Funemployed (Justin Heazlewood, Affirm Press)

Singer-songwriter, comedian and writer Justin Heazlewood—AKA The Bedroom Philosopher—has written a hybrid memoir-guidebook for anyone interested in working in the creative arts in Australia. Funemployed recounts Heazlewood’s career of highlights and missteps, backed up with extensive interviews with local artists. It doesn’t encourage artists not to have a go, it just reminds them to temper their expectations. Heazlewood writes openly about the mistakes he’s made and his crippling fears and doubts. He tenderly recounts his childhood and the stages of his music career, his early success on Triple J radio, the mounting debts, and a peaceful equilibrium he could only find after a lot of painful lessons. Interspersed with Heazlewood’s own story are the voices of more than 100 local artists. The average annual creative income for an artist is $7000—how do they survive? They discuss which jobs support a creative life, give tips for applying for funding grants and warn about the occupational hazards. Funemployed is a great gift for someone graduating, just beginning, or considering a university arts degree. While they might have heard the same message before from their parents, career counsellors and teachers, a fledgling artist is much more likely listen to someone like Heazlewood, who can speak without pretension about the lessons he learnt scraping his way through the Australian arts scene.

Brad Jefferies is the publishing assistant for Books+Publishing