Report from the NTWriters’ Festival 2022: Balarr – Catching the Light
How many writers’ festivals are held on the edge of the ocean under a tropical sky? In Darwin, called Garrmalang in the language of the Larrakia people, visitors were treated to four days of fantastic literary events beneath leafy casuarina trees or in the shade of a huge marquee. The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory hosted the […]
Recent Interview in NT’s leading magazine, “Off the Leash”, September 2021
Dina Davis Q&A I was recently interviewed by Rita Horanyi from the NT Writers’ Centre. Here’s what we had to say: Rita: Darwin-based author Dina Davis has published stories, articles and poems in journals and anthologies, and her debut novel, Capriccio, was shortlisted for last year’s NT Chief Minister’s Fiction Award. Her latest book, A Dangerous Daughter, draws from her own experiences to tackle the complex subject of eating disorders. NT Writers’ Centre caught up with Dina to chat about her new work. Congratulations on your new book! Tell us quickly, what’s A Dangerous Daughter all about? Dina: Basically, it’s a story of survival against all odds. Thirteen year old Ivy is suffering from an undiagnosed illness. After several unsuccessful treatments she is exiled from her family in NSW and sent to live with relatives in WA. The book details her daily struggle with an entity she calls ‘The Voice’ which won’t let her eat. Ultimately Ivy is diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, which was almost unknown in the 1950s, when the story takes place. What inspired the novel? Dina: I was inspired by two synchronistic events: the first was being invited to take part in an international study on anorexia, which proved that it is an illness with a largely genetic component. This knowledge freed me a lot from the self-blame that had plagued my life. The second was the discovery of a letter from over 50 years ago, written by the psychoanalyst who had treated me. I wanted […]
NT Writers’ Festival 2020
We in the Territory are exceptionally lucky to be holding an outdoor,LIVE, Writers’ Festival, in spite of Covid 19.We have been declared Covid free for the second time, after 28 days with no cases. There will of course be social distancing in place in our beautiful Botanical Gardens where the Festival will take place. I can’t quite believe I’ll […]
In Quarantine
The Northern Territory of Australia has the lowest rates of Covid 19 in the country. Here’s why: Signs like this one encouraged residents to observe social distancing, even after there’d been no new cases for some weeks. Public swimming pools, gyms, schools, sports arenas were closed from the very beginning. Office workers, teachers, and even doctors worked from home. But […]
Darwin: the best-kept secret.
The rains came down last night, a welcome relief from the humid Build-up. This season has its own beauties: Mangoes falling from trees, flowers bursting into colour, clouds swelling, tinged violet in the setting sun. Every season in the Top End has its distinct beauty: the clear blue skies and cool nights of the Dry, heralded in early May by […]
Writerly Darwin
Did you know that Darwin is a Mecca for writers, artists, and all souls creative? In my three months in the Top End, I have been published in the NT Writers Anthology, been shortlisted for a literary prize, participated in a left-of-centre Writers’ Group called ‘Write Now’, been invited to Government House for […]
Darwin in the BuildUp
We stepped off the plane on Boxing Day into what felt like a sauna, turned up to the max. In an instant our clothes were soaking wet, our mouths dry. The short walk to our waiting car took our breath away. ‘The Wet’s late this year,’ said my lovely daughter, a Darwinite for the last twenty years, ‘so it’s still […]
Darwin Mon Amour
We were greeted this Dry season by a lively green frog jumping out of the toilet bowl. Forget your city ways, it croaked, you’re living with Nature in the Top End. I was not inclined to agree until said frog had been safely deposited outside, where it glared at us from the arm of a chair while we ate our […]
Until We Are All Free
My 13-yr-old granddaughter, Zoë, on Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers: My name is Zoë Davis. I live in a comfortable home with a room all to myself. I go to school, have three large meals a day, have a hot shower whenever I want, and have a family who love and support me. I live in a city where I […]
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Dina Davis Author 