2018 was a big year for learning, and our editors were happy to discuss and share as much as they could. This post pulls together everything we learnt over the year about writing, reading and publishing. Take a look and check out the posts you may have missed or the ones you might want to…
Category: Jess Gately
Aussie Titles Reviewed in 2018
2018 was a huge year for reviews with our editors covering a range of genres, themes and authors. Take a trip down memory lane to see all the great Aussie titles we reviewed in 2018! Defying Doomsday edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench, reviewed by Jemimah Halbert Brewster Grace Beside Me by Sue…
3 things to consider when choosing books for your loved ones this Christmas
Have you ever heard of Jolabokaflod, the Icelandic tradition of giving books on Christmas Eve? Translated to ‘The Christmas Book Flood’, Icelanders spend months pouring over book catalogues in the lead up to Christmas before exchanging books and chocolate on Christmas Eve and spending the night reading together by a cosy fire. Ok so the…
Freelance Writing series part 3: Freelancers in action
Image from Canva Free Stock Images Freelance writing comes in many different forms which means there are lots of different ways to approach it. This is why every so often in the Freelance Writing series we’re going to check back in with our three resident professionals. A massive thank you to Ruth Dawkins, Lindy Alexander and Abby…
Issue 24 has arrived!
Issue 24 has arrived! The cover this issue was designed by WA-based artist Jonathan Park, whom you can find on Instagram at @fresh_kb Our Editors shone throughout this year, and they’ve worked hard on the short stories and poems you’ll find within the pages of issue 24. Download the issue for a fresh assortment of short…
Freelance Writing series part 2: What to know before you start
Image from Canva Free Stock Images Freelancing isn’t an easy gig. There’s no job security, no sick pay, no holiday leave, and you’re in charge of literally everything to do with your business. All those departments you see in an office are now you: legal, accounts, marketing, admin… So, it’s good to know a bit…
Freelance Writing series part 1: Types of Freelance Writing
Image from Canva Free Stock Images One of the most common topics we get asked to cover at Underground is freelance writing. It’s never a straight up question, rather it’s a somewhat vague ‘tips on freelancing would be nice’. When someone asks about being a freelancer my first question is always: what type of freelance…
Review: Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman, by Jess Gately
Title: Terra Nullius Author: Claire G. Coleman Genre: Fiction/Science-fiction Favourite part: Esperance reflecting on how the Settler’s colonisation methods set the Natives up for failure. Favourite quote: ‘He knew now though, that when you plant bones, nothing grows from them. Nothing but pain.’ For all the fiction in this book, it is the truths that…
Underground Books is now open for all your Australian debut reading needs
Underground Books, the new online bookshop from Underground Writers, officially launches this weekend. The online store will only stock debut titles from Australian or Australian-based authors with all profits from the sales going towards funding the group’s projects to support emerging Australian writers. Operations Manager and Editor-in-Chief Jemimah Halbert Brewster said the store had ‘already…
Writing big topics for the small page, by Jess Gately
[Image Description: A silhouette of a soldier carrying another soldier who is presumably injured or dead across an empty battlefield. The text reads ‘The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick…
Jess G.’s Character List
A Character List by Jess Gately Have you ever read a book and when the character died you cried, or when something good happened to them you smiled, and when they didn’t get the ending you thought they deserved you were angry? I love a character-driven novel, and I love to fall in love with…
Underground Writers announce bold new initiative to support debut Australian authors
Underground Writers have announced that they will launch an online bookstore called Underground Books which will only stock debut Australian titles. All profits from the store will go towards supporting the group’s projects which provide information, education, and encouragement to emerging Australian writers. Underground Operations Manager and Editor-In-Chief, Jemimah Halbert Brewster, said the bookstore will…
Review: The Sisters’ Song by Louise Allan, by Jess Gately
Title: The Sisters’ Song Author: Louise Allan Genre: Historical Fiction A review by Jess Gately If you’re struggling to understand why gender roles are so persevering, this book might be a good place to start. As more and more mothers admit to feeling judged, Louise Allan’s debut novel can tell us a lot about the…
Writer’s Block. Is it real and how to get past it? by Jess Gately
Writer’s Block is the bane of all writers. Whether it takes the form of staring at a blank page not knowing what to write, or helplessly writing and rewriting the same line over and over again and never actually moving forward, writer’s block can be very destructive to those who allow it to rule them….
