Oral historian Helen McAnulty is pictured (above)at the Orange launch for her book History Talking with Alex Jenkins who wrote the foreword and has his war story included in the book.

A love of collecting and writing oral history has led to a unique book titled History Talking by Central West writer and oral historian Helen McAnulty covering reminiscences of people from Gulgong, Mudgee and Orange. At the recent launches in both Gulgong and Orange, Helen said how much she enjoyed collecting people's memories. She also shared wonderful anecdotes from the book including an amazing coincidence about a nurse involved in a leg amputation operation and then a chance meeting with that patient. Helen has been collecting and writing oral history for the past 30 years. The book is supported by the Oral History Group, Marsden Memorial Rural History Research Centre, Gulgong Research Centre, Mudgee Historical Society and the many people who generously shared their memories and photographs. The book can be purchased from the Marsden group and local bookshops.

BooksPlus are bringing former child soldier, Niromi de Soyza, to Bathurst to speak about her experiences as part of the Tamil Tigers on Wednesday 21st September at Bathurst Library.

Niromi has written of her experiences in her new book, 'Tamil Tigress', which has been chosen as one of the '50 Great Reads' in this year's National 'Get Reading' Campaign.

Leaving behind a shocked middle-class Sri Lankan family, Niromi& her lifelong friend Ajanthi, joined the Tamil Tigers as 17 year olds in 1987. Equipped only with a rifle and a cyanide capsule, they became part of the Tamil Tigers' first female contingent. They managed to survive on their wits in the jungle, facing not only the perils of war but starvation, illness and growing internal tensions among the militant Tigers.

Niromi's book explores how a well-educated, mixed-race, middle-class girl came to fight with the Tamil Tigers. Today she lives in Sydney with her husband and children. Don't miss this fantastic opportunity to hear this extraordinary woman talk about her compelling story.

BooksPlus & Bathurst Library have organised for Niromi to speak at Bathurst Library on Wednesday 21st September at 6.15pm. Tickets are free & bookings can be made by contacting BooksPlus on 6331 5994 or orders@booksplus.com.au, or by contacting Bathurst Library in Keppel Street on 6333 6281. Its part of the Get Reading campaign!

Author Brennan Keats gives a special presentation on his book Quiet Waters at Orange and Cowra Libraries during March. His book follows the life of Russell Keats, a sensitive 20 year old supply assistant on board HMAS Canberra as related from his personal letters to his parents before the Battle of Savo Sound. The book provides graphic written accounts of day to day shipboard life in prominent naval units in WWII and the experiences of a young man with a strong sense of duty. It also gives a detailed account of the Japanese attack on Sydney Harbour during May and June of 1942. It includes many photos from the Australian War Memorial and others in private collections.

Come along to meet author Brennan Keats at:

Orange City Library Monday 28 March, 5.30pm for 6pm start RSVP to 6393 8132 Free

Cowra Library Tuesday 29 March, 12.30pm RSVP to 6340 2180 Free

You have until 30 November to submit your appliation for this one. The Varuna Publisher Fellowships program offers 15 six-night residential fellowships during June 2011. Writers will be selected by Allen & Unwin, Random House Australia, Text, Scribe, University of Queensland Press, Picaro Press and Pan Macmillan Australia. The two writers selected by each of the publishers (and one standout addition) will be resident at Varuna over the course of three weeks in June 2011. Writers will receive a one-hour consultation with one of Varuna's writing consultants, and their finished manuscript will be read by a Varuna writing consultant before being sent to the publisher. Please note: The publisher awarding the residency will not generally have any contact with the writer until the manuscript is submitted in its finished form. Who should apply: Writers with a major project in any genre of fiction, narrative non-fiction and poetry, at any stage of development. Only writers who are actively contracted to a particular publisher for the submitted work are excluded from applying. Important dates: Applications are accepted from 1 November 2010 and must be delivered (electronically) by 5pm on 30 November 2010. Shortlisted applicants will be announced on the Varuna website (News & Diary section) 30 January 2011. Final selections will be available on the Varuna website by 30 March 2011. Costs to applicant: $55 (including GST) per application. Fees cover administrative costs and help sustain this program. Successful applicants contribute $300 towards a 6-night residency at Varuna and a consultation with a Varuna writing consultant.

For more information click on the go to www.varuna.com

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality.

In 2009, they had over 165,000 participants. More than 30,000 of them crossed the 50K finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. For details go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/ And good luck to Deb and Jeffery, Central West Writers' Centre members who will be taking up the challenge!

