Love And Honour And Pity And Pride And Compassion And Sacrifice Penguin Specials

A young Vietnamese-Australian named Nam, in his final year at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop, is trying to find his voice on the page. When his father, a man with a painful past, comes to visit, Nam's writing and sense of self are both deeply changed. Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice is a deeply moving story of identity, family and the wellsprings of creativity, from Nam Le's multi-award-winning collection The Boat. 'A tight and densely emotional journey that sucked me in and contained as much power as the lengthy title.' Killings, the Kill Your Darlings blog

In 1979, Nam Le's family left Vietnam for Australia, an experience that inspires the first and last stories in The Boat. In between, however, Le's imagination lays claim to the world. The Boat takes us from a tourist in Tehran to a teenage hit man in Colombia; from an ageing New York artist to a boy coming of age in a small Victorian fishing tow...

A big old Victorian terrace in Jersey Road, Woollahra, is thought to be haunted by the two Darkling sisters from the 1920s. When a young family moves in, dark images of these sisters, and of relationships closer to home, hang over them. Beautifully crafted and keenly observed, this story from Dorothy Hewett's acclaimed collection A Baker's Dozen is a stunning evocation of family, memories and neighbourhood.

In her extraordinary career, spanning over fifty years, Ita Buttrose has been involved in every aspect of the media, from newspapers and magazines to television and radio and now, electronic publishing. Starting as a copygirl on The Australian Women's Weekly, by the age of sixteen her journalism career was well underway when she was granted a cadetship on the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs. In Starting Out Ita describes discovering her love of journalism and publishing, how she overcame the challenge of being a woman in the workplace in the fifties and sixties, and the excitement of seeing her first byline in print. Starting Out is an engaging and insightful account of the early days of Ita Buttrose's career, depicting events that have shaped one of Australia's most prominent and distinguished women.

When Jill Meagher went missing and was then found murdered in 2012, the city of Melbourne was shaken to the core. Emotional responses ranged from grief to guilt to rage to defensiveness, but no one was left untouched. The media coverage was unrelenting and overwhelming, constantly updating readers and viewers on the latest awful details, and friends and neighbours couldn't help but discuss it. Here acclaimed writer Michaela McGuire eloquently describes how, as the story continued to unfold, it wove itself through the fabric of the city. A Story of Grief is a deeply moving examination of the act of grief and how the death of someone we don't know personally can still consume us. 'Affecting and thought-provoking.' Newcastle Herald

Jørn Utzon designed the Sydney Opera House so that every element would be in harmony. But its construction, while it began in just that way, ended in complete discord. The visionary state government that commissioned the project was replaced by one that did not appreciate it and stopped funding it. Utzon was forced out. The interiors he planned went unbuilt and rumours were spread about his departure. In this incisive essay, to celebrate the Opera House's fortieth anniversary, Daryl Dellora draws on his own past interview with Utzon to pull those rumours apart. Along with the architect's original intentions, he reveals how misguided was the attempt to thwart one of the modern world's architectural masterpieces.

Rhonda Hetzel feels passionately that living simply leads to a richer, more fulfilling existence. Having made the decision to live frugally, embrace sustainability and opt out of the capitalist consumerist mindset, she set about working out how to achieve her goal, learning traditional skills, reducing her spending and environmental impact and focusing on the simple things that make life worth living: family, friends, and a home-cooked meal. This is the story of her journey and the lessons she has learned along the way. Rhonda relates why she wanted to change her lifestyle, what simple living means to her, and offers guidance to those thinking about taking the same path.

Liam Pieper's made some poor life choices, but he's (usually) meant well. He's tried to write important stories, fight racial prejudice and rescue traumatised puppies. And he's ended up with life-threatening infestations, a punch in the face at a Leonard Cohen concert and brief detention by counter-terrorism experts. Taking us from Nimbin to US border security to the star-studded Chateau Marmont in LA, these four essays are compelling, insightful and very funny. Mistakes Were Made is about the gap between our ideals in life – of love, compassion, ambition – and how things actually play out. 'His writing is electric: charged with meaning and energised by surprising comedic turns.' Weekend Australian 'Charming and amusing.' Sunday Age 'The ability to laugh at yourself is arguably the most valuable quality you can cultivate as a writer, and Liam Pieper has it in spades . . . he does hilarious self-deprecation with considerable panache.' Sydney Morning Herald