Novelist Sophie Cunningham has been named as the new editor of Meanjin, replacing Ian Britain who held the post for six years. "Her plans include running longer essays in Meanjin and building up the magazine's online component." Cunningham occasionally writes for the "Sarsaparilla" weblog.
The "Mania Movies" website is reporting that: "Two-time Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) has just inked a nonexclusive deal with United Artists, which will give him an opportunity to produce, write and direct at least two features a year through his new production company Hwy61. As we announced earlier this month, United Artists took on the rights to the Ranger's Apprentice [by Australian author John Flanagan] fantasy series and this latest deal with Haggis has him writing the screenplay alongside his daughter and possibly directing."
"The AHWA is pleased to announce the imminent birth of Midnight Echo - the Magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association. Midnight Echo aims to showcase the quality and diversity of the modern horror and dark fantasy genres. Particular emphasis will be placed upon Australian authors, but international voices will also be included." The "OzHorrorScope" weblog has more on this.
In the week ending January 26, Shaun Tan's The Arrival was 7th on "The New York Times" Bestselling Picture of the Week list.
The National Book Critics Circle has started providing a winter selection of Good Reads. This year's list includes Diary of a Bad Year by J.M. Coetzee, and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
