Australian writers seem always on the verge of being British publishing's next big thing.
But, as Ben Ball explains, there's a good chance they just won't make it. A century ago it might have been an exercise in cultural validation, a colony looking for approval from the home country. So some of Australia's most sparkling literary talent will gather this weekend at London's South Bank Centre. There'll be Carey, Grenville, Lette, Malouf, Winton, all familiar to the British public, along with Michelle de Kretser, Julia Leigh and Elliot Perlman in the New Voices section. Melissa Lucashenko and Alexis Wright will discuss Aboriginal literature, while John Pilger, Germaine Greer, Phillip Knightly and Frank Moorhouse will talk about being writers in exile.