Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Donna Mazza
Margaret Cavendish’s ‘The Blazing World’ pioneered speculative fiction 400 years ago
The Blazing World is a testament to how far the written novel has travelled in the past 400 years. A literary time capsule, it holds within it the origins of a genre we now call speculative fiction. Written by Margaret Cavendish, a wealthy iconoclast who advocated for women’s educational opportunities, and published in 1666, The Blazing World is a strange work.
The real Robinson Crusoe has been reimagined with historical accuracy – except for the talking goat
© 2026 Tolerance.ca ® Inc. All reproduction rights reserved. All information reproduced on the Web pages of www.tolerance.ca (including articles, images, photographs, and logos) is protected by intellectual property rights owned by Tolerance.ca ® Inc. or, in certain cases, by its author. Any reproduction of the information for use other than personal use is prohibited.
The real Robinson Crusoe has been reimagined with historical accuracy – except for the talking goat
You might think you’ve already heard a story about someone marooned on an uninhabited island who needs to fight for survival. The iconic image of Tom Hanks desperately calling for Wilson, the anthropomorphised volley ball in Castaway (2000), probably comes to mind. There is also the juggernaut reality series Alone, the popularity of which raises questions about why its followers are so fascinated by isolation and survival. And then, of course, there is Daniel Defoe’s famous tale of Robinson Crusoe.
The real Robinson Crusoe has been reimagined with historical accuracy – except for the talking goat
Donna Mazza, Edith Cowan University Wed 3 June 2026 at 8:05 pm UTC 8 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. You might think you’ve already heard a story about someone marooned on an uninhabited island who needs to fight for survival. The iconic image of Tom Hanks desperately calling for Wilson, the anthropomorphised volley ball in Castaway (2000), probably comes to mind.
Guide to the classics: Margaret Cavendish’s The Blazing World pioneered speculative fiction, 400 years ago
The Blazing World is a testament to how far the written novel has travelled in the past 400 years. A literary time capsule, it holds within it the origins of a genre we now call speculative fiction. Written by Margaret Cavendish, a wealthy iconoclast who advocated for women’s educational opportunities, and published in 1666, The Blazing World is a strange work.
Guide to the classics: Margaret Cavendish’s The Blazing World pioneered speculative fiction, 400 years ago
The Blazing World is a testament to how far the written novel has travelled in the past 400 years. A literary time capsule, it holds within it the origins of a genre we now call speculative fiction. Written by Margaret Cavendish, a wealthy iconoclast who advocated for women’s educational opportunities, and published in 1666, The Blazing World is a strange work.
What makes a cult leader tick? The Bearcat digs into the origins of the Family, Australia’s ‘cult of cults’
Cults are intriguing. The word conjures images of followers with glazed eyes entranced by an extravagant narcissist. Cults also invite curious readers: truth-seekers eager to discover what magnetism draws followers into the orbit of their leader, and voyeurs keen to peer through windows in the hope of witnessing something crazy. It is a recipe for a good story, one that is eminently marketable.
What makes a cult leader tick? The Bearcat digs into the origins of the Family, Australia’s ‘cult of cults’
© 2025 Tolerance.ca ® Inc. All reproduction rights reserved. All information reproduced on the Web pages of www.tolerance.ca (including articles, images, photographs, and logos) is protected by intellectual property rights owned by Tolerance.ca ® Inc. or, in certain cases, by its author. Any reproduction of the information for use other than personal use is prohibited.
When Geraldine Brooks writes about Tim Winton, you can hear the axes grind
The earthiness of Tim Winton’s homegrown language and storytelling has its share of critics, but also plenty of fans – enough to sustain 40 years or so of professional writing. His works are a feast of strange words and characters. There is a lot to admire, and a few butterfly wings to pick off if you like that kind of thing. Winton wrote about axes in one of his early short stories: My Father’s Axe, from the 1985 collection Scission.
When Geraldine Brooks writes about Tim Winton, you can hear the axes grind
The earthiness of Tim Winton's homegrown language and storytelling has its share of critics, but also plenty of fans - enough to sustain 40 years or so of professional writing. His works are a feast of strange words and characters.
written in 1915, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland imagines society without men
Recent television series Creamerie, a dark comedy from New Zealand where a pandemic quickly kills (almost) all men and male animals, revives the concept of an all-female society with a contemporary take on ideas raised by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) over 100 years ago. Perkins Gilman’s Herland (1915) is the kind of novel mentioned by critics who dive into speculative fiction dealing with gender or utopia, but it rarely gets serious consideration as a literary work in its own right.
