Before the Anthropocene, the air pulsed with birdsong. Now, a silence is falling. Ava spends her days at The Department, rebuilding lost species from the remaining fragments of art and scientific data.
Her dying mother thinks she should quit. So does her lover, and the sex workers who loiter outside her apartment. But when a ghost from her past shows up, Ava is compelled to follow its broken song deep into the archives––uncovering a secret that could reverse the age of silence.
Set in a time of mass extinction, Department of the Vanishing blends documentary poetry, archival image, and narrative verse to explore the vital questions: Can we live in a world without birdsong and is it possible to create a new opus with the fragments left over.
Tell us what Ava does at The Department. Answer: rebuilding lost species from the remaining fragments of art and scientific data.
https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/competitions/free-february-27-department-of-the-vanishing/Terms And Conditions:
1. Entry is open to all residents of Australia and New Zealand from 27 February 2026 to 28 February 2026. 2. Employees and the immediate families of the promoter and agencies associated with this promotion are ineligible. 3. The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. 4. The first correct entries drawn from the competition in February 2026 will win the book. 5. The promoter accepts no responsibility for late, lost or misdirected mail. 6. The winners of the prize will be notified by email in February 2026.
Australian Competitions Club
