"How is the book going, Tony?" – a progress report on 6 September 2004, one month after the launch of A Certain Maritime Incident – the sinking of SIEV X, by Tony Kevin

(Scribe)

So many people have been asking me this question, it is timely to put up this progress report - as reporting of facts. I guess that many of the people who plug into this website - the numbers of hits has shot up dramatically over the past six weeks - are curious about my book’s public reception. This piece tries to respond to that curiosity.

Sales

The book is selling steadily. If your local bookshop doesn’t have a copy in stock, they can order one in. And you can also buy it at major airport book outlets.

Print media coverage

There was significant mainstream print media news coverage at the time of the launch of the launch of the book as follows:

"Bitter legacy of the ferryman", Sydney Morning Herald, August 2, 2004 - edited extract from book

"Voyage of the damned", Sydney Morning Herald, by Tony Kevin, August 2, 2004 – edited extract from book

"Siev X smuggler ‘could be an agent’ ", The Weekend Australian, by Cameron Stewart, 31 July 2004, page 8 - news story .

These three article texts may be accessed on

http://members.westnet.com.au/jackhsmit/tkevin-book1.htm

The Group of 43 statement on truth in Australian government (to which I was a signatory) was put out on Sunday 8 August. Gerard Henderson, in his opinion piece in The Age on Tuesday 10 August criticising that statement, wrote critically about me and my book:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/09/1092022399310.html

John Howard picked up on some of Henderson’s comment in H of R Question Time that day, saying (H of R Hansard page 32552, 10 August):

"The 43 people comprise a mixture of people who have over the years been, in some cases, regular critics of this government. They include one person who accused the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Federal Police of complicity in the drowning of 353 refugees. To expect for a moment that I am going to treat that person with the sort of reverence that is asked of me by the Leader of the Opposition—as far as I am concerned I have dealt with the merits of their arguments ....."

There was a brief mention of my book in a special Weekend Australian special investigative feature on people smuggling, "Put out of business", by Cameron Stewart, on August 21, 2004

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/
story_page/0,5744,10512653%255E28737,00.html

As far as I know, that is the extent of mainstream print news coverage of my book – or of the SIEV X issue as such – over the past month.

Launch events

We are now mid-way through the book’s interstate launches, having had launches in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, and with Brisbane, Perth, Albany, and Adelaide still to come – see "Events" section:

http://www.tonykevin.com/UpcomingBookEvents.html

The book’s first launch was in Melbourne, at Readings Bookstore, Carlton, on 2 August, by Julian Burnside QC, and by Scribe’s owner-publisher, Henry Rosenbloom: text extracts are at:

http://www.tonykevin.com/HenryRosenbloom.html

Up to 200 people came, including SIEV X survivors Amal Hassan Basri and Faris Kadhem, former Labor Cabinet Minister John Button, and former Defence Secretary Paul Barrett.

The Sydney launch on 6 August, in conversation with Margo Kingston, at Gleebooks Bookshop in Glebe, attracted about 250 people. The highlight was the arrival of SIEV X survivor Sondos Ismail, accompanied by her husband Ahmed Al-Zalime and their two Australian –born babies, and Keysar Trad. Present were a broad cross-section of people, including former DFAT colleagues Dick Woolcott, Cavan Hogue, John Bowan, Alison Broinowski, and Bruce Haigh, Fujitsu chairman and former head of the government’s multicultural affairs council Neville Roach, David Marr co-author of Dark Victory, "Not Happy John" Movement chairman John Valder, and members of Andrew Wilkie’s Bennelong campaign team.

The Canberra launch on 10 August at Paperchain Bookstore, Manuka drew about 100 people. Penny Ramsay, Director of Manning Clark House, introduced the launch speaker Professor William Maley. His and my remarks are at:

http://www.tonykevin.com/Canberra-launchACMI.html

Those present included Bishop Pat Power, Senator Linda Kirk (Labor), Admiral Sir Richard Peek (rtd.), and ACT Greens Senate candidate Kerrie Tucker. A congratulatory message by Greens leader Bob Brown was read out.

