This week on The ABR Podcast we feature a short story from the ABR archive. The story, ‘Joan Mercer’s Fertile Head’ by S.J. Finn, was commended in the 2018 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story prize. (The 2025 Jolley Short Story Prize is now open!) S.J. Finn is an Australian writer based in Melbourne. Listen to ‘Joan Mercer’s Fertile Head’, first published in ABR in 2018 and now part of ABR’s extensive digital archive going back to 1978.

This week on The ABR Podcast we feature a short story from the ABR archive. The story, &lsquo;Joan Mercer&rsquo;s Fertile Head&rsquo; by S.J. Finn, was commended in the 2018 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story prize. (The 2025 Jolley Short Story Prize is now open!) S.J. Finn is an Australian writer based in Melbourne. Listen to &lsquo;<a href="https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/component/k2/169-abr-fiction/5255-joan-mercer-s-fertile-head-a-new-story-by-s-j-finn">Joan Mercer&rsquo;s Fertile Head</a>&rsquo;, first published in ABR in 2018 and now part of ABR&rsquo;s extensive digital archive going back to 1978.

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

For more information about ABR, visit our website, www.australianbookreview.com.au

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.
For more information about&nbsp;ABR, visit our website, <a href="http://www.australianbookreview.com.au">www.australianbookreview.com.au</a>

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

The ABR Podcast

ABR is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast, The ABR Podcast.

Released fortnightly every Wednesday, The ABR Podcast will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

ABR&nbsp;is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast.
Released fortnightly every Wednesday,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast&nbsp;will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

 ‘Joan Mercer’s Fertile Head’, a short story by S.J. Finn

This week on The ABR Podcast, Grace Roodenrys reviews they, a novel by Danish author Helle Helle. ‘The novel is a story of illness and loss but often reads as anything but,’ Roodenrys writes. There is no predominant meaning imposed on the narrative; much of its ontological poignancy stems from its small, quiet ironies. Roodenrys observes, ‘The mother is a woman who is rapidly dying. The daughter is a girl whose mother will soon be dead. Yet neither knows how to actually be these things’. 

Grace Roodenrys is a writer and critic from Sydney. Her work has appeared in Meanjin, Cordite, Rabbit, The Saturday Paper, and elsewhere. Here is Grace Roodenrys with ‘Roads to roads: Bathos of the ordinary’, published in the March issue of ABR. 

This week on The ABR Podcast, Grace Roodenrys reviews they, a novel by Danish author Helle Helle. &lsquo;The novel is a story of illness and loss but often reads as anything but,&rsquo; Roodenrys writes. There is no predominant meaning imposed on the narrative; much of its ontological poignancy stems from its small, quiet ironies. Roodenrys observes, &lsquo;The mother is a woman who is rapidly dying. The daughter is a girl whose mother will soon be dead. Yet neither knows how to actually be these things&rsquo;.&nbsp;
Grace Roodenrys is a&nbsp;writer and critic from Sydney. Her work has appeared in Meanjin, Cordite, Rabbit, The Saturday Paper, and elsewhere. Here is Grace Roodenrys with &lsquo;Roads to roads: Bathos of the ordinary&rsquo;,&nbsp;published in the March issue of&nbsp;ABR.&nbsp;

This week on The ABR Podcast, Grace Roodenrys reviews they, a novel by Danish author Helle Helle. ‘The novel is a story of illness and loss but often reads as anything but,’ Roodenrys writes. There is no predominant meaning imposed on the narrative; much of its ontological poignancy stems from its small, quiet ironies. Roodenrys observes, ‘The mother is a woman who is rapidly dying. The daughter is a girl whose mother will soon be dead. Yet neither knows how to actually be these things’. 

'Roads to roads: Bathos of the ordinary' by Grace Roodenrys

This week on The ABR Podcast, Joel Deane reviews Niki Savva’s Earthquake, an account of the 2025 Australian federal election and the role of political expediency in shaping a country. ‘Like payday loans,’ Deane writes, ‘the costs of short-term political decisions accumulate and compound’, demanding repayment. Joel Deane is a speechwriter, novelist, and poet. He has worked in newspapers, television, and politics in Australia and the United States. He is the co-author of Making Progress: How good policy happens, published in 2025 by Melbourne University Publishing. Here is Joel Deane with ‘Lemmings over a cliff: On political and publishing expediency’, published in the March issue of ABR. 

This week on The&nbsp;ABR&nbsp;Podcast, Joel Deane&nbsp;reviews&nbsp;Niki Savva&rsquo;s&nbsp;Earthquake, an account of the 2025 Australian federal election and the role of&nbsp;political expediency in shaping a country. &lsquo;Like payday loans,&rsquo; Deane writes, &lsquo;the costs of short-term political decisions accumulate and&nbsp;compound&rsquo;,&nbsp;demanding repayment. Joel Deane is a speechwriter, novelist, and poet. He has worked in newspapers, television, and politics in Australia and the United States. He is the co-author&nbsp;of&nbsp;Making Progress: How good policy happens, published in 2025 by Melbourne University Publishing. Here is Joel Deane with &lsquo;Lemmings over a cliff: On political and publishing expediency&rsquo;,&nbsp;published&nbsp;in the March issue of&nbsp;ABR.&nbsp;

'Lemmings over a cliff: On political and publishing expediency' by Joel Deane

This week on The ABR Podcast, we feature Stephen Garton’s commentary ‘When universities mattered: Higher education in a country addicted to the plough’. ‘There was a time when Australian universities mattered. Should they again?’ asks President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and former University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Stephen Garton in a feature assessing the state of knowledge production in Australia. As the government sets about creating a new body to oversee higher education, Garton says the conversation about education should extend beyond the question, ‘Are you job ready?’ Here is Stephen Garton with ‘When universities mattered: Higher education in a country addicted to the plough’, published in the March issue of ABR.

This week on The ABR Podcast, we feature Stephen Garton&rsquo;s commentary &lsquo;When universities mattered: Higher education in a country addicted to the plough&rsquo;. &lsquo;There was a time when Australian universities mattered. Should they again?&rsquo; asks President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and former University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Stephen Garton in a feature assessing the state of knowledge production in Australia. As the government sets about creating a new body to oversee higher education, Garton says the conversation about education should extend beyond the question, &lsquo;Are you job ready?&rsquo; Here is Stephen Garton with &lsquo;When universities mattered: Higher education in a country addicted to the plough&rsquo;, <a href="https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/1029-march-2026-no-484/14906-when-universities-mattered-higher-education-in-a-country-addicted-to-the-plough-by-stephen-garton">published in the March issue of </a><a href="https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/1029-march-2026-no-484/14906-when-universities-mattered-higher-education-in-a-country-addicted-to-the-plough-by-stephen-garton">ABR</a>.

‘Joan Mercer’s Fertile Head’, a short story by S.J. Finn

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