The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller: Guest review Isolde Martyn

Part of this year's challenge has been to rediscover good books by Australian women which may have been overlooked. Rita Award-winning historical fiction author Isolde Martyn has chosen to review a fantasy novel from 2005: The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller, the first in the "Kingmaker, Kingbreaker" series. Martyn writes:

It is always a delight to review a book you cannot put down, especially when it is written by a local author, too.

The central character is Asher, a young Olken fisherman who journeys to the biggest city in the land and becomes first a stable hand and then aide and advisor to Prince Gar, the King’s son. Of course, this is just not accidental, for there are other deeper forces at work.

Gradually Asher changes from a rough-spoken country lad into an accomplished administrator. The reader mentally applauds as he deals skillfully both with the snobbery that surrounds him and the distrust between the Doranen, who run the country, and the Olken, the land’s original inhabitants.

Gar, the scholarly prince, faces challenges, too. He is perceived as crippled by the Doranen because he lacks the magic skills that the rest of the royal family possess and this is an affliction for him since it is the duty of the king and his heir to use their magic to protect the boundaries of the kingdom. As evil forces conspire against the royal family and the sense of disaster begins to build and build, can the friendship between Asher and the prince survive? And so much more is at stake.

The dialogue in this novel is rich with gorgeous humour and I especially loved the male banter that underscores the growth of trust between Asher and Gar. Some authors are either afraid or inept when it comes to using humour but Karen Miller manages it so skillfully. This is a book is a ‘keeper’, one that will forever stay on my bookshelf and be read again and again.

~

Isolde Martyn writes historical novels set in turbulent times. Her debut novel The Maiden and the Unicorn (published in Australia as The Lady and the Unicorn) won top awards in America and Australia and is shortly to be reissued as an e-book. Her latest novel, Mistress Shore, about King Edward IV’s most famous mistress, will be available in Australian bookshops in February 2013.

Note: This post has been cross-posted to the new draft AWW website on WordPress where a group of bookbloggers will host the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2013. The Blogger site will be closing down and the challenge will be moving before the end of the year.

Queensland Literary Award winners and Melbourne Prize finalists

Queensland Literary Award winners

Congratulations to the winners of the Queensland Literary Fiction Awards, including:

• Siv Parker, Story: David Unaipon Award for Unpublished Indigenous Writer
• Janette Turner Hospital, Turbulence: Steele Rudd Award for Short Stories 
• Robin de Crespiny, The People Smuggler: Nonfiction Award
• Catherine Titasey, Island of the Unexpected: QLD Emerging Author 
• Sue Smith, Mabo: Television Script Award 
• Angela Betzien, War Crimes: Drama Script Award
• Briony Stewart Kumiko and the Shadow Catchers: Children's Book Award 
• Louise Fox, Dead Europe (adapted from the novel by Christos Tsiolkas): Film Script Award - screen writer

See full list here.

In other news, finalists for the Melbourne Prize have been announced. Winners will be announced November 7th. The finalists include:

Melbourne Prize for Literature 2012

• Alison Lester
• Joanna Murray-Smith

Best Writing Award 2012

• Anna Goldsworthy, Piano Lessons 
• Sonya Hartnett, The Children of the King 
• Favel Parrett, Past the Shallows 
• Carrie Tiffany, Mateship with Birds

More information here.

Has anyone reviewed the books by De Crespigny, Goldsworthy or Hartnett for the challenge?

NB: This post will be cross-posted to the AWW test website on WordPress. Plans are underway for the challenge to continue into 2013 at that site. 

Update from AWW Facebook page: Emma Perry reviewed The Children of the King for the challenge on My Book Corner.

2012 Davitt Awards: How well do you know your crime?

The 2012 Davitt Awards will be announced tonight at a dinner in Melbourne. The Davitts are a national crime writing award sponsored by Sisters in Crime Australia. They are awarded each year for the best crime books by Australian women. The categories are best Adult Fiction, Children's/YA, True Crime, Debut and Reader's Choice.

