Tara Moss : The Fictional Woman

Best selling author Tara Moss has published her first non-fiction book : The Fictional Woman. Tara is pictured here at the launch (centre) with Julia Baird and Anne Summers (check out Anne's superb website by clicking on the link at the left). Beneath our snap is the book's blurb (we haven't read it yet!)

"In the accessible style of Caitlin Moran's HOW TO BE A WOMAN comes bestselling author Tara Moss's first exciting non-fiction book - a fascinating mix of memoir and social comment. Tara Moss has worn many labels in her time, including 'author', 'model', 'gold-digger', 'commentator', 'inspiration', 'dumb blonde', 'feminist' and 'mother', among many others. Now, in her first work of non-fiction, she blends memoir and social analysis to examine the common fictions about women. She traces key moments in her life - from small-town tomboy in Canada, to international fashion model in the 90s, to bestselling author taking a polygraph test in 2002 to prove she writes her own work"

Hugo Weaving Is Well Hung

Katrina Greenwood (aka Mrs Hugo weaving) and daughter Holly

That time of the year : the annual Archibald Prize is awarded for the best portrait of a significant figure in Australian cultural life . And this year it was Del Kathryn Barton's painting of Matrix. Lord of The Rings & Hobbit star Hugo Weaving. The 'Packer's Prize' was the Mathew Lynn pic of crime writer Tara Moss.

 Tara Moss &her portrait

Burlesque star Venus Vamp & her Wendy Sharpe portrait

It's the second year that a portrait of Weaving has been entered and last year's portrait by Nicholas Harding has been sold to the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, according to Hugo's wife who was on hand with daughter Holly for the launch party. Hugo was in Melbourne filming so couldn't attend..
The Wynne Prize for Landscape was won by  Imants Tillers for Namatjira while the Sir John Sulman Prize went to Victoria Reichelt for After (books). You can see all the paintings at the website for the Art Gallery of New South Wales while here is a selection taken by the Shuttle after 3 glasses of champagne,
                         

what is it ?

Hugo Weaving at the 2012 Archibald