The Queensland Literary Awards short-lists have been announced. How wonderful to see how the community rallied to support these awards when the Queensland Government couldn’t be arsed. As the LNP rips the state apart looking for spare change and some cheap point-scoring, something has been built. Even the Courier-Mail ponied up some cash, brilliant given the chaos that Murdoch’s empire is in at the moment, slashing jobs wherever they can be found to slash — latest on the line, photographics. But the good news — well done, y’all!

The press release is here and the short-lists here. Yay Margo Lanagan, with Sea Hearts in the, ahem, YA section!

Elsewhere, some good advice, especially that from Dr Kim!

China Mieville, at the Edinburgh international writers conference, quoted in the Guardian’s round-up:

Our job is not to give readers what they want, it is to try to make readers want what we give.

Kim Wilkins, on being distracted from your work by, um, writing this blog post:

reframing your internet procrastination as wandering away from your work can really help

And Marianne de Pierres shares productivity tips over at Louise Cusack’s place, my favourite being: persevere. Something of a personal mantra.