This year's Miles Franklin shortlist features an Australian first
Winnie Dunn's debut Dirt Poor Islanders, which draws on her own experiences of growing up as Tongan-Australian, has been nominated for the prestigious award, along with Chinese Postman by Brian Castro; Compassion by Burruberongal author Julie Janson; Ghost Cities by Siang Lu; Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser and Highway 13 by Fiona McFarlane.
The shortlist, the judging panel said, celebrated writing that refuses to compromise. 'Each of these works vitalises the form of the novel and invents new languages for the Australian experience,' they said in a statement.
The subjects across the shortlist also reflect the breadth of the Australian experiences. Castro's Chinese Postman is about an elderly Chinese migrant reflecting on his life; Theory & Practice by de Kretser is set in the academic scene in the 1980s; Lu's Ghost Cities blends current-day Sydney and Chinese mythology; Compassion is a fictionalised account of one of Indigenous author Janson's ancestors, and the short stories in McFarlane's Highway 13 are loosely pegged to a serial killer based on Ivan Milat.
Dunn's debut Dirt Poor Islanders is the first Tongan-Australian novel published in Australia. She was 'very shocked' to have been nominated, she said. 'I'm still … reeling from it! It's amazing and I feel really lucky.'
Dunn, who grew up in western Sydney's Mount Druitt, challenges reductive and popular racist representations of the Tongan-Australian community in her novel, the judges said.
' Dirt Poor Islanders is a tender and arresting story of a young protagonist … whose life in Western Sydney is framed by her experience as a Tongan Australian,' the panel said.
The 29-year-old had always wanted to be a writer, and after university, honed her skills at Sydney's Sweatshop Literacy Movement in Sydney, an organisation that provides research, training and mentoring for emerging and established writers from Indigenous and non-English-speaking backgrounds, where she is now general manager.
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The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
What made Charlie O'Derry cry as he sang his way into our hearts on The Voice
"When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist."
The Age
5 hours ago
- The Age
Computing icon to return as Commodore 64 gets makeover
The iconic Commodore 64 home computer is set to make a comeback, and a full-on return to relevance for the brand may follow as a group of enthusiasts from the Commodore fan community have acquired all rights and trademarks associated with the company. The global group – including Australian retro hardware experts and led by British actor Christian Simpson, also known as retro computer YouTube personality Peri Fractic — has formed a new incarnation of the company called Commodore International. As well as resurrecting the beloved Commodore 64 in a way that supports technology old and new, more than 30 years after the machine was discontinued, the company plans to produce new hardware that embodies the friendly computing and creativity of the 1990s. Simpson has appointed members of the Commodore enthusiast community — many of whom have previously created unofficial Commodore 64 hardware and products — to various roles in the new company. He has also engaged individuals who worked for Commodore decades ago, including the co-creator of the Commodore 64, Al Charpentier, as technical adviser. Jake Young, a manufacturer of retro tech based in South Australia, will serve as Commodore's chief technology officer. He said the situation had worked out far better than any of the team could have expected, including Simpson. While the YouTuber had originally approached Commodore angling for an exclusive licence to market community-made hardware as official, he was surprised when the then-owners of the brand offered to sell him the company outright. 'There had been several other buyers who tried to purchase the brand, but for one reason or another, it had all fallen through. And the current brand owners, they had come to own the brand by virtue of a default on a loan. So I don't think they had a real interest in it,' Young said. 'The trademarks were starting to lapse, and I believe the owners were just ready to walk away. So Peri and the rest of us, we kind of stepped in at a point where, if we hadn't negotiated the deal that we did, Commodore probably would have faded out of existence in the very near future.'
West Australian
11 hours ago
- West Australian
Scarborough Beach takeover: City of Stirling warns residents as Aussie crime show is set to film on Monday
Scarborough residents may be in for a shock on Monday, waking to find the suburb's infamous beach flooded with WA Police members – but there's no need to worry, it's just part of a brand-new TV show being taped in Perth. Filming for a new Australian crime drama, produced by Warner Bros International, will hit the iconic beach on Monday. Traffic and pedestrian control will be in place from 7.00am – 6.45pm along The Esplanade, the Scarborough Amphitheatre and surrounding footpaths. The upcoming series, which has only been given the working title LAM, is centred around the intense psychological toll of life on the run. With the show's crime genre, it is little surprise that council warnings have been put in place alerting locals that actors and vehicles will be donned in WA Police attire. 'All action that takes place while filming is fictional and at no risk to the public,' the City of Stirling wrote in their statement. 'The Australian film industry relies on the assistance of the local community when filming on locations and the City of Stirling supports this production.' The filming will not restrict access to any businesses or residential properties in the Scarborough area. This will be conducted by a traffic management company approved by the City of Stirling. Footpaths in the area will remain open to the public, however pedestrians may be asked to wait for a few minutes if filming is ongoing. An additional two days of filming will also occur at a private property in the Stirling area later in the week, with essential equipment vehicles to be parked along the Esplanade. The City of Stirling says the private property filming will have no effect on pedestrian and vehicular access in the area. This is not the crime show's first time filming in Perth - the town of Bassendean issued a similar warning to residents after the show spent Thursday morning taping on Old Perth Road.