Review: Songs That Sound Like Blood by Jared Thomas, Jess Gately
Title: Songs That Sound Like Blood Genre: New Adult Fiction Themes: Coming of Age, Change, Coming Out, Racism Favourite quote: “[Dad] always said that people are supposed to move, that it recharges and calms us down. He explained that our ancestors formed our country perfectly to give us everything we needed. Water and bush tucker were…
Jess G.’s TBR list – round 2
The great thing about the New Year is that I get a chance to re-evaluate my reading goals. In 2017 I had two main goals: to read more and to read things outside of my usual genres. Whilst I accomplished my second goal, I did not accomplish my first. Looking back I realise that the…
Australian titles reviewed in 2017!
Below are all the Australian titles reviewed by Underground Writers in 2017! The Other Woman by Kylie Jones, reviewed by Kate, Shelley, and Jess Rae That Eye, the Sky by Tim Winton, reviewed by Kate Lomas Glendenning Rubik by Elizabeth Tan, reviewed by Jess Gately Portable Curiosities by Julie Koh, reviewed by Jemimah…
3 Things I Learnt During NaNoWriMo, by Jess Gately
3 Things I Learnt During NaNoWriMo By Jess Gately Over the years I have participated or skipped NaNoWriMo as I see necessary. For me, NaNoWriMo has always been an opportunity to fully explore an idea and get the groundwork going for a novel. It’s also a great time to build your writing skills, identify your…
3 Tips for Generating Ideas During NaNoWriMo, by Jess Gately
Stuck for ideas during NaNoWriMo? Here’s 3 tips to get you back on track… Whether you’re pantsing it and having a bit of a dry spell or planning it and need a little something to fill the gaps, it’s almost a given that at some point in NaNoWriMo you’re going to be stuck for ideas…
Review: Watching Cartoons With Boys by Emma Michelle, reviewed by Jess Gately
Issue 20’s Review Watching Cartoons With Boys by Emma Michelle A review by Jess Gately (this review can be found in Issue 20: Nostalgia) It stands that any book that introduces it themes using The Simpsons and links it in with such classics as Pokemon and Futurama was always going to grip me from the…
7 Tips for Surviving NaNoWriMo, by Jess Gately
Are you ready? Tomorrow is November 1st and the beginning of NaNoWriMo! If you haven’t already, I sincerely suggest you head on over to our first NaNo post, Pantser or Planner, Top Tips for Preparing for NaNoWriMo, to get some tips on preparing for the month ahead. First, a recap, because there’s some stuff in…
Pantser or Planner: 5 Top Tips for Preparing for NaNoWriMo, by Jess Gately
NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month for those of you new to the concept) is the annual challenge that gets writers writing. The challenge, should you choose to accept, is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Now of course the work you produce in that 30 days is not going to be the final…
Review: The Good Girl of Chinatown by Jenevieve Chang, reviewed by Jess Gately
Earlier this year I mentioned this book as part of my TBR list. Its blurb about a journey through Chang’s past peppered with themes of racism and reverse-racism intrigued me, but whilst it certainly delivered these things, this was not the book I was expecting. This was much more the story of a lost soul…
Interview: Robert Edeson, author of ‘Bad to Worse’
Robert Edeson talks writing with Underground Writers’ Jess Gately “I don’t know a lot about how people write, I’ve just always enjoyed living in my own imagination and that’s where these books come from.” It is an unusually cold and wet day in Perth when Robert Edeson and I meet at Subiaco’s Café Café….
