EVENTS

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Cairns Tropical Writers Festival — CANCELLED
13–15 August 2021

Irma Gold will be appearing at the festival. Details to come. Visit the website for more information.

Canberra Writers Festival — POSTPONED
22 August 2021, 12–1pm
House of Representatives, Museum of Democracy

Irma Gold will be appearing on the panel Winter Tales with Alice Pung, Karen Viggers and Suzanne Neale, moderated by Nigel Featherstone. Bookings open soon. Visit the website for more information.

F*CK COVID: An Emergency Writing Affair
Saturday 28 August, 1.30–3 pm
ONLINE

Irma will be on the panel, ‘Hard truths; risky fiction’, talking about The Breaking with Mark Brandi (The Others). Free but donations appreciated to keep the good work of the ACT Writers Centre going. Book tickets.

Instagram

Lockdown supplies.

#sooverthis #lockdownlife

Feels like a metaphor for lockdown. Pic by my daughter.

#lockdown #covid #canberralife

Had fun exploring the old burnt-out observatory with the kids today 💙

Was hoping to attempt to tame at least a corner of my wild garden today but the weather has decided otherwise. Loving all the green unfurling though.

#mywildgarden #rainyday

The title of Rooney’s latest could be an anthem for our times. Thanks to @paperchainbookstore for all the clicking and collecting. Can’t wait to dive in to this one.

@sallyrooneyofficial #beautifulworldwhereareyou #bookstagram #booklove #booklover #lockdownreading #reading #womenwritersofinstagram

Libraries are THE BEST, right? And I’m loving seeing how different libraries are using Where the Heart Is to entertain kids (and give parents some relief) in lockdown.

Kingston Libraries in Victoria (which happens to include my childhood haunt in Parkdale, literally a few steps from my old home) have prepared this gorgeous reading and craft activity for their holiday program (so very clever because it shows kids how penguins’ feathers work in water). The video is unlisted but if you’re a member you’ll be able to access it.

If you’re in lockdown (and even if you’re not) I hope you’re also finding escapism and joy in books x

#libraries #librariesrock #librariestransform #librariesofinstagram #librarians #librarianlife #reading #kidlit #picturebooks #brazil #riodejaneiro #penguin #penguins #bookstagram #booklover #bookreading #childrensbooks #childrensbookillustration @ekbooksforkids @oh.susannah.illustration

Doing events via Zoom has brightened my lockdown immeasurably and been a great distraction. I blogged about all the fun bits! (Link in bio.) Massive thanks to all the organisers x

@scbwiact @scbwianz @actwriters @ngfeathers @mb_randi @coreytutt_deadlyscience @ekbooksforkids @midnightsunpublishing @deadlyscience_org #literature #literaryevents #thebreaking #elephants #thailand #bookstagram #writinglife #writerslife #writersofinstagram #authorlife #authorsofinstagram #editing #editinglife #brazil #riodejaneiro #wheretheheartis

Thank you to the AMAZING Kim Ngan Tr of the Asian Noodle House in Belconnen who is providing free meals to single parents, the elderly, people who’ve lost their jobs or just anyone generally struggling in Canberra. I honestly got all teary when this arrived. Such generosity. Thank you Kim! You are a wonder x

#lockdown #lockdownlife @asiannoodlehousebelconnen #singleparenting #covid

What fun it was talking all about editing the full gamut of kids books this morning. Thanks to the gorgeous Zooming crowd for spending your Sunday with me, and to the amazing SCBWI crew for organising such a fabulous event with a stellar line-up.

@scbwianz @scbwiact @scbwi #kidlit #children #childrensbooks #writing #writersofinstagram #writingtips #writinglife #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #editing #editorslife #reading #literaryevent

So very excited to have this ARC in my hot little hand (out end of the month) and to be interviewing Charlotte for season 2 of my Secrets from the Green Room podcast. And I must have been vibing it’s arrival cause I’m even matching!

#theluminoussolution #charlottewood #writing #writinglife #writingcommunity #authorlife #writinginspiration #writingprocess #creativity #creativelife @charlottewoodwriter @secretsfromthegreenroom

Posted @withregram • @oh.susannah.illustration Grab a book and head outside! Let's celebrate Nature Book Week!

The Wilderness Society kicked off their annual #NatureBookWeek on Monday with a great range of online events. I'm really looking forward to the announcement of their Environmental Award for Children's Literature on Thursday. Congratulations to all those shortlisted book creators!

What are your favourite books about nature and the environment for kids? Do you prefer picture books or children's non-fiction?

@wilderness_aus
@irma.gold
@ekbooksforkids

#naturebooks #naturebooksforkids #naturelover #bookworms #wheretheheartis #picturebook #childrensbook #illustrator #kidlit #kidlitart #kidlitillustration #childrensbookillustrator #picturebookillustration #bookstagram #penguins #penguinsofinstagram #ocean #sea #beach #brazil #patagonia #dindimthepenguin #ohsusannahillustration

Me and my pa ❤️

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!

#fathersday

Canberra wins at good cloud game again.

