The Great Gatsby Sarah Ward With 'The Great Gatsby', Luhrmann again tries to demonstrate depth beyond the luxurious façade. Film / Radio / TV
Goodnight Mister Tom Taryn Pollock A charming production based on Michelle Magorian’s popular children's novel, about the friendship between a London evacuee and an elderly recluse. Performing Arts
The Sessions Deborah Stone An exceptional film about an extraordinary relationship between a disabled man and his sex surrogate. Film / Radio / TV
Capturing Flora Gary Anderson This superb book accompanies a major exhibition of the same name at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, the largest of its kind ever undertaken, surveying 300 years of Australian botanical art. Publishing & Writing
Meanjin Volume 71 Number 3 Spring 2012 Sonia Nair An insightful, edifying and thoroughly captivating edition, in which issues crucial to the current political, economic and cultural climate are expounded upon with dexterity and wit. Publishing & Writing
Swimming Home Emma Perry Shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, Deborah Levy’s novel is allusive and poetic; a literary gem that demands to be re-read in order to reward its reader with greater discoveries. Publishing & Writing
Black Spring Sonia Nair Every so often one chances upon a novel so uplifting, enthralling and immersive it becomes a struggle to put it down. Alison Croggon’s new novel is just such a book. Publishing & Writing
Overland #208 Spring 2012 Oliver Mol An exciting, informative journal that helps people decode the cultural and political discourses of the day. Publishing & Writing
Paradise Lost trilogy Sarah Ward ACMI: Collectively, these three documentaries from co-directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky comprise a remarkable and moving study of murder and the miscarriage of justice. Film / Radio / TV
A Separation Sarah Ward HOPSCOTCH: From acclaimed Iranian writer/director Asghar Farhadi comes this faultless feature about a couple of the verge of divorce. Film / Radio / TV
Richard III Belinda Liversedge THE OLD VIC: Sam Mendes directs Kevin Spacey in this bravura production of Shakespeare’s timeless play. Performing Arts
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Geo Davila Big, loud and hugely entertaining, the latest film in the blockbuster franchise more than makes up for its disappointing predecessor. Arts
Macbeth David Trennery ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: A warlord unrivalled on the battlefield, Macbeth is rewarded with rank and favour by a grateful king. Arts
Lullaby David Trennery The Pit is transformed for a Duckie sleepover and a tranquil communal bedroom for an audience of dreamers. Arts
Lord of the Flies David Trennery OPEN AIR THEATRE: A laptop on the beach and rucksacks in the wreckage indicate that we are in the 21st century rather than Golding’s cold war world. Arts
The Merchant of Venice David Trennery THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE: Rupert Goold’s re-telling of 'The Merchant of Venice' has been shifted from the Adriatic to across the Atlantic and into present times. Arts
Cardenio David Trennery SWAN THEATRE: 'Cardenio', in the revamped and restored Swan space at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-on-Avon, is billed as “Shakespeare’s ‘Lost Play’ Re-Imagined”. Arts
Little Eagles David Trennery HAMPSTEAD THEATRE: The RSC kicked off its summer season with 'Little Eagles', a biography of Sergei Koryolov, Comrade Chief Designer of the Soviet space programme. Arts