you need to know about inspiration and research, preparing to submit to a publisher, creating an author brand, legal, ethical and moral considerations, pitching and ef fective social media and much more. ...Show more