Books by Alana Valentine

Wild, unpredictable, and deeply vulnerable, Barbara and her sister René are singing for their lives. Barbaras been trying to make it in Sydney, but when their mothers health deteriorates, the sisters embark on a pilgrimage back home to country. Full of painful, unfinished business for Barbara, their return sends her into a downward spiral. Can Barbara find a way to resolve the past in time to preserve love in the only family she has known? Through music that ranges from punk-inspired explosions of rage, to tender rock and soul ballads full of yearning, Barbara and the Camp Dogs is a gob-spit of fun, frenzy and family that finds beauty in honesty and hope in confronting the past.

The court case captivated a nation. A mother accused of murdering her child, her claim that the baby was taken by a dingo denied and discredited by zealous police and a flawed legal system. The media circus, the rumours, the nations prejudices laid bare. And in the eye of the storm: Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton. Over three decades, from baby Azarias death to the final coroners report, the publics fascination with Lindy seldom waned. The National Library holds a collection of more than 20,000 letters to Lindy. From sympathy to abuse, from marriage proposals to death threats, the correspondence traverses the gamut of responses to Lindys story. Letters to Lindy draws on this correspondence and interviews with Lindy herself. It is an enthralling, revealing, and long overdue dialogue between Lindy and the nation; a portrait of the wisdom and resilience of a grieving mother. This new work by award-winning playwright Alana Valentine ( Ladies Day, Parramatta Girls) explores the publics relationship with one of Australias most iconic figures. (2 acts, 2 male, 2 female).