Latest news with #AffirmPress
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
This dark corporate satire will distract you from your own work woes
FICTION Stinkbug Sinead Stubbins Affirm Press, $34.99 Can wellness culture mix with the workplace? Don't the two produce a weird water and oil liquid that can't quite combine, no matter how cutting-edge the innovations? In her debut novel, Stinkbug, Sinéad Stubbins wittily highlights the many pitfalls of current trends, and in the process holds up a cracked mirror of horror as we recognise how corporate culture is invading individual privacy. Edith is our anti-heroine. Swedish overlords are acquiring the marketing company where Edith – the worst kind of control freak who lives in habitual fear of the outstretched hands of her subordinates, her equals, and her superiors – has worked at for decades. All employees with jobs on the line are sent to a three-day luxury 'work retreat' in the Australian bush where a sip of a mind-altering elixir will replace toxic negativity with toxic positivity. So much oil, so much water. The approach of the team leaders escalates from a familiar wellness doctrine to group exercises in consensual slapping that get way out of hand and are madly funny. Edith's life is a shamble in every other respect, so she can't cope with her job being on the line as well. Then there's the fact that the retreat threatens to lay bare the very worst aspects of Edith. The crowning jewel of her self-destruction comes with the looming exposure of the secret that she had her (popular) former partner fired from the company. Poor Edith is something of a monster of bad faith but her paranoia and sneakiness are intimately familiar; they're cartoon exaggerations of us all. All that deception, all those tangled webs. Stinkbug tickles the reader but then it starts to pinch; to squeeze and to claw at your fears. What begins as workplace farce mutates into a corporate horror show as everyone's salaries are revealed and suddenly, chillingly, 'Edith's colleagues [move] towards her … speaking in low voices, coming closer, gnashing their teeth and snarling things that she couldn't catch.'
The Age
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
This dark corporate satire will distract you from your own work woes
FICTION Stinkbug Sinead Stubbins Affirm Press, $34.99 Can wellness culture mix with the workplace? Don't the two produce a weird water and oil liquid that can't quite combine, no matter how cutting-edge the innovations? In her debut novel, Stinkbug, Sinéad Stubbins wittily highlights the many pitfalls of current trends, and in the process holds up a cracked mirror of horror as we recognise how corporate culture is invading individual privacy. Edith is our anti-heroine. Swedish overlords are acquiring the marketing company where Edith – the worst kind of control freak who lives in habitual fear of the outstretched hands of her subordinates, her equals, and her superiors – has worked at for decades. All employees with jobs on the line are sent to a three-day luxury 'work retreat' in the Australian bush where a sip of a mind-altering elixir will replace toxic negativity with toxic positivity. So much oil, so much water. The approach of the team leaders escalates from a familiar wellness doctrine to group exercises in consensual slapping that get way out of hand and are madly funny. Edith's life is a shamble in every other respect, so she can't cope with her job being on the line as well. Then there's the fact that the retreat threatens to lay bare the very worst aspects of Edith. The crowning jewel of her self-destruction comes with the looming exposure of the secret that she had her (popular) former partner fired from the company. Poor Edith is something of a monster of bad faith but her paranoia and sneakiness are intimately familiar; they're cartoon exaggerations of us all. All that deception, all those tangled webs. Stinkbug tickles the reader but then it starts to pinch; to squeeze and to claw at your fears. What begins as workplace farce mutates into a corporate horror show as everyone's salaries are revealed and suddenly, chillingly, 'Edith's colleagues [move] towards her … speaking in low voices, coming closer, gnashing their teeth and snarling things that she couldn't catch.'
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
When a sea change collides with messy midlife
During Melbourne's lockdowns, Journalist Kate Halfpenny and her husband Chris decided to leave the city for a sea change, to a beautiful town called Ocean Grove on the Bellarine Peninsula. For the first time in her life, Kate had an empty house, no job commitments and no city life to distract her. She was able to indulge daily in her love of boogie boarding and surf-side walks with her dog, Maggie. One day at the beach, Kate saw her elderly father struggling in the surf. Chris was in the water next to him, but was acting strangely and couldn't manage to haul him out of the dangerous water. That evening, Chris confessed his alcoholism to Kate and the couple faced the inevitable decisions they would have to navigate, together and apart. Further information Boogie Wonderland is published by Affirm Press.
ABC News
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Encore: the charming Italian narcissist
When Kerstin Pilz was in her 40s, she fell madly in love with a charismatic Italian man named Gianni. The two married and began travelling the world together. Then Gianni suddenly fell ill. As he was in the hospital undergoing surgery for life-threatening cancer, Kerstin discovered her husband was not the man she thought he was. Further information Loving my Lying, Dying, Cheating Husband is published by Affirm Press. Originally broadcast in June 2024. Find out more about the Conversations Live National Tour on the ABC website.
Scoop
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Australian Comedian Andrew Hamilton Embarks On First New Zealand Tour
Press Release – de Launay Enterprises In response to growing demand, Australian online comedy star, ANDREW HAMILTON will tour New Zealand for the very first time this June with his award-nominated, critically acclaimed debut show ' Jokes About the Time I Went to Prison '. Andrew will perform a select run of dates in Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch and Whatawhata (in the Waikato). The New Zealand shows will kick off Andrew's extended international tour with dates soon to be announced. Tickets are on sale now head to In 2021, Andrew spent four months in two of Sydney's maximum-security prisons for the supply of psychedelic drugs. While incarcerated, Andrew began noticing the transportive power of laughter. After all, if a joke can make you forget you're in prison, what else can it do? Upon his release from prison, Andrew took up stand-up comedy, initially under strict bail conditions where his parents had to come with him to shows, and he had to be home in time for curfew. One year later, Andrew's debut solo show, 'Jokes About the Time I Went to Prison', garnered him critical acclaim, along with a nomination for 'Best Newcomer' at the renowned Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2023. Following the success of 'Jokes About the Time …' Andrew performed sold-out festival shows in 2024 with his follow-up comedy ' Shit Bloke'. He then embarked on his first solo headline tour later that year, entertaining packed-out rooms all around Australia. The tour aligned with the widely publicised release of Andrew's autobiography, ' The Profound Benefits of a Stint in Prison' (Affirm Press). Andrew's viral online appearances have attracted over a billion views, and earned him an international following, initially as a member of the viral YouTube channel, YeahMadTV, and now with The OG Crew. For a unique night of comedy, don't miss Andrew Hamilton this June. Wednesday, June 11 – WHATAWHATA – The Backyard Gastropub Thursday, June 12 – AUCKLAND – The Tuning Fork Friday, June 13 – TAURANGA – 16th Avenue Theatre Saturday, June 14 – PETONE – Abandoned Taproom Sunday, June 15 – CHRISTCHURCH – Space Academy
