Q&A with Graeme Davison, author of My Grandfather’s Clock: Four Centuries of a British–Australian Family,

Lyndon Megarrity interviews Graeme Davison, author of My Grandfather’s Clock: Four Centuries of a British–Australian Family, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2023. Congratulations on your new book. You have now published two volumes of family history, the first on your mother’s side of the family (Lost Relations) and this current, second volume, on your father’s […]

Q&A with Jordana Silverstein, author of Cruel Care: A History of Children at Our Borders

Jacquelyn Baker interviews Jordana Silverstein about her book, Cruel Care: A History of Children at Our Borders (Clayton: Monash University Publishing, 2023). Congratulations on the publication of Cruel Care, Jordy! I learnt so much about the history of Australia’s immigration policies and found it difficult to put down. The back cover of your book […]

Q&A with Marion Stell, author of The Bodyline Fix

Jacquelyn Baker interviews Marion Stell about her recent book, The Bodyline Fix: How Women Saved Cricket (St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 2022). The book details the first international women’s Test cricket series between Australia and England in 1934-35, which followed the controversial Bodyline men’s series in 1932-33. Congratulations on the publication of this […]

Q&A with Lyndon Megarrity, author of Robert Philp and the Politics of Development

Stephen Wilks interviews Lyndon Megarrity, author of Robert Philp and the Politics of Development (North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Press, 2022) Congratulations, Lyndon, on your new book. Let’s start with the essential facts – who exactly was Robert Philp and what is he known for? The Scottish-born Robert Philp is known primarily as the co-founder […]

Q&A with Jeff Sparrow, author of Crimes Against Nature

Yves Rees interviews Jeff Sparrow about his recent book Crimes Against Nature (Scribe, 2021). You’ve been writing about leftist politics for several decades, but this is your first incursion into the climate arena. What was the intellectual genesis of this book? I grew up back when activists could still consider environmental issues as a […]

Q&A with Kath Kenny, author of Staging a Revolution

Jacquelyn Baker interviews Kath Kenny, author of Staging a Revolution: When Betty Rocked the Pram (Perth: Upswell, 2022). Congratulations on the publication of Staging a Revolution, Kath! Your book tells the story of Betty Can Jump—a play produced by the Carlton Women’s Liberation Group and performed at the Pram Factory in 1972—and follows five […]

Q&A with Anna Clark, author of Making Australian History

Carolyn Holbrook interviews Anna Clark, author of Making Australian History (Sydney: Vintage, 2022) Congratulations on the publication of this fascinating, thought-provoking and highly readable history of Australian history-making. The book eschews a linear narrative in favour of categories of analysis, such as ‘Silence’, ‘Distance’, ‘Time’, ‘Imagination’ and ‘Contact’. Can you tell us how you […]

Q&A with Claire E.F. Wright, author of Australian Economic History (ANU Press, 2022)

Lyndon Megarrity interviews Claire E.F. Wright about her new book Australian Economic History (ANU Press, 2022) Your book on the history of Australian economic history has a strong focus on local, national and global academic networks among staff at Australian tertiary institutions. What inspired you to take this approach to your work? I’ve had […]

Q&A with Stephen Gapps, author of Gudyarra: The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance – The Bathurst War, 1822–1824.

Kristyn Harman interviews Stephen Gapps, author of Gudyarra: The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance – The Bathurst War, 1822–1824 (Sydney: UNSW Press, 2021). Congratulations on the publication of Gudyarra, Stephen! It’s interesting to see that you’ve chosen to use the Wiradyuri word for ‘war’ as the title for your book. What informed your choice? And […]

Q&A with Isobelle Barrett Meyering, author of Feminism and the Making of a Child Rights Revolution, 1969–1979.

Jacquelyn Baker interviews Isobelle Barrett Meyering about her new book, Feminism and the Making of a Child Rights Revolution, 1969-1979, which examines the way in which women’s liberationists spearheaded the new wave of child rights activism in the 1970s. Congratulations on the publication of your book, Isobelle! It makes a significant contribution to the […]