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…
Tag: Jess Gately
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…
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…
Issue 21: Mythological Figures
Issue 21: Mythological Figures is here! This issue is packed full of poetic goodness form MTC Cronin & Peter Boyle, Alys Jackson, Elise Kelly, and Maddie Godfrey; with room to sink your teeth into short stories from Jude Bridge, Sian Tondut, and Antony Millen. There’s a whole lot of re-tellings, re-visitings, revisions, and cheeky adn…
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…
Issue 20: Nostalgia
Issue 20: Nostalgia is here! This issue you’ll find some excellent poetry by Allan Lake, Jan Price and Bradley Baronner, a few delectable short stories by Sarah Widdup, Jane Downing and Caitlin Farrugia, and a whole lot of fond and bittersweet Nostalgia: from places and people to time and things. We’re especially excited about our…
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…
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…
Underground is part of the WA Literary Youth Festival!
This Tuesday 11th April Underground Writers will be participating in a panel as part of the Literary Youth Festival in the Cultural Centre of Perth! The panel is entitledåÊLit. Laptops, and explores the field of online Podcasting and Blogging. The panel will discuss how they started their blogs and podcast, and share some of their…
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…