Gender-ambiguous author Eve Langley is ripe for rediscovery. A new biography illuminates her difficult life
Review: Eve Langley and The Pea Pickers by Helen Vines (Monash University Publishing) When your subject is a mid-century, gender-ambiguous author who lived under other names and wasn’t always honest about basic points of identification, writing a biography is a huge challenge. But Helen Vines’ Eve Langley and The Pea Pickers builds a substantial picture of this elusive author.
Gender-ambiguous author Eve Langley is ripe for rediscovery. A new biography illuminates her difficult life
Review: Eve Langley and The Pea Pickers by Helen Vines (Monash University Publishing) When your subject is a mid-century, gender-ambiguous author who lived under other names and wasn’t always honest about basic points of identification, writing a biography is a huge challenge. But Helen Vines’ Eve Langley and The Pea Pickers builds a substantial picture of this elusive author. Eve (left) and June Langley, 1920s.
New Local Fiction | Neighbourhood Books
Neighbourhood Books is a new independent bookstore and meeting place in Westgarth Village, Nortchote.
With readers desensitised to profane language on book covers, how are writers to express extreme emotions?
Living The Conversation Mar 14, 2020 10:38:49 IST In the English language, at least, fuck and other words on the more extreme end of profanity are the last frontier of using language to shock. Resorting to coarse language on book covers could be a symptom of society’s collective misery, but it could also be attributable to the starvation of the arts by government and a desperate need to grab readers’ attention.
Have we outgrown the shock value of using the F-word on book covers?
Feb 20, 2020 · 05:30 pm Donna Mazza, The Conversation Share Tweet Email Reddit Print Share Tweet Email Reddit Print Since Adam Mansbuch’s 2011 bestseller, Go the Fuck to Sleep, book titles have been swearing profusely to grab audience attention. The author followed up on the winning formula with You Have to Fucking Eat and Fuck, Now There Are Two of You. Book covers compete with a barrage of information and images, so it’s no wonder many writers resort to shock tactics. It works.
Books in a post-f@#^ world. Are we all sworn out yet?
Warning: this piece features frequent coarse language that may offend some readers. Since Adam Mansbuch’s 2011 bestseller, Go the Fuck to Sleep, book titles have been swearing profusely to grab audience attention. The author followed up on the winning formula with You Have to Fucking Eat and Fuck, Now There Are Two of You. Book covers compete with a barrage of information and images, so it’s no wonder many writers resort to shock tactics. It works.
Bibliophile | Donna Mazza looks to an unknown future in 'Fauna' - OUTInPerth - LGBTIQ News and Culture
Fauna by Donna Mazza Allen & Unwin In 2013, de-extinction became a new branch of science and Beth Shapiro published an interesting book about it called How to Clone a Mammoth. She wrote that Jurassic Park scenarios are actually not possible as the problem with the new science is that when a species has been extinct for a long period of time, it can’t be cloned. The extinct species has to be genetically engineered into a living species.
'Fauna' by Donna Mazza: An Extract — Kill Your Darlings
Cover image: ‘Fauna’ by Donna Mazza The longer I stare at the ring on the screen, the more it appears to shift. Cells are pinpoints, some surrounded by a thin halo, carrying the weight of life and all that it means. A concept so enormous I can’t hold it in my mind. Its walls look thick, yet in reality it could drop on the floor and be impossible to find. It could blow away in the breeze or be sucked up a vacuum cleaner. The tiny things that make us who we are—smaller than a speck. Yet also everything.
Why are Australian authors obsessed with killing off kangaroos?
Kangaroos are the most visible of Australia’s unique animals, but despite their charm and national icon status, Australian writers perpetually kill them off. A kangaroo appears struggling in a rabbit trap, doomed and dying in Charlotte Wood’s The Natural Way of Things, while Tim Winton has one killed on the road, dissected and fed to dogs in Breath. These are just two of many Australian authors who have represented the kangaroo as a victim.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Donna
Contact Donna, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack