Author: Jodie Sloan

Living, writing, and reading in Brisbane/Meanjin. Likes spooky books, strong cocktails, and pro-wrestling.

Book Review: Enter the mysterious La Maison de Méduse in Mona Awad’s Rouge

Mirabelle, shortened to the rather more beauty-adjacent ‘Belle’, has left the Montreal snow for the California sun, returning to manage the affairs of her recently deceased mother, Noelle. She’s expecting an emotional reckoning of sorts – her relationship with her mother has always been fraught, after all – but an encounter with a woman in…

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In Utero cover

Book Review: Monsters, motherhood, and abandoned malls abound in Chris Gooch’s In Utero

Lonely kid Hailey is dropped off at a holiday camp at – of all places – an abandoned shopping mall. But today, there’s a new girl. Her name is Jen, and together she and Hailey break away from the group and start exploring the mall. Meanwhile, two boys from the camp are also making their…

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Book Review: Morgan le Fay takes centre stage in Sophie Keetch’s Arthurian retelling Morgan Is My Name

Beginning with the tale of Arthurian villainess Morgan le Fay, Sophie Keetch‘s Morgan Is My Name marks the start of an exciting new historical fantasy. Following Morgan from the death of her loving father and his replacement in the form of the brutish Uther Pendragon, to her eventual escape to the court of her young…

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Book Review: Dive into the dangerous world of Zena Shapter’s When Dark Roots Hunt

Hidden behind a wall of poisonous ivy, safe from the giant water-ants hunting anything that moves out on the lake, and the dangerous wyann trees with their spear-like roots, the people of Sala’s village eke out a quiet existence, doing what they can to survive. But Sala knows Itta is dying, and without change, time…

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Book Review: Me, Her, Us is a witty and unflinching essay collection from Yen-Rong Wong

Blending memoir with cultural criticism, Me, Her, Us is the debut non-fiction release from Yen-Rong Wong, exploring the intersection between sex, relationships, and race. Raised by religious Malaysian Chinese parents in Brisbane, she bristled against the idealised version of who she was supposed to be and how her life was supposed to play out. Me,…

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Crime writers festival BAD Sydney returns for a five day run this November

Running from Wednesday November 1st to Sunday November 5th, BAD Sydney is back and bigger than ever! It all kicks off in just a few days, with an infamous Literary Death Match at the State Library of NSW’s Metcalfe Auditorium. Writers Tim Ayliffe, Anne Buist, Candice Fox, and Rob McDonald will duke it out in…

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“I wanted to hear her story in her own voice”: Morgan Is My Name author Sophie Keetch on Arthurian legend, Monty Python, and women with a dark side

Earlier this year, author Sophie Keetch released her debut novel Morgan Is My Name. A stunning retelling of Arthurian villainess Morgan Le Fay, Morgan Is My Name follows her as she fights for independence against the machinations of men, kings, and sorcerers. We sat down with Sophie to find out a little more about the…

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OzAsia Festival’s writing and ideas program In Other Words returns this November

In Other Words, OzAsia Festival‘s writing and ideas program, has today revealed its three day line-up, with more than 60 Asian writers and thinkers heading up an exciting array of panels and special events. Running from Friday 3rd November to Sunday 5th November at Adelaide Festival Centre, In Other Words is the perfect way to…

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Blackwater Jacqueline Ross

Book Review: Jacqueline Ross’ Blackwater is a uniquely Australian Gothic horror

Grace, recently married and heavily pregnant, heads to Tasmania to visit her new husband’s terminally ill father. King has spoken little about his family, and wants nothing more than to say goodbye and leave. But once they reach Blackwater, King’s crumbling childhood home, things are far from right. There’s a darkness here that Grace can’t…

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Get ready to “jump in the line” for tickets, as Beetlejuice announces Melbourne premiere for 2025

Michael Cassel Group, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Langley Park Productions have just announced that the Ghost with the Most is heading Down Under, with the eight-time Tony Award-nominated hit musical Beetlejuice set to premiere at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre in 2025. Based on the iconic Tim Burton comedy-horror of the same name, Beetlejuice centres around…

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Book Review: Take a rock-and-rollercoaster ride through 1970s New York with Rachel Coad’s NEW YORK CITY Glow

It’s 1977, and Strawberry the glowing octopus (Stauroteuthis syrtensis) is finally out of jail. Hitching a ride with Ray, an insurance sales-snake searching for meaning in his life, she heads for New York City, where she eventually finds work at a little bar called CBGB. Centered around the New York City Blackout of 1977 and…

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Book Review: Viola Di Grado’s Blue Hunger explores the uneasy intersection of grief, sensuality, and obsession

A young woman, grieving the loss of her twin brother, leaves Italy and heads to the one place he’d always wanted to go – Shanghai. By day, she teaches Italian. By night, she seeks an end to the grief that consumes her. And then she meets Xu. Blue Hunger, the fifth novel from Italian author…

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Brisbane Open House unveils 2023 program

Taking place over the weekend of July 15th and 16th, Brisbane Open House has announced a huge program of events, showcasing the city’s rich architectural heritage, cutting-edge design, and innovative spaces. Launching back in 2010, Brisbane Open House is a free annual event, inviting residents and visitors a rare opportunity to explore some of the…

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Entries for 2023 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards open

Entries for the 2023 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have opened, with a shared prize pool of $600,000 up for grabs. Honouring excellence in Australian literature, works published in 2022 are eligible to enter. Since its inception in 2008, the Awards have grown to six categories, covering fiction, non-fiction, children’s literature, young adult literature, poetry, and…

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Queensland Theatre brings Nia Vardalos’ adaptation of Tiny Beautiful Things to Brisbane

Queensland Theatre‘s production of Cheryl Strayed New York Times bestseller Tiny Beautiful Things took to the Billie Brown theatre stage earlier this month. Adapted for the stage by Academy Award nominee Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Tiny Beautiful Things follows Sugar, an online advice columnist, as she helps strangers navigate the contradictions and complexities…

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Broods, Chet Faker and Earl Sweatshirt head up a stacked Yours and Owls 2023 line-up

Yours and Owls Festival have announced their 2023 line-up, and it’s an absolute banger! Setting up shop at the University of Wollongong – the festival’s home for the next three years – the Yours and Owls team are promising great vibes and exceptional entertainment. Welcoming back a wealth of international talent for the first time…

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Book Review: The Price of Magic draws to close with Bonnie Wynne’s The Last Sorceress

Gwyn has emerged victorious over the risen dead. But at what cost? Aranor has fallen and Ailbhe Ahriddin sits on the Tintarel throne. The survivors of the Demon War flock to her banner. Alcide is by her side, caught in a dark plot that Gwyn can’t quite figure out. And somewhere out there, the last…

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Book Review: Mat Osman’s The Ghost Theatre is a vivid imagining of Elizabethan England

Shay is an outsider. Part of a fringe religion known as the Aviscultans, she has never quite lived up to the legacy of her mother, who divined great messages from the murmurations of starlings. Regularly escaping to London, she works as a messenger, skipping nimbly across the city skyline, and, occasionally, staging rescues of birds…

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Live Review: Peach PRC at The Triffid, Brisbane (19.05.23)

It’s a sold out all ages show at Brisbane’s Triffid for the final night of Peach PRC‘s Manic Dream Pixie tour. Younger fans take up residence in the mezzanine, overseeing a room filled to the brim with people dressed in myriad shades of pink. Some hold banners, others sport fairy wings, all seem fit to…

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Sunshine Coast rapper CaelWhip shares the artists who have guided his creative path

From cutting his teeth in local venues to supporting Drapht at a sold-out Solbar, Sunshine Coast rapper CaelWhip is certainly one to watch. The Coolum hip hop artist’s latest, “2 Bucks A Litre” navigates the pressures of adulthood and the seemingly endlessly rising costs of living. Recorded at CaelWhip’s home studio, it’s another great track from…

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EP Review: Peach PRC’s rise to pop stardom continues with debut EP Manic Dream Pixie

