here is the full survey results from CYDA about the proposed Thriving Kids. CN suicide, distress cyda.org.au/thriving-kids/

I am very pleased to hear this. I will be writing and encouraging others to as well.

"All arts and cultural value reporting has its limitations. But it’s time to properly recognise forms of value beyond price. What’s more, assessments of broader cultural value need to be routinely accessible and visible, to a broad range of stakeholders."

Albanese on emission targets of 62 - 70% by 2035: "We think we have a sweet spot." The sweet spot:

Would be really funny if Kimmel and Colbert et al. decided to broadcast their shows from outside the USA like some kind of pirate network accessible with VPN - I could see it taking off, tbh

Must read piece here from @nickfeik.bsky.social www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/16/m...

CMAT - euro-country

What exactly happened to Meanjin? And why in this manner? Some excellent observations (and questions) from @catrionamp.bsky.social over on @crikey.com.au: www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/08/m...

I have $5 that says Thomas Sewell, the Neo Nazi will escape jail time again. There are Indigenous kids in jail in Australia for stealing biscuits but a violent Neo Nazi who has had multiple assault charges against him still walks the streets.

A thread on the impact of seemingly nonsense, tabloid media narratives. Many of you will have seen the 2018 Ch9 A Current Affair footage painting Dezi Freeman and his family as supposedly peaceful normal folk having to deal with neighbours from hell. Typical ACA fodder. 1/6

Everything the pro-Israel media think the pro-Palestine movement is (racist, extremist, building up violent hate) is actually happening with the anti-migrant “March for Australia” but with a fraction of the outrage.

Disabled kids, excluded by design. Me in 2023. Everything old is new again www.bluntshovels.au/disabled-kid...

no disabled peoples' representatives at the roundtable last week, just those that make money from our commodification. nothing about us, without us www.croakey.org/detailing-th...

Minister Butler is giving a major speech about the NDIS tomorrow at the NPC. Hmm, I wonder how many disability representatives have been able to get a seat? How many disabled people? Hint - very very few we are on the goddamn menu npc.org.au/events/the-h...

Solidarity with Randa Abdel-Fattah I will not be silenced and neither will Randa while I have legs to stand Pro-Israel groups have attacked me for years. The Bendigo Writers Festival is a turning point. www.deepcutnews.com/p/pro-israel...

Just don't ask what's up with University of Melbourne's relationship to the fossil fuel industry, though.

The demise of men reading books has, once again, been greatly exaggerated - I've taken a deep dive into the surprisingly chaotic world of reading statistics in Australia. And got some exclusive (?) figures from the HILDA survey! www.theguardian.com/news/2025/au...

It was obvious we would discover the real push behind this fiasco, kudos to @deepcutnews.bsky.social for bringing it to our attention in today’s newsletter. Shameful.

people need to understand that when they leave disabled folks behind, they are leaving their future selves behind too disability happens to most of us eventually if we live long enough

I want you to understand something incredible about the boycott of Bendigo Writers Festival. There was no planning, organizing or coordination between writers. It was almost entirely spontaneous but for a bit of word of mouth. 50 or writers all responded in the same way in less than 48 hours.

As good a summary of what’s going on in modern school libraries as you will find - and a very good primer on why well resourced and well staffed libraries are essential

“A whopping 88% of podcast appearances made by politicians were with white hosts only” Important analysis by @crystaljane.bsky.social of ‘new media’ in the Aus election and how it replicates some of the worst features of legacy media.

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Bendigo Writers Festival, with more than a third of the lineup pulling out over concerns the event is restricting criticism of Israel www.deepcutnews.com/p/anti-censo...

Clare Wright Randa Abdel-Fattah Evelyn Araluen Jeanine Leane Paul Daley Claire G Coleman Kate Mildenhall Jess Hill Sonia Orchard Thomas Mayo Daniel James Fiona Stanley Kirstin Ferguson Michelle Scott Tucker Kylie Mirmohamadi Jock Serong Melanie Cheng Kate Larsen Cher Tan Madison Griffith 1/2

If you are at Bendigo Writers Festival and can't see me there because I pulled out due to censorship concerns AND you want to buy my books, please visit Bookish in Bendigo. Bookshops are good people.

Time to order a few books from the writers who withdrew from appearing at the festival, comrades.

Bookish in Bendigo have pulled out as Bendigo Writers Festival's bookseller - this principled move comes at great cost to them as an independent store. If you've been thinking of purchasing a book (esp. one by someone who's also pulled labour from BWF), consider going to them! +61 3 5406 0596

This list of authors from @deepcutnews.bsky.social newsletter deserve a standing ovation. The action they have taken withdrawing from Bendigo Writers Festival will have impacts across the whole sector. Boards and staff of festivals will need to consider the reputational risk of silencing artists.

