Greyfields to appear in Griffith Review 25

I am super pleased to announce that my notes on the death of a shopping centre, Greyfields, will be published in edition 25 of Griffith Review.

The Griffith Review is a quartely journal of writing and ideas, published by Text Publishing and edited by Julianne Schultz, who recently joined the board of directors at the ABC.

There are some fantastic contributors to edition 25, drawing together reportage, essays and fiction dealing with issues of money, power and the limits of economic growth in a unique period of global financial stress.  The lead essay is by Gideon Haigh, acclaimed author and business journalist, and other contributors include Australian Financial Review columnist Geoffrey Barker, Jonathan West, Robert Hillman and Margot Saville (to name a few).

Griffith Review Edition 25 - Front Cover

Here is a small excerpt from my Greyfields peice (you’ll have to buy the book or subscribe to Griffith to read the rest):

“When a shopping centre is dying, its patronage slipping away, it is referred to as a greyfield. At this point annual sales have slumped below $200 a square metre. The centre slowly hollows, tenants are given notice and town planners swoop with schedules for demolition. The centre will stay open until a third of the tenants find other lodgings. The empty shops close their roller doors and the arcades shut down in dark rows, one by one. The centre is sealed, locks are placed on the doors and the car park buckles at the edges, weeds pushing up the bitumen in anticipation…”

You can find Griffith Review: After the Crisis at all good bookstores from August 31.

Griffith Review Edition 25 - Greyfields

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