#lockdownwalk #spring #canberra #canberralife #cloudscape #walk #dailywalk

This is what school visits during lockdown look like! Today I was lucky enough to hang out with the awesome Corey Tutt of DeadlyScience and all the gorgeous kids at Dawul Remote Community School, a long way southwest of Kununurra in WA. So much fun!

#schoolvisit #schoolvisits #kidsbooks #reading #literacy #readingtime #bookstagram #booklover #bookaddict #booklove @ekbooksforkids @coreytutt_deadlyscience @deadlyscience_org

Discovered a new walk on the hill opposite us with Master 15. And a rope swing! Lockdown has made me overexcited about very small things.

#walk #dailywalk #walking #lockdown #canberra #canberralife

So thrilled to be Sarah Cole’s fave book, especially amidst such stellar company. Thank you @sarahcolebooks ❤️❤️❤️
…
Posted @withregram • @sarahcolebooks August Wrap Up!

So many great books!
But my August fave had to be The Breaking by Aussie author Irma Gold @irma.gold
Check it out, honestly was amazing! Thank -you @midnightsunpublishing for this book!

Swipe left for Ebooks!

Would LOVE to hear your comments on my August Wrap! Have you read any that you loved?

Bring on September my friends!

#bookwrapup #bookart #bookwrap #bookphotographer #bookpics #booknerd #bookpick #bookaddicters #booksta #bookstack #bookstagrammer #bookstacks #booksarebest #aussiesofinstagram #aussieart #aussiebookstagram #aussieofinsta #aussiefiction #aussiebooks #readerslife #readingpile #readinglist #readingtime #readingisthinking #readingbook #readingforlife #readingisessential #readingisrad #justreadit #justreading

When good eye game is all you’ve got.

#lockdown #covid #covid_19 #mask

So I was supposed to be the featured author at Macgregor Primary’s Writers Festival but then a little thing called lockdown happened. So instead I’ve made them a video. It seems that many facial contortions and high eyebrows were involved.

#wheretheheartis @oh.susannah.illustration @ekbooksforkids #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebooksofinstagram #picturebooksaremyjam #kidsbooks #kidsofinstagram #reading #kidsbooksofinstagram #penguin #penguins #riodejaneiro #brazil #schoolvisit #literacy

Walking at golden hour. The world is still a beautiful place.

#nofilter #sunset #goldenhour #canberra #canberralife #landscape #skyscape #rainbow

Loved doing this panel with Mark Brandi and Nigel Featherstone. Such a fun conversation! Thanks to everyone who came and @actwriters for curating such a fabulous event.
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Posted @withregram • @actwriters Amazing to have so many supporters of all things books at the #ACTW F*CK COVID online literary affair. Session one underway with @mb_randi and @irma.gold with facilitator @ngfeathers

#fcovidliterary #supportwriters #buylocal #supportyourlocalbookstore #TheBreaking #literaryevent @midnightsunpublishing

I love walking at night so much. There’s never anyone around and it’s so peaceful. I always feel that I could walk forever. Last night this cloud bank was something else.

#walking #dailywalk #cloudscape #nightphotography #landscape #nightwalk #canberra #canberralife

This will be the highlight of my locked down weekend! Only a few tix left.

UPDATE: A little squirrel has just told me we’re SOLD OUT! Can’t wait to see the lovely big online crowd ❤️
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Posted @withregram • @actwriters F*CK COVID! is go! go! go!

This special online event will be held on the afternoon of Saturday 28 August.

In the lead-up we’ll be introducing you to each of our four amazing authors.

One of which is Irma Gold!

Irma is an award-winning author and editor. Her debut novel, THE BREAKING, was released in March and has been receiving critical acclaim. Her short fiction has been widely published in literary journals, including @meanjinquarterly_, Island, Westerly, Review of Australian Fiction, Award Winning Australian Writing and Going Down Swinging, and her acclaimed collection of short fiction is Two Steps Forward. Irma is also the author of four children’s picture books, most recently Where the Heart Is, which was read by Fergie, Duchess of York, on her Storytime channel. Her fifth picture book, Seree’s Story, will be out with Walker Books in 2022.

As an editor Irma works for a range of publishers, big and small, and was Convener of Editing at the University of Canberra for a decade. Irma is Ambassador for the Save Elephant Foundation, Ambassador for the ACT Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge and co-host of the writing podcast @secretsfromthegreenroom

There are only a few tix left for F*CK COVID! Head to https://www.actwriters.org/fcovid-event to secure your spot.

It’s a free event, through donations will be greatly appreciated – all money raised will go towards writers’ fees.

Please support Irma by purchasing THE BREAKING from your favourite bookshop!

#irmagold #thebreaking #farkcovid #cbrarts @walkerbooksaus @irma.gold @ngfeathers #TheBreaking #writinglife #writerslife #authorlife #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #elephants #elephantlove #elephantlover #thailand #travel #travelling #wanderlust @midnightsunpublishing

It is so very lovely to see book clubs reading The Breaking, even in lockdown! And I’m always happy to drop by yours via Zoom 😊

#bookclub #bookclubreads #TheBreaking #writinglife #writerslife #authorlife #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #elephants #elephantlove #elephantlover #thailand #travel #travelling #wanderlust @meetyoubackinsydney

Day 10 lockdown walk around the lake. Gloriously warm and sunshiny. Normally end this loop with a coffee but wasn’t expecting it to be open today. So it was extra happy-making to find that it was. The smallest of wins, but I’ll take what I can right now.