"Sisters in Crime Australia named the award The Davitt in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812-1879) who wrote Australia’s first mystery novel, Force and Fraud  in 1865. Her achievement is extraordinary when it is considered that Wilke’s Collins’ The Woman in White, generally regarded as the first full-length mystery novel, was published only in 1860. Force and Fraud was serialised in the Australian Journal, starting with its very first issue. It begins with a murder and ends with its solution, with red herrings, blackmail, and a dramatic court scene in between." (From the Sisters in Crime website.)

The short- and long-listed books are given below, along with links to AWW reviews. What is noticeable is how few of the long-listed books have been reviewed for the challenge. Notable exceptions are when the book is cross-genre, especially with Speculative Fiction. One reason for this may be that these are 2011 titles, rather than new releases. Current AWW crime reviews may be of books that qualify for next year's awards. However this could also indicate that Australian women's crime writing is not as well known in Australia as, for example, romance, or at least not among challenge participants.

How many of the following books have you read?

(If your AWW review of one of the following has been overlooked, or if you reviewed one or more of these books in previous years, please mention your review in the comments below.)

Adult Crime Fiction
Shortlist

• Jaye Ford, Beyond Fear (Bantam/Random) Kevin Rennie,
• Sulari Gentill, Decline in Prophets (Pantera Press) Caroline Sully
• Carolyn Morwood, Death and the Spanish Lady (Pulp Fiction) Crime Pieces, Naturally Dotty#
• Jennifer Rowe, Love Honour & O'Brien (Allen & Unwin)
• Kim Westwood, The Courier’s New Bicycle (Harper Voyager), Mark Webb, David Golding, Annabel Smith, Jason Nahrung, Bookonaut
• Helene Young, Shattered Sky (Hachette Australia), Bookdout, 1girl2manybooks,  

Longlist

• Sydney Bauer, The 3rd Victim (PanMacmillan)
• A.A. Bell, Hindsight  (HarperCollins)
• Claire Corbett, When We Have Wings (Allen & Unwin) Tsana, CAR Torres V, Annabel Smith, Angela @ Literary Minded, Mark Webb, Ann-Marie Sjoberg, Bookonaut
• Sandy Curtis, Fatal Flaw (Clan Destine Press)
• Miranda Darling, The Siren’s Sting (Allen & Unwin)
• Virginia Duigan, The Precipice (Random House), Librarians Adrift, Bernadette,
• Y A Erskine, The Brotherhood (Bantam/Random House): 1girl2manybooks, Brenda, Crime Pieces, Bookdout, Oanh,
• Helen Fitzgerald, The Donor (Allen & Unwin)
• Carol Gibson, Click Click, You’re Dead (Zeus Publications)
• H.M. Goltz, Death by Sugar (Atlas Productions Publishing Company)
• Kerry Greenwood (interviewed by Tara Moss), Cooking the Books (Allen & Unwin) Tenna Miller,
• Judy Johnson, The Secret Fate of Mary Watson (HarperCollins)
• Sylvia Johnson, Watch Out for Me (Allen & Unwin), Helen McKenna, Bernadette,
• Adriana Koulias, The Sixth Key (Random House)
• Phyllis King, ed., Scarlet Stiletto: The Second Cut (Clan Destine Press) [Readers Choice vote by SinC members only] Narelle Harris
• Nicole Watson, The Boundary (University of Queensland Press) Bookdout,
• Tracey O’Hara, Death’s Sweet Embrace (Harper Voyager)

Young Adult/Children’s
Shortlist

• Ursula Dubosarsky, The Golden Day (Allen & Unwin) Suburban Sonnet,
• Nansi Kunze, Dangerously Placed (Random House)
• Meg McKinlay, Surface Tension (Walker Books) Michelle

Longlist

• J.C Burke, Pig Boy (Random House)
• Susan Green, The Truth about Verity Sparks (Walker Books)
• Jacqueline Harvey, Alice-Miranda at Sea (Random House)
• H J Harper, Star League series Book 1: Lights, Camera, Action Hero!; Book 2: Curse of the Werewolf; Book 3: Raising the Dead; Book 4: The Ninja Code (Random House)
• Karen Healey, The Shattering (Allen & Unwin)
• Gabrielle Lord, Conspiracy 365 (Scholastic Australia)
• Sophie Masson, The Understudy’s Revenge (Scholastic Australia)
• Tara Moss, The Spider Goddess (PanMacmillan Australia), Phillip A Ellis, Duke,
• Belinda Murrell, The Ivory Rose (Random House)
• Joanne Van Os, The Secret of the Lonely Isles (Random House)
• Lili Wilkinson, A Pocketful of Eyes (Allen & Unwin)