Back to Sydney on 11 August for an event in Berkelouw’s Bookstore, Paddington. Peter King then the local Liberal Party MP, now Independent candidate, for Wentworth, could not make it to the event as Parliament was sitting, but sent a thoughtful message – in effect, a review of the book. His and Bob Brown’s messages are at:

http://www.tonykevin.com/A-Certain-Maritime-Incident.html


Melbourne Writers Festival

Taking part in three discussion panels at the Melbourne Writers Festival on 22 and 29 August allowed me to introduce the book to wider audiences, addressing it from different perspectives. I plan to put texts up on this website when I have time to transcribe them:

"Speaking Out": Looking at the ethical, moral and personal dilemmas associated with speaking out in public were Paul Collins, Peter Singer, Tony Kevin, John Cain. In the chair was Professor Judith Rodriguez.

"Another Country: Writing from Exile": Eva Sallis, Cheikh Kone, Tony Kevin and Xiaolu Guo discussed writing in prison, detention or exile. Chaired by Arnold Zable of PEN. (My "take" here: writers who challenge their country’s benign self-image risk going into a kind of internal exile – how to guard against this ?

"Spooks, spies and whistleblowers": Andrew Wilkie, Warren Reed and Tony Kevin talked about cover-ups, dirty secrets and the public’s right to know , chaired by Russ Radcliffe.

On 31 August I spoke to the Refugee Action Collective at Trades Hall, Lygon Street Melbourne, at a Tampa commemorative event together with a Tampa refugee. We talked about how close he had come to being another SIEV X –type drownings statistic, when the Australian government decided to leave the detected and disabled refugee boat Palapa, with over 400 people on board, to take its chances in an overnight storm after having been twice overflown by Australian Coastwatch aircraft, just 60 miles from Christmas Island, the day before.

Radio Interviews

I gave many radio interviews, including: Tim Cox of ABC 936 Tasmania, Jon Faine of 3LO Melbourne, James Valentine of ABC 702 Sydney, Sonya De Masi at Asia Pacific on 16 August " New Book revisits SIEV X tragedy" – I will put up the transcript of this interview soon) , Tracee Hutchinson of Radio RRR Melbourne, Annie Gastin of 8DDDFM Darwin, Judith Hug of SBS Worldview (national radio), Jeremy Cordeaux of 5DN Adelaide, Annie Hastwell of Radio Adelaide, Richard Perno of 2AY East Coast Live, Majida Abboud of SBS Arabic radio program, Pieta O’Shaughnessy of 6NR Perth, John Barron of Newsradio Saturday program, Rod Quinn of 2CN Canberra, Paul Bevan of 2NC Newcastle, Luke Grey of Radio 6KA from Kooratha WA, and Radio 3CR Melbourne. A few more radio interviews are yet to come.

And, the jewel in the crown – A Late Night Live discussion with Phillip Adams on ABC Radio National, broadcast on 18 and 19 August. Text at:

http://www.tonykevin.com/PhillipAdams.html

I gave a SIEV X telephone interview to BBC Radio World Service "The World Today" at 0600 AEST on Monday 23 October. Apparently BBC put it to air in the first two daily TWT broadcasts, on 23 October at 2300 and on 24 October at 0300 GMT, accompanied by a responding BBC interview with Senator George Brandis.

Sadly, both interviews went off the TWT program before its third daily broadcast that is rebroadcast on ABC Newsradio here at 1300 AEST, so I have not heard either. I have been promised a cassette copy of these two BBC interviews.

Print media reviews

There have been two mainstream print media reviews so far: Antony Loewenstein in the Sydney Sun-Herald on 29 August, and Professor Patrick Weller in the Panorama sections of the Canberra Times on 4 September 2004. Here are the website links:

http://www.tonykevin.com/LoewensteinReview.html

http://www.tonykevin.com/BOOK-REVIEW-WELLER.html

Tony Kevin, Canberra, 5 September 2004