2019 Australian Women Writers Challenge

The Australian Women Writers Challenge has been running since 2012, with the aim of combating the gender bias prevalent in the Australian publishing industry.

I first joined in 2016, with the aim to read and review 12 books by AWWs, including two by Indigenous authors and two by LGBTI* authors. In 2018, I increased my goal to 20, with the same diversity challenge-within-a-challenge. In 2019, I stuck with 20 but also added a goal of reading two books by POC authors other than Indigenous writers.

If you would like more information about the Australian Women Writers Challenge, please click here.

Here are the books I read and reviewed for this year’s challenge. Click the titles to read my reviews. The list will be updated as the year goes on.

  1. Finding Aurora by Rebecca Langham (fantasy – 3 stars – LGBTIQ* author)
  2. The Zigzag Effect by Lili Wilkinson (YA contemporary – 3.5 stars)
  3. Between Us by Clare Atkins (YA contemporary – 5 stars)
  4. Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein (YA thriller – 3 stars)
  5. Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina (YA fantasy?? – 2.5 stars – Indigenous authors)
  6. Hive by A. J. Betts (YA dystopia – 3 stars)
  7. P Is For Pearl by Eliza Henry Jones (YA contemporary – 4 stars)
  8. Lucid Dreaming by Kristy Fairlamb (YA supernatural thriller – 3 stars)
  9. His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda (MG fantasy – 4 stars)

  10. The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty (MG fantasy – 3 stars)

  11. Get the Girls Out by Lucy Bloom (memoir – 4 stars)
  12. Women of Wasps and War by Madeline D’Este (fantasy – 4.5 stars)
  13. The Women In Black by Madeline St John (historical fiction – 4 stars)
  14. Songbird by Ingrid Laguna (MG contemporary fiction – 5 stars)
  15. The Antics of Evangeline by Madeline D’Este (YA steampunk – 4 stars)
  16. Portable Curiosities by Julie Koh (short stories/satire/humour – 4 stars) (POC author)
  17. The Serpent and the Flower by Madeleine D’Este (YA horror – 3 stars)
  18. The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke (memoir – 4 stars) (POC author)
  19. Welcome to Country by Marcia Langton (non-fiction – unrated) (Indigenous author)
  20. Beneath the Surface by Rebecca Langham (YA sci-fi – 3 stars) (LGBTQI* author)

I was pushing it, with my final review posted on December 31, but I managed to complete all of my requirements for this year’s challenge! I’ll see you next year!

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