True Crime  
Shortlist

• Wendy Lewis, The Australian Book of Family Murders (Pier 9/Murdoch Books)
• Liz Porter, Cold Case Files: Past crimes solved by new forensic science (PanMacmillan)

Longlist

• Carol Baxter, Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady: The true story of bushrangers Frederick Ward and Mary Ann Bugg (Allen & Unwin)
• Jo Chandler and Christine Nixon, Fair Cop: Christine Nixon (Melbourne University Press)
• Rachael Jane Chin, Nice Girl: Whatever Happened To Baby Tegan Lane? (Simon & Schuster)
• Helen Cummings, Blood Vows: a haunting memoir of marriage and murder (The Five Mile Press)
• Nichola Garvey, Beating the Odds (Harper Collins)
• Fiona Harari, A Tragedy in Two Acts: Marcus Einfeld and Teresa Brennan (Victory Books)
• Vikki Petraitis, The Frankston Serial Killer (Clan Destine Press)

 NB: This post will be cross-posted with the new, AWW test site on WordPress.
# Inadvertently left off original post (thanks Alex Adsett for noticing)

Contemporary, Popular, Mainstream, Women's Fiction: 2102 Tally

When the call went out last November for recommendations of "popular" novels by Australian Women Writers, book bloggers recommended far fewer books in this category than for "literary", Speculative Fiction/Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Crime and Romance. Yet recent mainstream contemporary fiction has generated the greatest number of reviews for the challenge so far.

Because of the sheer number of books, the broad category of "contemporary" a temptation has been to break down this category into subgenres.

But which books should go where?

In attempting to answer this question I found myself grappling with several more questions.

What's the best way to recognise "contemporary women's fiction"? Is this type of fiction "popular", easy reads, whereas literary fiction is more demanding? Or should a "contemporary" list include literary novels? What about lighter books, commonly known as "Chick Lit"? Should these be counted as a separate sub-genre?

Most contentiously of all, what about novels that focus on the domestic relationship between two people? If it ends happily, or happily for now, should it be considered "romance", while relationships with a less obvious sense of closure be regarded either as literary or mainstream?

Behind all these questions looms an even larger one. If we let book publishers' and sellers' marketing decisions dictate how we categorise books, do we run the risk of making books of literary merit that are "generic" or "popular" in nature less visible to those compiling long lists for literary awards? Equally, do we risk marginalising the "literary"?

In consultation with writers and reviewers on Twitter, I've decided to include here novels labelled by reviewers as "chick lit", as well as books marketed as "rural fiction", even though some of these novels may include a courtship (which arguably makes them "romance" or books with "romantic elements"). New releases which obviously fall into a generic category such as Fantasy/Speculative Fiction/Sci-Fi, Crime and Romance (where the focus is on the courtship to the virtual exclusion of all other story), as well as books with a historical setting* and those marketed as "literary", have been tallied elsewhere.

Arguably, though, all are "contemporary" fiction.

Disclaimer: I've only read a fraction of these books and only skimmed many of the reviews. Putting the reviews into a format that helps readers looking for recent titles by Australian women - rather than having them try to decipher the Mr Linky boxes of reviews posted on the AWW challenge page - has taken a great deal of time and effort. If some authors object to having their books categorised as "popular" or "women's fiction", instead of "literary", my apologies. Same goes for authors listed previously as "literary" who believe their books also belong here. Any mistakes will gladly be rectified. EL

Tally: 37 books, 90 reviews, 40 reviewers, 12 publishers.

Publishers: Allen & Unwin (9 books, 20 reviews); Random House (9 books, 25 reviews);Hachette (2 books, 5 reviews); Pan Macmillan (2 books, 5 reviews); HarperCollins (3 books, 10 reviews); Penguin (7 books, 16 reviews); Harlequin (3 book, 10 reviews); Simon & Schuster (1 book, 1 review); Indigo Dreams* (1 book, 2 reviews); Joshua Books* (1 book, 1 review); Even Before Publishing* (1 book.1 review).

