Friday, December 2, 2005

Gelder and Salzman regroup

Ken Gelder and Paul Salzman have begun work on a follow-up study to their book on contemporary Australian fiction, The New Diversity: Australian Fiction 1970-1988. It's planned that the new book will bring the study up to date.

The mind boggles at the notion that it's been another 18 years since then. It'll be interesting to see which fiction writers from the 1970s and 80s have gone on thriving through the 1990s and into the new century; Kate Grenville is one name that leaps to mind.

I wonder if they'll want to call it The New New Diversity -- and, if so, whether any publisher would let them.

3 comments:

  1. Thank-you for the plug, Kerryn.

    Fans will, I'm sure, be pleased to know that Ken and I will continue to work in our good cop/bad cop roles (no prizes for guessing).

    On the title, Ken I believe would like us to call it Still Not New or Diverse Enough for Me, but I'm fighting that.

    My own plan is, this time, to solicit bribes from authors who would like a favourable mention: any offers will be taken very seriously; address them to Ken, not me, he doesn't need the money.

    -Paul Salzman

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  2. I'm clearly not useed to soliciting: could you all correct that last comment to 'address them to ME, not Ken!

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  3. 'Still Not New or Diverse Enough For Me', eh? Hmm. Has he read Dead Europe?

    What do people think about this novel? When I was in Melbourne in late winter I heard an extremely adverse reaction from a well-read and worldly academic friend who's not easily spooked. I would love to hear what other people think of this book.

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