Festivaling

4 October 2023

My last post started with ‘I bloody love festivals’, and this one could start the same way. I really do. And I was recently at the wonderful Write Around the Murray, which I had long heard such good things about from author friends. They were absolutely right, it’s a cracker. The venues are gorgeous, the audiences were warm, the author line-up was fab, and everything was run so seamlessly by Director Ann-maree Ellis and her incredible team (particular shout out to Chris and photographer Pete, who is responsible for most of the photos here). To top it all off the weather was utter perfection and I could not have had a better time.

 

Opening night kicked off with yarnbombing from local Wiradjuri educator Ruth Davys, and a panel that I moderated with Paul Dalgarno, Gina Perry and Rijn Collins (who I also spoke with at Sorrento Writers Festival earlier this year). Our topic was ‘Mum’s the Word’. Interestingly, all three of the books have mothers who are absent in some way. All three also have brilliant plot twists which make it bloody hard – I so wanted to ask them questions that I couldn’t! Hard recommend on all three books as book club reads where all the spoilers can be discussed – A Country of Eternal Light (Dalgarno), My Father the Whale (Perry) and Fed to Red Birds (Collins).

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Saturday morning saw me up bright and early for an event for families at Lavington Library (where they have the loveliest staff who will make you tea and endlessly talk books with you), with my picture books Seree’s Story and Where the Heart Is. Next came Stereo Stories which was hands down the most fun I’ve ever had on stage. It’s such a cool format that Vin and his band have put together where authors read a memoir piece inspired by a song. The band weaves the song around the author’s words. As Chris Hammer once told me, ‘It’s like having your own backing band.’ And bloody hell, it was fun. Other performers included Debra Dank, Paul Dalgarno and Rijn Collins, who has performed at the most Stereo Stories of any writer.

It made me reflect, though, on how years ago, even the very thought of being on stage in this way would have left me with a feeling of utter dread. Several of my brothers were natural performers (I have five!), and for a time were actors or street performers. They loved an audience. I, on the other hand, avoided one. Public speaking was not something I ever voluntarily did. But then I started to get published, and I realised I was going to have to get comfortable with it. So, I pushed myself to do all the things. Eventually, I looked comfortable on stage. Looked being the operative word. But the more I did it, the more I enjoyed it. And now, I love it. Stereo Stories was a moment in time that made me realise how far I’ve come. To be on stage, making people laugh, and enjoying every second, is a world apart from how I once was.

Kate Mildenhall, Kathryn Heyman, me, TR (Tim) Napper

 

But I digress. Sunday’s final event for me was a panel moderated by Kate Mildenhall with Kathryn Heyman and Tim Napper. We talked about all things writing and publishing, and I’m sure we could have talked for the rest of the day, if not for a packed program! It was recorded for The First Time podcast, so look out for that one.

Kathryn and I discovered some weird synergies. When I was deciding on a title for The Breaking I googled it to see if anything came up. Nothing did. But a few months after The Breaking came out, another book appeared with that title. It was Kathyrn Heyman’s debut novel of 26 years earlier, previously published only in the UK, and now released all this time later in Australia. The weird bit, though, is that at the festival we discovered that both books started as a series of short stories, and we both had a friend who said to us, ‘I think you might be writing a novel.’ So two debuts with the same title, started in the same way. It seems Kathryn Heyman is my book twin!

As usual, one of the best bits of the festival was writerly hangs with brilliant people. Massive congrats to Anne-maree and her team on a stellar festival. Can’t wait until the next one!

TR Napper, Kate Mildenhall, Paul Dalgarno, Andrea Rowe, Margaret Hickey, and me

Festival bliss

15 May 2023

I bloody love festivals. Spending time with other writers – chatting with them onstage and off – is such a buzz. I always come away invigorated and buoyed up. I’m with my people – those who understand all the craziness of the publishing industry – and it is pure bliss. So I was absolutely delighted to be a part of the inaugural Sorrento Writers Festival, conveniently located in my ‘backyard’.

And what a festival it was. The unpredictable Naarm/Melbourne weather decided to play nice and we had glorious sunshine and big blue skies. The venues were all walking distance from each other, and every session that I attended was packed. It seems the peninsula has an avid reading population, though many came from further afield. The line-up of authors was ridiculously good – Christos Tsiolkas, Sarah Winman, Tom Keneally, Jane Harper, Marcia Langton, Craig Silvey and Chloe Hooper, to name but a few.

 

I moderated two panels and had the most fun. First up was Rijn Collins, who I have stalked on Instagram for some time, and Chris Hammer, an old Canberra mate. One of my favourite moments was when I asked Rijn about her writing rituals and she said, ‘Mine are very boring,’ then proceeded to describe how she wrote Fed to Red Birds with a tiny snake curled up inside her bra. So boring, right?