NB: It's unclear whether the publishers marked * are independent small presses or vehicles for self-publication.
 

• Adlerstein, Marion von - The Freudian Slip (Hachette)
     Lisa Walker, Stephanie McGlinchey
• Ahearn, Ali & Ros Baxter - Sister Pact (HarperCollins)
     Tarran Jones Collins Booksellers Edwardstown 
• Amin, Manisha Jolie - Dancing to the Flute (Allen & Unwin)
     AustBookshelf
• Booth, Alison - The Indigo Sky. (Random House) - sequel
     Brenda
• Dharmapala, Su - The Wedding Season (Simon & Schuster)
     Steph @ RIASS
• Duncan, Susan ­ The Briny Café. (Random House)
     Denise Imwold
• Evans, Tess - The Memory Tree. (Allen & Unwin)
     Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
• Fedler, Joanne - The Reunion (Allen & Unwin)
     Monique @WriteNoteReviews, Shelleyrae @Book'dOut  
• Foster, Zoe - The Younger Man (Penguin/Michael Joseph) ChickLit
     Michelle Mck 
• Groff , Maggie - Mad Men, Bad Girls & Guerrilla Knitters Institute (Pan Macmillan)
     Lisa Walker, Book'd Out, Heather Contemp Myst/Humour 
• Ham, Rosalie - There Should Be More Dancing (Random House)
     Coleen Kwan, My Journal, JudiJ  
• Heidke, Lisa - Stella Makes Good (Allen & Unwin) ChickLit
      Monique @ Write Note, Rachael Johns, Bree @1girl2manybooks, Paula, Book'd Out
• Higgins, Fiona - The Mothers' Group (Allen & Unwin)
     Phillip A. Ellis, Bree @1girl2manybooks, YA Erskine, Monique @ Write Note, Helen
• Hill, Loretta - The Girl in Steel- Capped Boots Random House  Rural Fiction
     Danielle Binks, Bree @1girl2manybooks, Paula, Jet Silver, Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out, Jenny, Monique (scroll down), Jenny,  Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
• Jacenko, Roxy - Strictly Confidential (Allen & Unwin) ChickLit
     Peta-Jo
• Johns, Rachael – Jilted Harlequin  Rural Fiction
     @austbookshelf, Kylie Scott, Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out, Bree @1girl2manybooks
• Lane, Karly - Morgan's Law Allen & Unwin Rural Fiction
     Bree @1girl2manybooks, Shelleyrae @Book'dOut
•  Lette , Kathy - The Boy who fell to Earth (Random House)
     Nalini Haynes
• Limerick, Louise - Lucinda's Whirlwind (Pan Macmillan)
     Book'd Out, AustBookshelf
• MacDonald, Fleur - Purple Roads Allen & Unwin Rural Fiction
      AustBookshelf, @Book'd Out
• McCallum, Fiona - Wattle Creek Harlequin
     Book'd Out, AustBookshelf, Bree @1girl2manybooks
•  McIntosh, Fiona - Lavender Keeper (Penguin)
     Tarran @ Collins Booksellers, Bree 1girl2manybooks, Book’d Out
• McKenna, Helen - The Beach House (Joshua Books)
     Olivia (Indie published?)
• McNamara, Catherine - A divorced lady's companion to living in Italy (Indigo Dreams Publishing) Contemp/Chick Lit
     Whispering Gums, C Powell
     Contemp/Chick Lit
• Magro, Mandy - Jacaranda (Penguin) Rural Fiction
     AustBookshelf
• Marinelli, Carol - Putting Alice Back Together (Harlequin)
     Marg, Shelleyrae@Book'dOut, R Johns
• Moriarty, Nicola – Free Falling (Random House)
     Bree: review and interview, Stephanie @RIASS Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out Contemp/RomCom
• Nunn, Judy - Tiger Men (Random House)
     Jacqui @MyJournal Saga/Contemp Fiction
• Osborn, Margareta - Bella's Run Random House Rural Fiction
     Lisa Chappel, Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out, RIASS, Brenda, R Johns 
• Palmer, Fiona - The Road Home Penguin Rural Fiction
     AustBookshelf, Brenda, Bree @1girl2manybooks, Shelleyrae @ Book'd
• Rennie, AnnMcCullagh - Under Southern Skies Penguin 
     VeganYANerds, Breen @1girl2manybooks, AustBookshelf, Paula Rural Fiction 2011  
• Richell, Hannah - Secrets of the Tides (Hachette)
     Jon Page, Stephanie @ RIASS ContFic/Saga
• Scoullar, Jennifer - Brumby's Run Penguin
     Bree @1girl2manybooks 
•  Stedman, ML - The Light Between Oceans (Random House)*
     Stephanie @ RIASS, Peta-Jo, Book'd Out
• Trope, Nicole - The Boy Under the Table (Allen & Unwin)*
     @ Book'd Out 
• Walker, Lisa - Liar Bird. (HarperCollins) ChickLit
     Bree @1girl2manybooks, Marg, Kate Cuthbert
• Wanmer, Jo - Though the Bud Be Bruised (Even Before Publishing)
     Michelle Dennis Evans

