Among the people whose libraries I’d love to peek into, Veronica Sullivan ranks fairly highly. As the director of the Melbourne Writer’s Festival (MWF), she is surrounded by words, books and writers every day. It should come as no surprise that she’s a voracious reader – from thought-provoking contemporary fiction to memoirs and investigative non-fiction, nothing is off the table for Veronica.
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Through her work, Veronica has been heavily involved in shaping the ever-impressive line-up of the Melbourne Writer’s Festival, running from May 8 to 11. Full of literary heavyweights and emerging writers, including Marian Keyes, Asako Yuzuki, Hannah Kent, Chloe Elisabeth Wilson and more, it’s a hub for conversations on writing, publishing and creativity. With a library’s worth of books read, Veronica shares her top eight to add to your reading list.
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Japanese author Asako Yuzuki’s latest novel has been a runaway global success. It follows a young tabloid journalist, Rika, who becomes obsessed with a convicted serial killer accused of murdering her older lovers after seducing them with her homecooked meals. Come for the mouthwatering descriptions of food, and stay for the acute skewering of Japanese beauty standards and everyday misogyny.
Broken Brains by Jamila Rizvi and Rosie Waterland
Writers, friends and now co-authors Jamila Rizvi and Rosie Waterland have both lived with what they describe as ‘broken brains’ – Jamila was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour aged 31, while Rosie has dealt with trauma symptoms for years after a childhood of abuse and neglect. They’ve supported one another throughout their respective ups and downs.
In their beautiful new book, the two friends discuss physical and mental brain health through their intertwined experiences of illness, resilience and friendship. Broken Brains is an invaluable comfort and resource for anyone who has their own ‘broken brain’, or who loves someone who does.
Rytual by Chloe Elisabeth Wilson
This debut novel by Melbourne writer Chloe Elisabeth Wilson will be on everyone’s radar when it’s released in May. It’s a darkly funny deconstruction of the beauty industry and a gripping examination of identity, beauty and desire, following a young woman who is drawn into the inner web of a glossy, suspiciously cult-like beauty brand (sound familiar?). Chloe will be appearing in conversation with the brilliant hosts of the Culture Club podcast at the Melbourne Writers Festival and I can’t wait to hear them dive into the sinister side of the beauty industry together.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
This magnificent debut novel is hard to categorise and easy to love. In a near future where time travel is carefully controlled by the British government, a jaded civil servant is assigned to live with and monitor a Victorian polar explorer. What follows is part spy thriller, part bureaucratic satire, part romance, part fantasy – with some surprisingly sexy sex scenes. The Ministry of Time is wildly original and utterly captivating and was one of my favourite reads of the past year.
Black Witness by Amy McQuire
Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist Amy McQuire is one of this country’s most respected journalists. She has spent decades writing on Indigenous affairs and holding power to account. Her first book exposes the misrepresentations, violence and silences of the mainstream media, and places urgent stories of First Nations people – spanning subjects from deaths in custody to the Northern Territory intervention – at the centre of the national conversation.
Signs of Damage by Diana Reid
Diana Reid can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, and her third novel (after the brilliant Love and Virtue and Seeing Other People) is a new and very welcome foray into the realm of psychological thriller, underpinned by her keen eye for flawed family and friendship dynamics.
An idyllic family holiday in the South of France is shattered by a mysterious event. Sixteen years later, the characters are still haunted by the events of that summer, as the narrative moves back and forth between the present and the long shadow of the past. Taut, propulsive, and completely unpredictable.
All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot by Lucinda Froomes Price
In this collection of personal essays, Lucinda Price reexamines the 2000s obsession with body image, celebrity culture and impossible beauty standards through the lens of pop culture and her own experiences of cosmetic surgery and disordered eating.
Price’s voice is utterly distinctive, and she is the funny, wise, warm guide we all need to navigate through the weirdness of our image-obsessed culture. Every Gen Z and millennial who grew up in the shadow of diet culture, ‘wellness’ and reality TV should read this book.
The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne
Griffin Dunne’s memoir is the juiciest Hollywood insider story you’ll ever read. The writer, producer and director has been popping up on big and small screens for decades, and behind the scenes has rubbed shoulders with everyone from Carrie Fisher (his best friend in their twenties, when they were two aspiring actors living in New York together) to Joan Didion (his aunt, who remained a guiding presence in his life and work despite wider family rifts and schisms). The man loves a name-drop and has the jaw-dropping stories to back it up. He’s also a laugh-out-loud funny writer.
View the full Melbourne Writer’s Festival program here.
This article Eight books to add to your reading list, according to the director of Melbourne Writer’s Festival appeared first on Fashion Journal.
2025-03-21 06:18:00
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