The Conversation

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David Malouf. Image: Conrad del Villar.
Features

Vale David Malouf, a writer of wisdom, grace and generosity

David Malouf will be a remembered as a writer of wisdom, grace and generosity, and for the richness of his…

Image: Aaron Burden on Unsplash.
Analysis

Dennis Altman: UQP has cancelled a children’s book illustrated by Matt Chun, citing antisemitism

'As a writer, I do not believe we counter racism, antisemitism, homophobia or transphobia by boycotts and cancellations.'

Installation view, New Asian Art, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2025.
Features

Why you should explore New Asian Art at the National Gallery of Australia

New Asian Art at the National Gallery of Australia fuses past and present, myth and technology and local and global…

Image: Brett Jordan on Unsplash.
Features

Hey Orwell: thousands of AI‑written, edited or ‘polished’ books are being sold

Orwell imagined 'novel-writing machines' capable of mass-producing literature – and here we are, in 2026 ...

Moulin Rouge! Image: 20th Century Fox.
Features

Moulin Rouge! at 25: how Baz Luhrmann reinvented the movie musical

Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! may be more akin to opera than musical films of the past.

Image: Christin Hume on Unsplash.
Features

The Queensland government interferes with the state’s literary awards – again

The Queensland government has announced the state’s literary awards will move from their current home at the State Library of…

Cover detail from Gisèle Pelicot's memoir A Hymn to Life, published by Penguin Books Australia. Image: Penguin Books Australia.
Features

Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir is a remarkable tale of survival

In A Hymn to Life, Gisèle Pelicot explores the aftermath of learning about her husband’s heinous sexual crimes against her.

Image: Ulla Shinami on Unsplash.

Big Kiss, Bye-Bye: Claire-Louise Bennett breaks up with illusions

Big Kiss, Bye Bye dissects the mind of a young woman reckoning with the psychological upheaval of a romantic separation.

Image: Caleb Fraze on Unsplash.
Features

What do our reading choices say about us?

Red-flag books and authors, performative readers – what we read is under greater scrutiny than ever before.

Theia/Te Kaahu. Image supplied.
Features

5 New Zealand music acts keeping te reo Māori alive

A growing number of Aotearoa’s musical artists are using language to reshape national identity.

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