* Shelleyrae of Book'd Out suggests both M L Stedman's The Light Between Oceans and Nicole Trope's  The Boy Under the Table should also be included in the tally of "historical fiction", but as that wasn't obvious to me from my cursory glance at the reviews, they were included here.

Post modified: title and summary paragraph deleted (22/7/12).

Are there any other authors who would prefer not to have their books on this list?

Romance 2012: What's being reviewed?

Romances are reputedly the most widely read novels, but are they the most reviewed?

How do you define a "romance"?

One way is to say the story is predominantly about courtship: the tale of a relationship between two beings which either ends "happily ever after" or "happily for now". The sex of the beings isn't important: they may be male/female, female/female, male/male, non-binary gender (or any other variation you can think of - fans of Ursula Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness will know what I mean). Their nature isn't important either - human, alien, angel, demon, vampire or werewolf. The world and time they inhabit may be equally fluid: contemporary, past or imaginary. Books which have courtship as a subplot, however, are perhaps better described as having "romantic elements".

If books with "romantic elements" are included among the tally of romances, the number of 2012 releases reviewed for the AWW challenge during January to June is marginally more than for other genres tallied so far. If the popular genre of "rural fiction" - or "chook lit" as Twitter wags have dubbed it - is included, the number swells even further.

When canvassed on Twitter, some authors of "rural fiction" objected to having their books labelled as romance, preferring instead to be included among a broader category of "popular", "contemporary" or "women's fiction". With that in mind, only rural fiction books which appear to solely focus on courtship, or were identified by the reviewer(s) as being a romance, have been tallied here.

Otherwise, both straight - or "category" - romances and cross-genre books with "romantic elements", including historical romances, have been listed. (If mistakes have been made - and books have been included which shouldn't have been, or haven't been included and should - please let me know.)

What of Young Adult (YA) and Speculative Fiction titles? Are any of those also courtship stories or books with romantic elements? Should erotica - like Lexxie Couper's Love's Rhythm - be included?*

Have there been romances - or novels with romantic elements - of literary merit published in 2012 that are not listed here?

