General information on The Perfect Diary 2005

The Perfect Diary is a beautiful, useful, entertaining and inspiring week-to-an-opening diary which features the works of contemporary Australasian artists, poets, photographers, cartoonists and writers. For ten years The Perfect Diary has been bringing magnificent art and writing to its happy owners and has helped hundreds of Australasian artists and writers to get their work to a large and discerning audience. The diary is unfunded and made entirely in Australia.

The Perfect Diary is ten years old this year and to celebrate this achievement we have included a sixteen page retrospective of some of the great work from the last decade - over 60 poems, stories and images as well as some choice quotes and beautiful incidental pictures.

Other features this year include a repeat of the Braille alphabet embossed on the back cover (our readers asked for it in our annual feedback survey and we are happy to provide), amusing, alarming and thought-provoking weekly quotes, information on festivals, Australasian cultural events, historical information and moon phases, an address section and plenty of blank pages for notes and, of course, a handy cowboy wheel.

The Perfect Diary is in a week-to-an-opening, A5 landscape format, with the featured work, a background image (on the right hand side) from the collection theme for that year This year is printed tin toys). Each spread also has festival, holiday and historical event information, quotations and a monthly planner. This year's edition has over one hundred original works from around the continent.

The diary is sold throughout Australia and New Zealand, distributed by Peribo Pty Ltd, in bookshops, gift shops and gallery shops for $29.95.

The Perfect Diary has two simple aims:

• to entertain and inspire our readers for an entire year and
• to promote and support Australian art and writing by bringing it into people's daily lives.

Every year the diary features the work of around 32 visual artists and 32 writers, presenting a wide variety of work from a huge range of contributors, of all ages (the youngest so far was six, the oldest 94!) and backgounds, some famous, some on their way and some with no interest in celebrity, but who just happen to create exceptional work.

The Perfect Diary is a celebration of Australia's cultural heart and soul.

"It's a beautiful thing" - David Malouf

"An excellent way of promoting the work of contemporary Australian artists" - Elizabeth Ann Macgregor

"Almost too good to write in" - Debra Adelaide

"the perfect Xmas gift you never want to give away ... You've gotta love the evidence of care and attention in this precious book." - RealTime 64

"a high quality, fun diary, promoting Australian artists and writers" - The Guardian

"People are already describing The Perfect Diary series as a collector’s item, so why not get one?" - Hunter Writer

The launch of The Perfect Diary 2005 was in Sydney on 16 October at 6pm at the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, on King Street, Newtown, Sydney. Several hundred discerning guests enjoyed a great night of readings and an exhibition of works from some of the local contributors.

As usual the readings were wonderful and varied, thanks to the following contributors who took part:

Tug Dumbly
Benito di Fonzo
Jill Jones
AJ Rochester
& Fiona Wright.

Many thanks to the launch sponsors: the POPART DRINKS came from REDROCK BEVERAGES and MANNA FROM HEAVEN donated the CHOCOLATE CRUNCH. We would also like to thank 3M Australia, whose invaluable Post-it Notes make our diary perfect. This year the launch of The Perfect Diary 2005 was hosted by the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre.