Autobiography | Australian Authors

REID, Dianne

Feb 17, 2026 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Biography

Little Book of Big Book Marketing Tips book cover

ISBN 978-1-923645-35-6
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Humming The Bones

Dance as an act of survival

Walking the River of Loss, and Finding the Body Again.

Humming the bones charts the life of Australian dance and video artist Dianne Reid as she navigates grief and transition. Uniquely structured, shift ing between prose and poetry, past and present, Reid interweaves contemporary dance history with her personal journey and a present-day contemplative walking practice.

Written over the two years following her mother’s death, the work drops the reader into visceral description, bringing the visual to life through the choreography of the written word.

About the Author

DIANNE REID IS A PERFORMER, CHOREOGRAPHER, camera operator, video editor and educator. She was a founding member of Outlet Dance in Adelaide (1987–89) and a member of Danceworks from 1990–95. From 2004-2006 she was Artistic Director of Dancehouse, and she was a lecturer in contemporary dance and dance video at Deakin University (1996–2018). Her site-specific solo work Cabin Fever won Adelaide Fringe weekly awards for Best Dance in 2019, 2020 and 2024. The documentary Nothing But Bones In The Way won the Best Dance Film award at the ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay Festival. Dianne studied creative writing in her Communication Studies degree, winning a Teesdale-Smith Award for playwriting. She has published a number of journal papers and book chapters relating to the performing arts and her practice as a dance artist and was a reviewer for Fringe Review UK. She completed a PhD in screendance and performance improvisation in 2016 which saw the publication of several journal articles in The International Journal of Screendance and Brolga.

This is Dianne’s first book.

UNG, Tim

Dec 15, 2025 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Biography

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ISBN 978-1-923589-68-1
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THROUGH PADDYFIELD AND MINEFIELD

My Teenage Years in Khmer Rouge Cambodia

WITNESS THE UNTHINKABLE

THROUGH PADDYFIELD AND MINEFIELD is a powerful memoir of survival, loss and resilience in the shadow of Cambodia’s darkest years under the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge.

From the harsh realities of famine to life in the work camps, and the haunting tragedy of the Ghost Mountain minefields, the author shares an unflinching story few dared to tell.

Told with honesty and courage, this memoir blends detailed personal memories with witnessed observations to history, shedding light on long-suppressed events and experiences rarely spoken of. This is more than a record of suffering, it is a testament to human endurance and the will to survive.

Through Paddyfield and Minefield invites readers into a world where every step carried danger and where even remembering the past is a bold act of defiance.

Julie and Carmel

Oct 21, 2025 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Biography, Family History

SKU 2370001982710
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The Shadiac’s Family Story

The Shadiac’s Family Story by Julie Quigley (nee Shadiac)
told in her own words to Carmel Shadiac during 2022 and 2023.
This story is dedicated to Barakett and Kinsolia
and their beloved children for their determination and hard work
on their journey from Benache to Mile End.

LEE, Warwick

Oct 21, 2025 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Biography, History

ISBN 978-1-923523-62-3
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Child of the Pacific

From empire to independence, through the eyes of a child

An insightful and unforgettable account of a young boy’s journey through family struggles, history, way and a nation’s aspiration to free itself from colonialism.

Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, was a contested island for nearly a century. Germany, UK, Japan and Australia each had interrupted periods of administration, influence and development of the island and region around it.

In 1975, Warwick witnessed the country’s shift into independence.

As a young boy, he watched the place he’d grown up in change for the better. For the first time, its people felt they could once again be at the forefront in determining their own destiny, and the excitement and optimism at such a prospect was almost tangible.

This one of a kind memoir is told through the memories and records of a boy who lived through one of the most major changes in PNG history, following him from his formative years to the country’s 50 year anniversary of independence.

NITSCHKE, Michael

Oct 21, 2025 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Biography, Business, Manual \ Training Material, South Australia

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ISBN 978-1-923008-4-74
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Leading out of Loss

In a world of suit-and-tie CEOs, the leaders who wear their hearts will win

By age 30, Michael Nitschke had lived a life well beyond his years. He’d lost his mum to mental illness and his dad to cancer in quick succession. The Nitschke name, while revered in the community, carried a turbulent history with a devastating legacy.

Part-memoir, part-business wisdom, Leading Out of Loss is a coming-of-age story – of human endurance, transcendence, and alchemising suffering into success.

This searingly honest book delicately deals with grief, the cobwebs within a family lineage, divine intuition, self-reinvention, and Michael’s personal and professional epiphany: the power of vulnerability, in business and in life.

Leading Out of Loss is a testament to depth of the human spirit – and gives you the permission to lead with heart and humility, embracing vulnerability as your greatest asset.

JORGENSEN, Greg

Oct 3, 2025 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Biography, Memoir

ISBN 978-1-923443-73-0
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Gweilo White Boy

A year in HongKong

This book shares the journey of a young Greg Jorgensen with scoliosis who, in the mid 70’s, with his family’s support, travelled solo to Hong Kong for corrective spinal surgery.

A 16-year-old spending a whole year in a completely different country and culture! This memoir recounts that adventure navigating a new world, figuring out the language, and all the memorable experiences along the way.

An explanation and thankyou

In Cantonese, “gweilo” (鬼佬) literally translates to “ghost man” and is a common slang term for foreigners, particularly Westerners. While it has a history of potentially being used in a derogatory way, its modern usage is often neutral or non-derogatory. Whether the term is offensive or not is debated, even among Cantonese speakers and Westerners.

Thank you for reading this somewhat autobiographical text on one part of my very lucky life!

Greg Jorgensen
July 2025
[email protected]