Tally: 23 books, 16 reviewers, 44 reviews

2012 Romance: Contemporary, Historical, Erotica, Crime, Fantasy, Romantic Comedy

• Andersen, Maggi - Murder In Devon. (Self-published via Black Opal Books) Crime
     AustBookhelf 
• Brooke, Christina - Mad About The Earl. (Macmillan/St Martin’s Press) Historical Fiction
      Kate Cuthbert 
• Couper, Lexxie - Love's Rhythm (Samhain Publishing) Erotica
     Kylie
• Dingli, Roseanne - Camera Obscura. (BeWrite Books) Crime
     AustBookshelf  
• Ellis, Lucy - Innocent In The Ivory Tower. (Mills & Boon 2012)
     Kat @ Book Thingo 
• Freeman, Kimberly - Wildflower Hill. (Allen & Unwin) Historical Fiction
     Denise 
• Gracie, Anne - Bride by Mistake. (Penguin/Berkley) Historical Fiction
     Kate Cuthbert 
• Griffin, Kylie - Vengeance Born. (Penguin/Berkley) Fantasy
     Jenny , Kyle Scott author
• Hein, Cathryn - Heart Of The Valley (Penguin) Rural
     Bree @1girl2manybooks
• Hunter, Kelly - Single Girl Abroad (Mills & Boon)
     Stephanie @ RIASS 
• Husk, Shona - Kiss of the Goblin Prince. (Sourcebooks Cassablanca) Fantasy/Romance
     Kylie Scott author  
• Johns, Rachael – Jilted (Harlequin)
     @austbookshelf, Kylie Scott, Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out, Bree @1girl2manybooks, Jenny, Kat @ Book Thingo 
• Magro, Mandy – Jacaranda. (Penguin)
     AustBookshelf, @Book'd Out 
• Marinelli, Carol - Putting Alice Back Together (Harlequin) Marg, Shelleyrae@Book'dOut, R Johns 
• Mayberry, Sarah - Her Best Worst Mistake. (Self published via Small Cow Productions 2012, eBook)
     Bree @1girl2manybooks
• Moriarty, Nicola – Free Falling (Random House) Romantic Comedy
     Bree: review and interview, Stephanie @RIAS, Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out  
• Murphy, Nicole R - The Right Connection. (Smashwords self-published) Fantasy
     Holly Kench 
• Osborn, Margareta - Bella's Run Random House Rural Fiction
     Lisa Chappel, Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out, RIASS, Brenda, Rachael Johns, Kate Rizzetti 
• Parry, Bronwyn. Dead Heat. (Hachette) Crime
     Aussie Book Reviews, Brenda, Bree @1girl2manybooks, AustBookshelf, Stephanie @RIASS, Book'd Out, Jenny, Kate Cuthbert 
• Patricio, Anna - Asenath. (Imagin Books) Historical Fiction (debut)
     Michelle Dennis Evans, Jayne @Austbookshelf 
• Resce, Mer H - Cora Villa. (Golden Grain Publishing) Historical Fiction
     Michelle Dennis Evans 
• Teshco, Mel - Galactic Inferno. (Elora's Cave) Erotic Romance
• Young, Helen - Burning Lies. (Penguin) Crime
     Brenda, Bree @1girl2manybooks

* As Kylie Scott points out in the comments below, Love's Rhythm is more Erotic Romance than Erotica. Are there other 2012 releases in this genre that have yet to be reviewed for the challenge?

Memoir, Biography, History: 2012 Tally

Memoir/Biography/History: 2012 releases

The other day when the tally of literary books was posted, Text publishing tweeted that their biography of Elizabeth and Mary Durack by Brenda Niall should have been included.

Should more nonfiction titles be regarded as "literary"?

The follow is a list of books reviewed for the AWW challenge during January-June.

Disclaimer: If there are errors with release dates, please let me know - reprints make it difficult to judge original publication dates on publishers' websites.

Tally: 10 books, 11 reviewers, 12 reviews

Memoir

• Evans, Ilsa - Ones a Poner Time. (Self-published)
     AustBookshelf, Book'd Out 
• Fincham, Jo - Out Of The Blue. (Allen & Unwin)
     Helen
• Gruel, Nicole - Dancing with Dragons. (Balboa Press) Mental Health
     Denise Imwold 
• James, Kate - When Gods Collide (Hardie Grant) Travel
     Ilona Nicola 
• Warbanoff, Rilka - Rilka's Feast. (HarperCollins) Cooking/Recipes/Memoirs
     Monique @WriteNoteReviews (Scroll down for review)

Biography

• Cherry, Derelie - Alexander Macleay: From Scotland to Sydney. (Paradise Publishers)
     Paula Grunseit, Janine Rizzetti 
• Danson, Stacey - Faint Echoes of Laughter. (Taylor Street Publishing)
     Brenda 
• Niall, Brenda - True North. (Text)
     Yvonne Perkins

History

• Frost, Lucy - Abandoned Women. (Allen & Unwin)
     Jayne @TheAustralianBookshelf 
• Gleeson-White, Jane - Double Entry. (Allen & Unwin) Business
     Yvonne Perkins

Are there other memoirs, biographies or histories published this year that haven't been reviewed for the challenge?