The discovery of gold in Australia in 1851 was a turning point in Australia's history, changing forever the way Australians saw themselves and how others perceived the colony. Author David Hill will launch his latest book, 'Gold, the Fever that Forever Changed Australia' in Orange on Saturday, November 13.

Hill uses the diaries, journals, books, letters, official reports, parliamentary inquiries and newspaper reports of the time, along with his own master storyteller's skill of bringing the past to life.

Of particular interest to Orange district residents, the first chapter is devoted to the finding of gold at Ophir and whether Hargraves was the real discoverer or Lister and Tom. There is also a detailed telling of the huge gold robbery at Escort Rock on the road to Forbes.

David Hill's talk will take place at the Orange Regional Conservatorium in Hill Street at 7pm. After the talk Can Assist will provide light refreshments and David will be available to discuss and sign his book.

The cost for the evening is $25, with profits to go to Can Assist. Tickets are available from Collins Booksellers, 230 Summer Street, Orange, phone 6369-1333.

David Hill's book launch is taking place on the same weekend as the gold events at Millthorpe Museum.

Atlas, a boutique Australian publishing company, is proud to launch the inaugural Atlas Award in search of an exceptional author of an unpublished fiction or nonfiction manuscript. The winner of the Atlas Award will be announced in April 2011 and will have their manuscript published by Atlas in 2012. Atlas Productions Director, Helen Goltz, said budding authors were finding it almost impossible to get their manuscript seen by a publisher."Very few publishers are accepting unsolicited manuscripts and very few agents are accepting new clients," Ms Goltz said. "Even a small firm like Atlas, gets inundated by authors both locally and from overseas requesting consideration. "The Atlas Award allows us to accept submissions at least once a year to unearth some great new talent and to offer budding Australian authors the chance for publication," she said. The competition is now open and manuscripts ideally should be between 55,000 and 85,000 words. The deadline for receipt of entries is Tuesday 14 December, 2010 and entries should be postmarked on or before this date. A $20 entry fee applies. For more information go to the Atlas website: www.atlasproductions.com.au

A book launch for The Long Way Home - by Jo Bailey with Ronnie Sabin will be held in these locations tomorrow Friday 12 March: Meet the authors at the front of Jayes Gallery and Cafe from 10am - 12 noon, 31 - 33 Gidley Street, Molong or Boomers' Bookshop, City Centre, Orange 2pm - 4pm. The book is promoted as the story of Fairbridge Farm School that needs to be told. "At last a balanced account of life at Fairbridge through the eyes of Ronnie Sabin, who for six years in the 1950s called Fairbridge Farm School at Molong home. Often hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching, The Long Way Home adds a positive perspective to the Child Migrant Scheme debate. It pays tribute to Fairbridge and details Ronnie's delight as finally being reunited with his family in England after 55 years." It retails for $29.95

Minister for the Arts Peter Garrett has announced the winners of the 2009 Prime Minister's Literary Awards......fanfare, applause.......

The winner of the 2009 Fiction award is Nam Le for his book of short stories The Boat. The judging panel was impressed by the daring scope and excellence of its execution, the generous breadth of its emotional and social traverse and the excitement generated by every story.

In 2009, two books and three authors share the Non-Fiction award. The winners are Evelyn Juers for House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly Kroeger-Mann; and Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds for Drawing the Global Colour Line. Both books explore important racial, moral and political issues of Australia's past. The Non-Fiction judging panel said "With great intellectual authority and international research Evelyn Juers, Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds tell their stories magnificently."

Find out more about the shortlist and winners at www.arts.gov.au/pmliteraryawards

Meet Don Tate, author of The War Within – regarded as one of the most extraordinary memoirs ever published in Australia. You will also see colour film of his infantry experiences in Vietnam during 1969 now valued at $100,000.

Don was permanently disabled when his platoon was ambushed by a Viet Cong company entrenched in bunkers in July 1969. He subsequently spent more than two years in military and repatriation hospitals. Don recounts his remarkable life story in The War Within.

He has appeared on: RPA, A Current Affair, Today, Susie and the 7.30 Report. Meet Don at: Orange City Library, Byng Street, Orange on Wednesday 3 June 12 noon – 1.30pm, please RSVP by calling 6393 8132 or

Come to Cowra Visitor Information Centre Olympic Park, Mid Western Highway, Cowra on Wednesday 3 June 5.30pm – 7pm, please RSVP by calling 6342 4333.