Submitted by David Whish-Wilson on Fri, 08/07/2011 – 09:58

Late last year I was asked to write the 2010 Fiction Review Essay for the Westerly Journal. I was initially reluctant, as this involved reading some 30-40 Australian novels and short-story collections in the space of about three months, however, looking back it was a positive experience. Not only did I get to read many Australian writers that I might not have otherwise, but many of the novels, in particular, were memorable. My favourite novels of 2010 were Kim Scott’s That Deadman Dance and Fiona McGregor’s Indelible Ink. Other novels I particularly enjoyed were Chris Womersley’s Bereft, Stephen Daisley’s Traitor and Patrick Holland’s The Mary Smokes Boys (and Gail Jones’s Five Bells, for the writing alone.) The final review essay came to some 8000 words, and can be found at http://www.westerlycentre.uwa.edu.au/magazine/volume-56-1