~ ~ ~

Shelleyrae from Book'd Out blog suggests:

• Love and Hunger by Charlotte Wood (Allen & Unwin 2012)
• Women of the land by Liz Harfull (Allen & Unwin 2012) 

Other suggestions from comments:

• The Censor's Library: Uncovering the Lost History of Australia's Banned Books by Nicole Moore (UQP 2012)
• Larrikins: A History by Melissa Bellanta (UQP 2012)
• The Lone Protestor by Fiona Paisley (Aboriginal Studies Press)

Sue T from Whispering Gums blog suggests:

• House of Fiction by Susan Swingler, about her parents, Elizabeth and Leonard Jolley, and herself. (Fremantle Press 2012) 

Historical Fiction: 2012 Tally

Australia has produced a number of award-winning and best-selling writers of historical fiction, including Anna Campbell, Anne Gracie, Anna Jacobs, Stephanie Laurens and Isolde Martyn.While some historical fiction is meticulously researched and takes years to write, the authors don't often appear on lists for literary awards.

An exception is Kate Morton, whose fourth book, The Secret Keeper, will be released later this year. Kate's books have not only been best sellers, they have also repeatedly won Australian Book Industry awards. The Forgotten Garden was also longlisted for The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2010. 

In the following tally of 2012 releases reviewed between January and June for the challenge, a number of subgenres have been included among the historical fiction titles, including crime, fantasy, speculative fiction and and romance. Have any Young Adult historical fiction titles been missed?

Which of the following, if any, deserve to be included among the tally of "literary" books?

Tally: 17 titles, 22 reviewers, 32 reviews

• Brooke, Christina - Mad About The Earl. (Macmillan/St Martin’s Press) Romance
     Kate Cuthbert 
• Burrows, Deborah - A Stranger in My Street. (Panmacmillan) Intrigue
     @Book'd Out, Stephanie @RIASS, Jayne @austbookshelf 
• Calder, Charlotte – The Ghost at the Point. (Walker Books) YA Hist/Myst
     Stephanie @ RIASS 
• Forsyth, Kate - Bitter Greens. (Random House) Speculative Fiction
     Angela @ LiteraryMinded, Book'd Out, Bookonaut, Bree @1girl2manybooks, Monique at Write Note Reviews, speculatef, Jo @ BookloverBookReviews 
• Freeman, Kimberly - Wildflower Hill. (Allen & Unwin) Romance
     Denise 
• Gentill, Sulari - Miles off Course. (Pantera Press) Crime
     Bernadette, Caroline Sully, Jacquie Underdown 
• Gracie, Anne - Bride by Mistake. (Penguin/Berkley) Romance
     Kate Cuthbert 
• Hartnett, Sonya - The Children of the King. (Penguin) Children's
     EmmaPerry@MyBkCorner 
• Jacobs, Anna - Elm Tree Road. (Alison & Busby)
     Coleen Kwan 
• Leith, Denise - What Remains. (Allen & Unwin)
     Kevin Rennie, Monique @ Write Note 
• Morton, Kate – The Forgotten Garden. (Allen & Unwin) Mystery
     Nicole @ The Readers' Haven, Lucy Perkins 
• Nunn, Judy - Tiger Men. (Random House)
     Marie @ The Readers' Haven 
• Patricio, Anna - Asenath. (Imagin Books) Romance (debut)
     Michelle Dennis Evans, Jayne @Austbookshelf  
• Paynter, Jayne – Mary Bennet. (Penguin/Viking) Jane Austen spinoff
     @ Book'd Out, Bree @1girl2manybooks 
• Resce, Mer H - Cora Villa. (Golden Grain Publishing) Romance
     Michelle Dennis Evans Romance
• Whitehead, Ann - Waratah House. (Penguin/Michael Joseph)
     Bree @1girl2manybooks 
• Young, Felicity - A Dissection of Murder. (HarperCollins 2012) Crime Tseen Khoo, Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out

Titles missed from above tally:

• The Light Between Oceans by M L Steadman (Random House 2012)
• The Lavender keeper by Fiona McIntosh (Penguin 2012)

Upcoming releases:

• Gather the Bones by Alison Stuart. (Lyrical Press 2012)

Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, SciFi, Horror: tally 2012

Of the 70 books categorised by AWW reviewers during January to June as either Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror or Paranormal, 17 are 2012 releases.* These include a self-published novel, as well as several novels from small presses. Because the distinction between Young Adult (YA) and "adult" Speculative Fiction books is not always mentioned by reviewers, and both categories are equally likely to attract awards, both have been tallied here.

