Shelf Life
Shelf Life - for Sydney’s every day reader
‘Shelf Life’ is a half hour program produced by the University of Western Sydney that delves into book launches, writing groups and the thoughts of both famous local authors and day to day readers to showcase what’s on offer for Australians who are keen to put their bookmark to use.
Presented by Dr Milissa Deitz and Dr Rachel Morley from the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, ‘Shelf Life’ also explores unique book shops and their owners, and investigates how e-books are reshaping the local publishing landscape.
The new CEO of TVS and Executive Producer of ‘Shelf Life’ Rachel Bentley says universities are hubs for creative thinking and discovering new trends, and UWS is in a great position to expand the public’s enthusiasm for books, novels, and all sorts of writing.
“Despite Australia’s love of sport, libraries remain the most visited cultural institutions in the country, so there’s a huge audience craving a show like Shelf Life,” says Ms Bentley, who is also from the School of Humanities and Communication Arts.
“This series is focused on discovering new authors and new ideas, and seeing how people access books though libraries and friends' recommendations.”
Shelf Life Series 1
Episode 1
In this first episode of Shelf Life, we meet author Anita Heiss and take a tour of the historic Mitchell Wing of the NSW State Library. In our Bookmark segment, we review Anita's book "Manhattan Dreaming"; and Max Cryer's "Who Said That First?".
Episode 2
This week we talk to Ashley Ekins, and take a trip to Lidcombe Library. We review "1918: Year of Victory", edited by Ashley Ekins; and Richard Flanagan's "Wanting".
Episode 3
In this episode, we meet author Maggie Joel, and we find out what Penguin Plays Rough is all about. We review Maggie's book "The Second-Last Woman in England"; and "Leave To Remain: a memoir" by Abbas El-Zein.
Episode 4
This week we talk to Hugh Mackay, author and social researcher. We visit Kirribilli Bookshop, and find out what's happening at Parramatta Library. In our Bookmark segment, we review "Love and Other U-Turns" by Louisa Deasey; and Nick Cave's "The Death of Bunny Munro".
Episode 5
In Shelf Life this week, we talk to author/illustrator Bronwyn Bancroft(opens in a new window) and we meet the finalists of the 2010 "What Matters?" writing competition(opens in a new window) held at the Whitlam Institute(opens in a new window) at University of Western Sydney. We review "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; and "Jasper and Abby and the Great Australia Day Kerfuffle" by Kevin Rudd and Rhys Muldoon.
Episode 6
We talk to Jane Goodall(opens in a new window) who takes a refreshingly down-to-earth look at the modern novel. We travel to Leura to Megalong Books, and we meet the founder of the Footpath Library, an amazing institution which provides books to people who are homeless. We review "Making News" by Tony Wilson; and "How To Cause A Scandal" by Laura Kipnis.
Episode 7
This week, we visit Merrylands Library, and take you on a writing retreat at Varuna House. We review Miranda Darling's "The Troika Dolls"; and "The Happiest Refugee" by Anh Do.
Episode 8
We meet author Greg Noble(opens in a new window) whose research into multicultural identity led to the book "Lines In The Sand", about the Cronulla riots. We take a trip to Auburn Library, to meet living, breathing books. We review two intriguing publications: Nikki Greenberg's graphic novel version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet"; and Bob Dylan's "Forever Young", illustrated by Paul Rogers.
Episode 9
This week we visit Springwood Library, and talk to author and historian Carol Liston(opens in a new window) about her pictoral history book "Liverpool and District". We review DBC Pierre's "Lights Out In Wonderland"; and "Room" by Emma Donoghue.
Episode 10
This week, we visit the Whitlam Collection(opens in a new window) at University of Western Sydney, and talk to the founder of an independent publishing house, ACE Press. We review Stephen King's "Under The Dome"; and "The World Beneath" by Cate Kennedy.
Episode 11
Shelf Life spent some time at the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival. This week we talk to author Steven Lang about his book "88 Lines About 44 Women".
Episode 12
We meet the author of "Baba Yaga Laid An Egg", Dubravka Ugresic, at the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival.
Episode 13
We talk to author and journalist Jack Marx about his book "Australian Tragic: gripping tales from the dark side of our history".
Episode 14
In this week's interview from the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival, we meet author Patrick Cullen, who takes us through the process of writing his first novel, "What Came Between".
Episode 15
This week at the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival, we talk to author and magazine columnist Mark Dapin about his debut novel "King of the Cross", winner of the 2010 Ned Kelly Award. And we take you to the 2010 Zine Fair, held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Rocks.
Episode 16
We meet spoken word artist Emilie Zoey Baker at the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival, and get a taste of performance poetry.
Episode 17
In this week's feature episode from the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival, Shelf Life talks to Australian author Frank Moorhouse about writing, mentoring, and the value of the book.
Episode 18
We talk to Clinton Caward, who's worked in a number of different industries before settling down to write his first novel "Love Machine".
Episode 19
In this week's episode from the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival, we meet Fiona McGregor, who talks about the genesis of her fourth novel "Indelible Ink".
Episode 20
In our final episode from the 2010 Sydney Writers' Festival, we join the Westside Writers' Group to see and hear their latest works-in-progress. Ivor Indyk(opens in a new window) from University of Western Sydney is the facilitator of the group, and he gives us an insight into how the group has developed.