I want to make something clear. I have spoken at DOZENS of writers festivals over the last 8 years, so many I couldn't begin to count them. Wednesday was the first time I have ever been sent a "Code of Conduct" When BWF and LTU tell you Codes of Conduct are common for writers fests they are lying

One of the constant themes of current arts politics is administrators & managers *immediately* bowing to right-wing pressure and artists resisting — if only by excluding themselves from events & publications. So the most precariously-employed, low-paid workers are the ones who pay for their morals.

Some wonderful people are raising mutual aid for Gazan families they are in touch with. Conquer the capitalist in your head and rather than thinking, "I don't have $30 to spare", maybe you have $2 or $4 or $10? Maybe 20 or 100 of you have that much? Account name KM, BSB 313140, Account 12281536.

The Bendigenocide Festival. It seems Australian arts and cultural institutions haven’t had their fill yet of humiliating themselves, trashing their reputation, and harming their relationships with staff, authors, and audiences all to satisfy Zionists who are mass murdering kids every day.

The closing event at Bendigo Writers Festival is going to be "interesting" when you consider that at least 3 of the 4 writers set to talk at that session (Myself, Clare Wright and Jeanine Leane) have pulled out of the festival over censorship concerns. The session is still on their program.

Israel has killed 180 Palestinian journalists since Oct 2023. There are 120 of us in this video remembering our slain Palestinian colleagues - it's staggering to see so many faces and realise more than this number have been killed. #StopKillingJournalists #SanctionIsraelNow meaa.io/45A4vZ5

Bookings close soon. Fiction writers, don't miss out!

What if I told you that in this age of AI slop and enshittification, there's nothing more important than your weirdness, your individual quirks, your human creativity and whatever your niche, people are willing to join you there, and that writing into weirdness & vulnerability is the answer? 🖤

I hate this stage of winter where it feels like things will never dry up enough for me to take this little beauty out on the road again. Here is she is parked beachside at Wye River, where there is an excellent cafe who let us set up over long weekends.

You can't access this website (Stop Woodside Monash) using Monash University Wifi at the moment. It's blocked for some reason. But everyone else can still access it! Check it out. www.stopwoodsidemonash.org

Rowling is so incredibly transphobic she is now an absolute danger to all women. "JK Rowling says to photograph women in toilets just in case they’re transgender" www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/06/jk-r...

Hoping northland moves thru its Saturn returns soon

I doubt the ABC is fulfilling even 25% of its charter these days: no doco, education, natural history, or proper archives units, few/no opportunities for original comedy shows, especially written or hosted by women, a disapparated arts coverage, no science on TV, no international service ...

Magabala Books is seeking a Project Manager to join their small, dynamic team for a very special project. This role offers an exciting opportunity to support and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers, writers, and illustrators across Australia. magabala.com.au/blogs/news/w...

Minister for Compromising the Environment Murray Watt

Interesting details on the fight to end fossil fuel sponsorship at Monash. After Woodside's oil spills, gas expansion, damaging cultural sites...it's wild that the university is still prepared to basically run PR for this company.

lmao love to find out via the "other" folder that I'm on sale (for real though if you want to enjoy me pronouncing "Leeloominaï Lekatariba-Lamina-Tchaï, Ekbat de Sebat" after thinking it would be funny to use her whole name for a throwaway reference to THE FIFTH ELEMENT, I guess now's your chance)

Wowee, the outgoing director of Festivals Adelaide has some pretty strong words about the sector. www.indailysa.com.au/news/busines...

Only TWO WEEKS to go till submissions close for the Bundyi Writing Prize! We are on the lookout for creative, compelling and original works of adult fiction that celebrate First Nations voices. $10k prize + 12 months mentoring with a First Nations editor www.simonandschuster.com.au/p/BundyiAUPr...

LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - VIC-BASED WRITERS 📚 Apply for the paid opportunity to connect with writers from Slemani in a virtual writers' room with a focus on work on writing characters! cityofliterature.com.au/the-inkubator/ Closing tonight at 9:00pm (AEST)!

It's Independent Bookshop Week. Ways you can support them: -Don't browse a little bookshop, make a mental note of titles, then get them on Amazon. Buy the books then and there! Dare you! -Get them to order books in, they almost always can. -Just march in and present them with a huge bag of money.