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Another fave was when I asked Chris about his highest high as a writer and he was brought to tears describing the bidding war for his debut novel, Scrublands, that changed his life. Afterwards he told me that he’s told that story plenty of times before and doesn’t know why in that moment it moved him so. I think the problem may be me, because on my second panel there were tears too. But when there is laughter and tears and all the feels I consider my job as moderator done!

Hilde Hinton, me, Pip Drysdale, Ramona Koval and Pirooz Jafari

My Sunday panel was the stellar line-up of Ramona Koval, Pip Drysdale, Pirooz Jafari and Hilde Hinton. It was a big panel to manage, but there was so much laughter and so many fascinating insights. I loved discovering that Hilde has to build Lego before a writing session (my son would approve) and that Pip has to effectively write in a cell – a place without windows or views, which right now is her garage. As a panellist and person, Ramona exudes such light and joy, and my fangirling rose another notch. Pirooz was such a wise and gracious presence and I loved that he was unable to name a lowest low as a writer – I ask this question on my podcast and he’s the first writer to ever say that there are no lows, only good things. It makes sense that having grown up in Iran, witnessing every human rights violation imaginable, publishing ‘lows’ mean nothing. It was a moment that put things into perspective for all of us.

Afterwards, Ramona Koval said the loveliest and most generous things about my skill as a moderator and I almost died on the spot. Having interviewed practically every author on the planet, praise could not come from a higher source! Totally made my festival.

Of the panels that I attended as audience member, my highlight was hearing Thomas Mayo recite the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was such a potent and powerful experience, and an absolute privilege to be in the room. No photo I’m afraid because I was utterly spellbound.

 

I also popped into the gorgeous Antipodes bookshop to sign copies of Seree’s Story, and again into the onsite festival bookshop run by Avenue Bookshop to sign The Breaking (pictured with the wonderful Emily Westmoreland who also happens to be the genius behind Willy Lit Fest). Plus there were general author hangs to be enjoyed (clearly we were having a terrible time).

 

I’m delighted that the Sorrento Writers Festival will return next year, but in the meantime I’m looking forward to the aforementioned Willy Lit Fest where I will be in-conversation with the incredible Amelia Mellor, author of the bestselling The Grandest Bookshop in the World and The Booksellers Apprentice. And looking further ahead I’m doing a bunch of things at Write Around the Murray. It’ll be my first time there and I have heard only the very best things about that festival. Stay tuned!

ACT Notable Awards

4 August 2022

It was a glorious night at the ACT Notable Awards! In typical fashion I managed to go to the wrong venue (in my defence I went to where the gallery used to be for about 20 years, not realising it had moved) and arrived very late. Unfashionably so, one might say, given that the ceremony was already underway.

I had barely divested myself of my coat before I was called up for The Breaking, so I wasn’t quite sure what was going on! It turns out that I was Highly Commended (one step above shortlisting) in the Fiction category. What a thrill that was! This book still means so much to me, and over a year after its release it is such a joy to see it still out there in the world doing so well.

 

But the celebrations weren’t over yet! I then won the Children’s category for my picture book Where the Heart Is. To be the only person shortlisted in two different categories was wonderful enough but to take out two awards was extremely happy-making. I love how big illustrator Susannah Crispe’s smile is! It says it all.

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Much champagne was drunk in celebration, and to be surrounded by so many author friends who I admire and respect made the night extra special. Thanks to ACT Writers for everything that they do to support writers, and of course to the judges. Thanks also the artsACT for the grants that supported the development of The Breaking, without which it wouldn’t have happened.

In celebration of the awards I’m giving away all nine of my books this month. To go in the draw just sign up to my newsletter (box on this page). There’s something for every age and interest!

All the happenings

8 July 2022

It almost feels like we’re back to normal with events again, and it was so lovely to recently head over to gorgeous Western Australia for the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival. I took a week beforehand to travel the coast from Bremer Bay to Margaret River and, my goodness, it is stunning! I knew that the beaches were all white sand and turquoise water but I didn’t realise that they were next-level stunning. World class, in fact. If anyone wants to hand me the job of WA publicist, I’m up for it! The weather was warm and we swam and hiked and explored and generally had the most glorious time.

 

I finished up with a weekend at the festival where I interviewed a bunch of lovely people for my Secrets from the Green Room podcast as part of a special partnership with the festival. It was so great to be hanging with my literary tribe again! The first ep with Claire G. Coleman is up now and – like all our guests – she speaks with brutal honesty about the writing and publishing process.

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Following her will be an ep with brother and sister duo Brooke Davis, of the international smash Lost and Found, and Rhett Davis, who won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript for Hovering. It was such a delight being around these two lovely and very funny humans and witnessing their sibling bond. They both rated the green room soup as the best ever, and they weren’t the only ones to rave about it on the podcast. (Frankly, you may begin to think we have all gone a bit mad on soup, of all things.)