You think you’ve had a big week? Peach PRC set off on her national sold-out tour last Thursday then dropped her debut EP, Manic Dream Pixie, a day later! The Aussie artist has amassed more than 2 million TikTok followers, and over 110 million combined streams, and Manic Dream Pixie is everything we’ve come to…

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Blood & Steel

Book Review: Defy prophecy and fate in Helen Scheuerer’s new fantasy romance Blood & Steel

Thea Zoltaire wants to be a Warsword, a legendary warrior of Thezmarr. There’s just two problems. One, thanks to a prophecy, women are forbidden to wield blades. And two, Thea only has a few years left to live. Her time is running out. After years of training in secret, she finally has an opportunity to…

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The Grief Nurse

Book Review: Sorrow, jealousy, and the pursuit of power come to a head in Angie Spoto’s speculative fiction debut The Grief Nurse

Only the wealthiest and most influential families can boast of having their own Grief Nurse. Shunned, feared, and revered in equal measure, Grief Nurses ensure their families are free of negative emotions, freeing them from sadness, anxiety, and heartache. Lynx is the Asters’ Grief Nurse, removing their Sorrow and replacing it with Bright. Taken as…

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Philip Fracassi

Book Review: Creativity comes at a heavy, horrific cost in Philip Fracassi’s Gothic

On his 59th birthday, Tyson Parks, a famous but fading horror writer, receives a desk from his partner. It’s hoped that the piece will get his creative juices flowing again, and rekindle his passion for his work. And it seems to be working. His agent is more excited than Tyson has seen him in years,…

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Book Review: A delightfully spooky new series enters the arena, with Reece Carter’s A Girl Called Corpse

Off the coast of a tiny forgotten town called Elston-Fright, lies a rock-that-doesn’t-exist. On that rock live three wicked child-snatching children. But someone else lives there too. A ghost. She’s fashioned a body made of wax with seaweed for hair and abalone shells for eyes. She’s found a friend, a huntsman spider named Simon. And…

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Book Review: Return to Lyndall Clipstone’s atmospheric world with sequel Forestfall

The curse on Lakesedge and its young lord has been lifted. But it has come at a great cost. Leta, desperate to save the boy she loves, has made a deal with the Lord Under. Sacrificing herself to mend the Corruption that has ravaged Lakesedge, she is damned to walk the world Below. Yet her…

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Book Review: J.M. Miro launches stunning new fantasy series with Ordinary Monsters

The Cairndale Institute isn’t like other schools. Taking in children with specific skills, known as Talents, it’s not only a chance to grow and learn; but also a refuge from a world not ready for their powers. Charlie Ovid can heal himself from just about any injury. Komako can manipulate dust to do extraordinary things….

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Theatre Review: La Boite stuns with Lewis Treston’s reimagining of Wilde’s An Ideal Husband

1996-ish. Canberra-ish. Artie Whig (Will Carseldine) is facing an uncertain future, about to be cut off by his no-nonsense father John (Kevin Hides). Unless he marries and finds a career, the young gadabout can kiss his allowance goodbye. Meanwhile, Minister for the Environment Robyn Shi (Hsiao-Ling Tang) and her advisor Gertrude (an absolute scene-stealing Emily…

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Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Queensland, with Warner Bros. Movie World’s upcoming Wizard of Oz precinct

Gold Coast theme park Warner Bros. Movie World will be putting the ‘Oz’ in The Wizard of Oz, with a brand new precinct themed around the classic film set to open in 2024. Taking over the space previously occupied by the Arkham Asylum coaster (some may also remember it as Lethal Weapon – The Ride),…

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Opera Review: Opera Queensland turns the tragic into magic with Verdi’s La Traviata

With Moulin Rouge wowing audiences in Sydney, Brisbane’s Lyric Theatre is hosting its own tragic tale of Parisian courtesans and ill-fated love affairs. Verdi‘s iconic La Traviata opened last week, led by Lorina Gore and Kang Wang as star-crossed lovers Violetta and Alfredo. A joint venture between Opera Queensland, State Opera South Australia, and West…

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