Past Programs
Design - 2008
Rooftops: Mandy Ord's graphic novel
03/04/2008
One of the changes that has happened in publishing in recent times has been the way the graphic novel has been plucked from the fringes and embraced as a legitimate form by some mainstream publishers. The remarkable success of Shaun Tan, whose illustrated books have found widespread critical acclaim, has broken down some of the resistance amongst adults to image-based story-telling.
But for the relatively new publishing house of Finlay Lloyd, whose first two books were thematic collections of essays, the decision to make their third book a graphic novel seems surprising. The new book is called Rooftops and the author and artist is Mandy Ord. It's the story of an eventful night as Mandy struggles to meet friends for a night-time film screening on a city rooftop.
This action-packed start contrasts with a much more thoughtful state towards the second half of the book, and an existential reverie about coincidences - involving a Greek-Armenian writer and mystic, a Hollywood actor and Somerset Maugham's book The Razor's Edge.
The Book Show's Michael Shirrefs spoke to Phil Day from the Finlay Lloyd publishing house and to Mandy Ord, the creator of Rooftops.
Arthur Boyd's artist book: Sangkuriang, a mythical Indonesian story
11/01/2008
Sangkuriang is a collaborative work between Indra Deigun and Arthur Boyd, who created swirling, magical images to accompany this mythical Indonesian story about volcanoes and strange, unearthly creatures. It was printed in 1993 and is in the State Library of Queensland artist book collection.
The Book Show's Sarah L'Estrange spoke to librarian Helen Cole about this book, which is one of her most treasured items in the collection.
