Australian Women Writers 2012 National Year of Reading Challenge
Keen on romance, fantasy, crime, YA, literary, mainstream women’s fiction? Contemporary or historical? Memoir, other nonfiction or poetry?
Whatever your preference, whether you’re a fan of one genre or a devoted eclectic, the 2012 Australian Women Writers Book Reading & Reviewing Challenge invites you to celebrate a year encountering the best of Australian women’s writing.
Objective: This challenge hopes to help counteract the gender bias in reviewing and social media newsfeeds that has continued throughout 2011 by actively promoting the reading and reviewing of a wide range of contemporary Australian women’s writing. (Recent discussions on gender bias.)
Readers should approach this challenge with a spirit of willingness. There are no failures, just personal goals. Reviews can be long or short, favourable or “this book is not for me”. Hopefully, along the way, we’ll all discover some future classics and perhaps a few surprises among genres we’re not familiar with. The main aim is to have fun.
Challenge period: 1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012
Goal: Read and review books written by Australian women writers – hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, new, borrowed or stumbled upon by book-crossing.
My thanks to Elizabeth Lhuede for initiating this challenge. She’s been championing Australian women’s fiction across the blogsphere over the last month and this is another wonderful opportunity to support those writers.
I’m accepting the challenge for 2012 as I know I won’t have to work very hard to achieve ‘Franklin Fantastic’ Status. Some of my favourite Australian women writers have books coming out in 2012 so I’m aiming to read 10 or more. They’ll cross most genres from romance to crime to contemporary women’s fiction to literary work.
Here’s a starting list in rough order of their releases!
Tara Moss, Rachael Johns, Lisa Heidke, Bronwyn Parry, Fleur McDonald, Fiona Palmer, Cathryn Hein, Jaye Ford, Katherine Howell, Kathryn Fox, Barbara Hannay, Mandy Magro and Karly Lane. And there will be more!
So, are you in??
Check out the details at : 2012 Australian Women Writers Book Reading & Reviewing Challenge
Glad I could help, Margaret:-)
Hi Helene, I’ve contacted Goodreads, and hope to get the books I’ve already published, onto their list. Thanks for your help.
Hi Margaret, I’ll contact you via email 🙂
Oops! I’m unclear whether the titles mentioned in ‘new releases ‘ are just yours!!
I’m currently writing a book of modern Short Stories set in Australia (where I was born, and live) and hope to get it published by the middle of this year. Any chance of your mentioning it on this page in your ‘new releases’ section?
I’m a Friend of the National Year of Reading 2012, along with my husband Ronald Sharp B.E.M. who edits my work.
As an Australian female who has published five books since early 2011 and has had little feedback, I thoroughly welcome the potential for comments on the works of any Australian women writers.
Thanks for that link, Brenda. Hope you enjoy the authors on my list. I’m looking forward to Jaye’s new book in March. It’s going to be a very busy first half of the year with new releases 🙂
Here’s the link to the Goodreads group http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/59176.Australian_Women_Writers_Challenge
Fabulous list of authors Helene, thanks. I’ll be checking them out. And I’m excited to see Jaye Ford has a new one out next year? Can’t wait for that one 🙂
Happy to help, Elizabeth. I’ve always believed women have more power than we realise by virtue of the fact we are the doers in many families as well as the purchasers.
There are several crime fictions on my list so I’ll most certainly review those. And no doubt through the year I’ll find a memoir or two to read.
I’ll go and check out your post in the Aussie Reader Group. I”m a sporadic visitor to Goodreads …
Thanks for dropping by the blog 🙂
Hi Helene
Thank you so much for your support. Although I knew you signed up, I only found your post here by stumbling on Outback Romances’ tweet. (If any other authors join the challenge and are on Twitter or Google+ please ping me and I’ll retweet your links.)
Helene, if one on your reading/reviewing choices is outside the romance or romantic suspense genre, please contact me about getting a “guest author reviewer badge” to put on your website. I’m inviting authors to write one review (substantial, if possible, not just a brief rating), on a book by an Australian writer of any genre – literary, poetry, biography, memoir, nonfiction, etc. These reviews will be shared on the AWW blog throughout the year. Hopefully, it will be great exposure for you as reviewer as well as the author you review.
Thanks again for the support. Did you see my post in the Aussie Readers group in Good Reads?
Elizabeth Australian Women Writeers 2012 Challenge
@ElizabethLhuede
@auswomenwriters
Hi Christine, somehow I’m managed to miss out on reading Belinda’s work. Not sure why, although perhaps the covers have never quite grabbed me. Terribly shallow of me, but I tend to buy books in airports so if something catches my eye I’ll pick it up, read the back cover and the front page and go from there.
I’ll make sure to track her books down now. Thanks for the recommendation 🙂
Thanks for joining in, Sarah. Many of the authors won’t be available in the UK unfortunately but maybe your local library would order a couple in for you. Either way, happy reading!
Yep, Liane is terrific,and Belinda Alexandra, too!
I’m joining the challenge too – although only at Miles level given that I’m in the UK and some of these authors I just can’t buy here.
Amanda, I’ve only just discovered Liane Moriaty (via Dianne Blacklock). I have no idea why I hadn’t picked up her books before!
I’m enjoying ‘Lola’s Secret’ when I should be studying, Rachael:)
Fabulous – I will also spread the word… I LOVE Liane Moriarty… have all her books! And what fabulous women we have all round!
Oh dear… I have Dianne’s book too. Have just finished another Liane – love her – and finished Monica’s too- brilliant!
Thanks Fiona and Mandy. I’ve just bought Monica McInerney’s book Lola’s Secret and realised I’d left her off my list along with Dianne Blacklock, Liane Moriarty and Sandy Curtis. I had never put much thought into how many Aussie authors grace my shelves!!
Thanks, Paula. You have a stack more authors I haven’t read on your blog so my TBR pile grew some more too! That’s the beauty of challenges like this.
Fantastic idea Helene! I will make sure I spread the word 🙂
cool, great idea 🙂
I’m in!! The majority of my reads (particularly the past twelve months) have been female Aussie writers. Thanks for the list – there a couple of authors on there that I NEED to check out 🙂
Off to get the widget for my blog now!
Thanks, Jenn and I love forward to adding a J.J. Mcleod to my list soon 🙂
Wow! great list of authors there, Helene. I’ll be adding one more – a Helene Young!!!!!
2011 is fine Rachael, I just have to read it in 2012 and the way my schedule is that’s when I’ll be enjoying One Perfect Night 🙂
Make sure you register on the website. I haven’t added the widget to my site yet – too much to do – but there’s a link available which is easy to use!!
Actually, realised the first one is 2011 (whoops).
I’m in!!! And I’ll steal this for my blog too if you don’t mind 🙂
And I might just have TWO books coming out in 2012 🙂