About the Book
What was happening behind the Tampa headlines? How do you force a big company to take responsibility for damaging the health of its workers? What do you do when you suspect a famous author is a fake? How does it feel to be on the receiving end of police crowd control? Or on a hillside, spellbound and fearful, watching the light being sucked from the sky during an eclipse? Top writers and journalists who have written about events and issues big and small talk frankly about how they approach the task in this highly readable new collection. The Writer's Reader combines selected non-fiction articles with interviews with authors reflecting on the process of writing. Academic writing can be dry and dull, but this refreshingly accessible anthology values straight talking about writing and makes the point that if you want to write, then you had better get reading.
Table of Contents:
Preface; Part I. News and Follow-Ups. 1. Telling stories: turning news into features Susie Eisenhuth; 2. Michael Southwell 'Toxic Fallout near Alcoa', West Australian, 22 September, 2001, 'Cancer Secret', West Australian, 29 November, 2001, 'Alcoa Told of Health Issues', West Australian, 24 May 2002; 3. Robert Fisk, 'Is This Some Kind of Crusade?' Independent On Sunday,18 May, 1997, Interview with Robert Fisk; 4. David Marr and Marian Wilkinson, 'They Shall Not Land', Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 2001, Interview with David Marr; 5. News and follow-up review: Discussion question and further reading; Part II.: New Journalism and its Legacy: 6. Introduction Susie Eisenhuth; 7. Joan Didion, 'Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream' from Slouching Towards Bethlehem, 1966; 8. Barry Siegel, 'A Father's Pain, A Judge's Duty', Los Angeles Times, 30 December, 2001, Interview with Barry Siegel; 9. New Journalism and its Legacy Review: Discussion question and further reading; Part III.: Profiles:10. Introduction Susie Eisenhuth;11 Greg Bearup, 'The Beak Wore Beads', Sydney Morning Herald, 4 May 2002, Interview with Greg Bearup;12. Tony Squires, 'Good Sport', Sydney Morning Herald, 4 May, 2002;13. Profiles review: Discussion question and further reading; Part IV.: Investigations. 14. Introduction Susie Eisenhuth; 15. Jessica Mitford, 'Let us now appraise famous writers', 1957;16. Malcolm Knox, 'Her life as a fake: Bestseller's lies exposed' Sydney Morning Herald, 24 July, 2004. Interview with Malcolm Knox; 17. Investigations review: Discussion questions and further reading; Part V. Essays: 18. Introduction: Turning personal stories into reflective writing - Willa McDonald; 19. John Birmingham, 'S11', 2000. Interview - John Birmingham; 20. Arundhati Roy, War Talk: Summer Games with Nuclear Bombs, 2003; 21. David Sedaris, 'Today's Special', 2001; 22. Essays review: Discussion questions & further reading; Part VI. Memoir: 22. Introduction - Examining the writer's own life - Willa McDonald; 23. Kathy Evans, 'Tuesday's Child', 2003; 24. Helen Garner, 'The Violet Jacket', 1993, Interview - Helen Garner; 25. Mark Mordue, 'Pissing in the Wind', 2004; 26. Memoir review: Discussion questions and further reading; Part VII. Writing about Place; 27. Introduction - Placing readers in the world - Willa McDonald; 28. Ashley Hay, 'Ultramarine', 2003. Interview - Ashley Hay; 29. Annie Dillard, 'Total Eclipse', 1982; 30. Writing about place review: Discussion questions and further reading; Part Eight: Travel Writing. 31. Introduction - Taking to the road to learn about ourselves - Willa McDonald; 32. Pico Iyer, 'The Khareef', 2004, Interview - Pico Iyer; 33. Travel writing review: Discussion questions and further reading; Endnotes; Sources.
About the Author :
Susie Eisenhuth is a lecturer in Journalism at the University of Technology, Sydney. Willa McDonald is a Lecturer in Media and Writing at Macquarie University.