Review: Bad to Worse by Robert Edeson, reviewed by Jess Gately
Winner of the T.A.G. Hungerford Award, Robert Edeson’s style of fiction is unlike anything I’ve ever read. His latest book, Bad to Worse, is the story of a vendetta that dates back to the old American West. When a pilot insists that the crash of his plane is the result of a collision with an…
5 Faux Pas That Will Prevent You Getting Published, by Jess Gately
5 Faux Pas That Will Prevent You Getting Published By Jess Gately At Underground, we deal with a lot of emerging writers, who are submitting their work for publication for the first time. This means that we’re generally pretty forgiving when it comes to some of the faux pas that new writers make when they…
Jess Gately’s TBR list
At present, my TBR list sits at 16 books and counting so choosing just a few to write about in this list was difficult. It’s always been this way for me. I’m always buying books faster than I can read them, and with a Facebook feed full of recommendations, a Goodreads app that is always…
Writing Challenge Day 7
Writing Challenge Day 7 *Here is a list of story genres: romance, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, children’s book, comedy, murder mystery, western. Feel free to add any others that you like to the list.* Look at a story you’ve written this week and re-write it in the above styles. How does changing the style change your…
Writing Challenge Day 6
Writing Challenge Day 6 *write a list of your favourite characters/historical figures/celebrities.* You invite them all to dinner. What is the dinner conversation like?
Writing Challenge Day 5
Writing Challenge Day 5 *Google “weird news”. Write a list of the kooky headlines that come up.”* Imagine you wake up one day in an alternative universe where those headlines are normal. What is this alternative world like? You discover that you know one of the people involved in one of the news stories. How…
Writing Challenge Day 4
Writing Challenge Day 4 *Following on from yesterday’s challenge, write a list of places you or your character want to go.* Why do you/your character want to go to each place? What do those places have in common? How would you get to each place? What do you think would happen at each place?
Writing Challenge Day 3
Writing Challenge Day 3 *Write a list of places you or your character have been. They can be as far ranging as countries or as close to home as the local shops.* Try to link these places. What does each place say about you/your character? What did you learn in each place? What happened in…
Writing Challenge: Day 1
Writing Challenge Day 1 *write a list of things that are around you right now (objects, people, weather, sounds, smells…)* Write a story that incorporates them all. How far out of your space can you make those objects reach? How different can you make the space around you become?
Writing Challenge June 2017
Underground is proud to present the 2017 mid year writing challenge! In honour of upcoming issue, The List, this challenge utilises lists to help us develop settings, characters, plots and style. The rules are simple. Each day this week (Monday 12th – Sunday 18th June) at 5am (AWST) we’ll post the day’s list challenge. You’ll…
Review: Rubik by Elizabeth Tan, reviewed by Jess Gately
May’s Review is here! Rubik, by Elizabeth Tan A review by editor Jessica Gately I was lucky enough to be introduced to this book at its launch at Beaufort Street Books in Mt Lawley. I joined a throng of other local literature lovers as store reps served wine and nibbles and Tan signed copies of…
Review: Black Hole Blues by Janna Levin, reviewed by Jess Gately
Issue 18’s Review Black Hole Blues by Janna Levin A review by editor Jessica Gately (this review can be found in issue 18: Black Hole) The timing of this book falling into my hands could not have been better. Apart from the impending release of this issue of Underground, whose theme is also somewhat coincidentally…
Interview: Marianna Shek, author of ‘The Stolen Button’, by Jess Gately
This Month we talk to author Marianna Shek about her picture book for adults The Stolen Button, which Marianna is currently funding for self-publication through Kickstarter. You can donate to her fund here. Hearts are stolen every day, but a stolen belly button- well, that has consequences! When willful Mei Ling wheedles her mother Lady Lin…
Perth Writers Festival 2017 – Big Bold Ideas
A review of this year’s Perth Writers Festival by Jess G Big Bold Ideas was the theme of this year’s Perth Writers Festival, held from February 23rd– 26th as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. Packed full of passionate and courageous writers covering a multitude of political topics, the cornerstone of the festival was…
Submissions and NaNoWriMo!
Hey Hey happy writers, As many of you may already know, NaNoWriMo is next month! National Novel Writing Month encourages you to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Intimidating? Maybe a little… Fun? DEFINITELY!! So our advice from here at Underground is to start preparing. Start getting a skeleton plot together and if you’ve…