Should any of the following books have been included in the list of literary works posted previously? Are there other recent titles in this genre that have not yet been reviewed for the challenge? 

* Disclaimer: some books may be reprints of earlier editions. If that's the case for any of the following, please let me know.

Tally: 17 books, 16 authors, 44 reviews, 29 reviewers, 11 publishers.

Publishers: HarperCollins: 6 books; Allen & Unwin: 2; Pan Macmillan: 1; Penguin 1; Random House: 1; Text: 1; Twelfth Planet Press: 1; ClanDestine Press: 1; Orbit: 1; Walker Books: 1; self-published: 1.

Links to reviews appear on the line(s) after the title.

2012 releases

• Allyn, Anya - Doll House. (Self-published: CreateSpace) YA Paranormal Mystery
     Brenda 
• Carmody, Isobelle - Metro Winds. (Allen & Unwin) SpecFic Short Stories
     Maree K 
• Cusack, Louise - Destiny of the Light. (Pan Macmillan/Momentum) High Fantasy
     Kat @ Book Thingo, Tsana 
• Dub, Rosie – Flight (HarperCollins/Fourth Estate) YA Fantasy/Paranormal
     VeganYANerds
• Fallon, Jennifer - The Dark Divide. (HarperCollins) Fantasy
     Tsana, Nalini Haynes 
• Forsyth, Kate - Bitter Greens. (Random House) Historical SpecFic
     speculatef, Jo @ BookloverBookReviews, Angela @ LiteraryMinded, Book'd Out, Bookonaut, Bree @1girl2manybooks, Monique at Write Note Reviews 
• Griffin, Kylie - Vengeance Born. (Penguin/Berkley) Fantasy
     Jenny , Kyle Scott author
• Hall, Leanne - Queen of the Night (Text; Longlisted Golden Inky Award 2012; Sequel to This is Shyness) YA
     Vegan YA Nerds
• Harding, Traci – The Light – Field: Triad of Being #3 (HarperCollins)
     Tarran Jones (Collins Booksellers Edwardstown)
• Harris, Narrelle – Showtime. (Twelfth Planet Press 2012) Spec/Fic Short Stories
     Bree@1girl2manybooks, Bookonaut, Mark Webb, Marg
• Harris, Narrelle M - Walking Shadows. (ClanDestine Press) Paranormal/Thriller
     @tansyrr 
• Lanagan, Margo, Sea Hearts/ The Brides of Rollrock Island. (Allen & Unwin) YA SpecFic/Literary
     Nalini Haynes, Mark Webb, Lizabelle, Astrid, Sue Luus, Jason Nahrung, bookonaut, Angela Meyer @LiteraryMinded, Krissy Keen, Coleen Kwan
• Marr, Shirley – Preloved. (Walker Books) SpecFic
     VYANerds, Stephanie @ RIASS
• Mills, K. E. - Wizard Undercover. (Orbit) SpecFic
     Bookonaut
• Roberts, Rhonda – Hoodwink. (HarperCollins) SpecFic
     Duke
• Roberts, Tansy Rayner - Reign of Beasts: Creature Court series Book 3 (HarperCollins 2012) Bk3 Epic Fantasy 
     Ju Transcendancing, Nalini Haynes, Kitty Byrne, Tsana
• Spurrier, Jo - Winter be my Shield. (HarperCollins)
     speculatef, Tsana

~ ~ ~

What do you think about self-published books like Doll House by Anya Allyn being reviewed alongside books by award-winning writers like Margo Lanagan?

Not reviewed for the challenge during this period:

• Suited by Jo Anderton (Angry Robots Books June 2012)

More titles (suggested by Shelleyrae of Book'd Out blog):

• Sin's Dark Caress by Tracey O'Hara (HarperCollins September 2012)
• The Kiss of the Goblin Prince by Shona Husk (Sourcebooks Cassablanca May 2012) and 
• Darkness Devours by Keri Arthur (Penguin/Signet 2012)