#lockdownlife #lockdownwalk #lakeburleygriffin #canberra #canberralife #lake #lakeside #coffeegram

Lockdown pleasures. Diving into Mark Brandi’s latest ahead of our panel for the F*CK COVID online event on ‘Hard Truths; Risky Fiction’ next Saturday. It sold out within a few days but they’ve released a few extra tix, so get in quick. It’s free and you can find links on the ACT Writers Centre’s website or Eventbrite.

I remember when this was being organised, an online event seemed unnecessary. I was supposed to be in Melbourne next weekend, now half the country’s in lockdown. So it seems like the organisers knew what they were doing! Can’t wait to chat with Mark and Nigel Featherstone, our moderator. Something to look forward to in these Covid times.

#TheBreaking #writinglife #writerslife #authorlife #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #elephants #elephantlove #elephantlover #thailand #travel #travelling #wanderlust @midnightsunpublishing @actwriters @ngfeathers @mb_randi #TheOthers @hachetteaus #fiction #literaryevent

Went off-track today and discovered the most amazing 360 panoramic view. Best by far of anything I have seen anywhere in the region. And it’s just a paddock, with no paths. Just me and the sheep and the cows taking it all in. Impossible to explain how I felt sitting on this rock looking at the mountains. Photos don’t capture the view at all. It was epic. More thankful than ever for all this on my doorstep during lockdown.

#lockdown #lockdownlife #brindabellas #canberra #canberralife #mountains #mountainscape #landscape #cloudscape #nature #walking

Canberra’s sunshine and big skies are a lockdown lifesaver. (And these are both from the same 20-minute walk.) Expect to see nothing much else here until this shitfest is over.

#lockdown #lockdownlife #canberra #canberralife #mountains #brindabellas #cloudscape #landscape

With the numbers coming out of Melbourne and Canberra today it’s hard to imagine when I’ll get to see the people I love. Trying to walk out my hopelessness. Also, fuck the Vic Government’s exemption system.

#fuckcovid #lockdown #lockdownlife

This weekend I was supposed to be at the Cairns Tropical Writers Festival in this dress talking books and writing, drinking wine and catching rays. Instead I’m in lockdown. Have I mentioned how much I hate Covid?

@cairnstropicalwriters #lockdown #lockdownlife #notincairns #writinglife #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #authorlife

Today’s lockdown walk. Haven’t been on this trail since the last (and first) lockdown at the start of last year. Impossible to capture the glorious vastness. And not another person around.

#lockdown #lockdownlife #canberra #canberralife #landscape #mountains #cloudscape

Despite lockdown so many wins today.

1. Spent the morning working on my novel. Pure bliss. And I reckon tomorrow I’ll finish the third draft. Cue the trumpets.

2. Went for a glorious walking adventure. Have no idea where I was and saw not a soul. The frogs and the birds and the river offered up a soothing soundtrack. And it was so warm and sunshiny that I ended up in just a singlet top. (Check out the spiky weeds that were taller than me. Also, apparently the sun shines out of my armpit. Slightly better than the alternative, I guess.)

3. Saw two deer with huge antlers crashing through the undergrowth. They stopped for several minutes while we looked at each other, then bounded away along the hill. I have no idea why they were there but it was magic.

4. Delivery of gorgeous flowers and chocolate from my gorgeous man who I was supposed to be with this weekend.

5. Now smashing out my presentation for an online editing workshop in September with a little black cat curled in my lap.

Hope everyone out there in lockdown land had some wins today too.

#lockdown #lockdownlife #canberra #canberralife #landscape #walking #walkingadventures #dailywalk

“Best book that I’ve read this year … This book really changed my life.”

First day of lockdown but @sarahcolebooks has made it the most beautiful day. You can watch the short vid on her Insta page. Thanks Sarah, you rock!

#TheBreaking #writinglife #writerslife #authorlife #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #elephants #elephantlove #elephantlover #thailand #travel #travelling #wanderlust @midnightsunpublishing

I’m determined to find rainbows every day in spite of this shitfuckery of a situation.

(Photo taken yesterday pre-lockdown.)

#fuckcovid #lakeburleygriffin #rainbow

Canberra about to join so much of the country in lockdown. Only thing I care about is that I can’t see my partner. Going to walk out my feelings.

#fuckcovid

Today is World Elephant Day! And if you’d like to understand what is facing these beautiful creatures in Asia may I humbly suggest you grab yourself a copy of The Breaking, which is also at its heart the story of two young women and a journey through Thailand full of passion, danger and adventure.

#TheBreaking #writinglife #writerslife #authorlife #authorslife #authorsofinstagram #writersofinstagram #elephants #elephantlove #elephantlover #thailand #travel #travelling #wanderlust @lek_chailert @saveelephantfoundation @surinproject @elephantnaturepark @midnightsunpublishing