 

Third in line will be New York Times bestselling author Natasha Lester who I finally met after many years of online chat. We got very silly on the blue velvet couch in the green room and generally had a grand time. She is gorgeous inside and out, and I loved chatting with her both on and off the podcast.

Finally, I spoke with Australian literary royalty Craig Silvey of Jasper Jones and Honeybee fame. Because of a mix-up, we had to change the time of the interview to after the festival close on the final day. This meant we were the last ones left inside the locked building, bar the janitor. It felt like the beginning of a crime novel, but thankfully Craig did not murder me in the green room with a microphone stand. Stay tuned for these eps!

There have been more events since I’ve returned to Canberra. I had the absolute pleasure of being in-conversation with Ashley Goldberg about his debut novel, Abomination, at The Book Cow. Ashley took my editing course at the University of Canberra many years ago, so it is especially wonderful to see him publish his first book, and for it to be garnering such great reviews.

 

Ashley’s novel explores new territory for me as a reader. Abomination delves into the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Melbourne through the lives of two friends – atheist and secular Ezra and rabbi Yonatan – who are reunited by the sexual abuse trial of a former teacher. Neither of the students were violated by this teacher, and along the book pivots around this case,  it is really about the crises of identity that these two men are experiencing in different ways. The book explores identity, faith, family, love, belonging and what it means to be a good person. It’s such a thought-provoking and beautifully written book. I recommend you get yourself a copy!

Launching the Harry Hartog Tuggeranong store

During our chat Ashley revealed that he originally submitted his manuscript to the Penguin Literary Prize but it was not even longlisted. But guess who ended up publishing it? Penguin, of course, after his agent sent it through the usual channels. Publishing is full of weird stories like this – timing and luck is just as crucial as talent.

Last month I was also delighted to launch the beautiful new Harry Hartog store in Tuggeranong with crime author extraordinaire Chris Hammer and bookselling legends Robert and David Berkelouw. This bookshop is now my local – hurrah for that! A couple of weeks later, as part of their grand opening celebrations, I did a storytime event with my two latest picture books, Seree’s Story and Where the Heart Is. Meeting young readers has to be one of the best parts of this job, and I must give a special shout out to Yusuf from Bonython Primary who is on his way to becoming a published author.

A week later I passed the store and literally found my story. My novel, The Breaking, featured in a particularly gorgeous window display. Always a thrill! #findyourstory

 

Coming up I’ll be at the Canberra Writers Festival on 13 August. It’s great to be back out in the world talking books!

Events are back, baby!

9 March 2022

Yeeeeeees! How great is it that we’re getting out and about again — seeing our fellow literary peeps and drinking champagne and talking books. Oh, how I have missed it.

If you’re in need of a good literary dose, I’ve got events coming up for both adults and kids. I’ll be talking ‘Adulting and Other Catastrophes’ with Lucy Neave and Nigel Featherstone, and I’m certain this one is going to be heaps of fun.

Then I’m off on a trio of launches for my new picture book, Seree’s Story, illustrated by the incredible Wayne Harris. I’ll be in Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney, dishing out elephantine-sized fun. At all three there’ll be a book reading, craft activity, cupcakes and an awesome prize for the best elephant costume! Find details on my Events page.

 

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Then in May, I’m excited to be appearing at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival. (Thank goodness Perth has finally opened its borders!) It will be my first time in Western Australia, and I’ve been hearing great things about this festival, so I can’t wait. Plus I’m going to be recording a series of episodes for my Secrets from the Green Room podcast, so look out for those.

And because I haven’t posted here for months I want to highlight a couple of past events that deserve a mention. I was thrilled to be in conversation with Omar Musa for his new book of poetry and wood cuts, Killernova. The event had everything, including both laughter and tears, and Omar’s artwork surrounding us, making it a truly memorable event. The book itself is a thing of beauty, and worth your dollars!

 

I also attended fellow publishing stablemate Michael Burge’s launch for Tank Water. He was in-conversation with Nigel Featherstone and it was a fascinating evening. The book is an absolute cracker and held me to the end. It’s rural crime fiction like I haven’t read before, set against the backdrop of gay hate crimes. Definitely also worth your dollars!

Oh, and one final lovely piece of news. It’s not an event but My latest picture book, Where the Heart Is, has just been released across South America. I cannot explain the thrill of seeing your book in another language. I’m not entirely sure why it’s so happy-making but let’s just say this is a definite highlight of my career to date. Plus it means that now our story can be read in the country that inspired it (Brazil). ¿Qué Bonito! (Perhaps this calls for an event in Brazil?!)

Here’s to lots more lovely events to bring us all together. And here’s to seeing you at one of them!