Ellie Marney's Blog, page 22
August 7, 2016
#LoveOzYAbookclub – July 2016 discussion post: RUBY MOONLIGHT (Ali Cobby Eckermann)
How’s it going, folks? Are you keeping up with your bookclub reading? This month’s book discussion has been dragged out into August. But never fear – I’ve had some new ideas for spicing up bookclub (which I’ll share more in the next post) and everyone will get a chance to join in!
So what did you think of RUBY MOONLIGHT? It was a very quick read, and I inhaled it all in one sitting. Ali Cobby Eckermann is a winner of the Kuril Dhagun Indigenous Writing Fellowship, part of the black&write! Indigenous Writing Project sponsored by the State Library of Queensland. Her story is a Stolen Generation story – she was adopted very young, and grew up to find her birth mother in later life, and recover her Yankunytjatjara heritage – and also a story of great hope: she is now heavily involved in fostering writing by Indigenous authors, and has written a number of influential and highly awarded books of poetry, published both here in Australia and overseas. You can read more about Ali’s amazing life story here, in this interview with Jaydeep Sarangi for Mascara Literary Review.
And in a slightly different move, I’ve included two reviews in this month’s discussion post (to help bolster your own words, when it comes to the discussion of this one!). Tina Giannoukos, says that “[Ali Cobby Eckermann] traces a story of personal loss, trauma and reconnection in poetry and memoir, as well as a public story of political disempowerment, and a shared story of loss in ruby moonlight” and also looks at two of Eckermann’s other books in this review in Cordite here.
For myself, I found the book honest and haunting. Although I’m not sure if I’d put it squarely in the YA category, it was also something I could see as working well within a school curriculum, with a spare use of language and a straightforward story that could carry a strong message to teen readers.
But what did you think? Add your comments to the discussion thread on the FB page, where you can join in the conversation, or feel free to leave your opinion in the comments below.
In the next post, I want to ask everyone how they think bookclub is going so far, and start taking on new ideas for improving our format and generating larger discussion, as well as adding to the range of titles that we have on the masterlist. What do you reckon? Stay tuned for more bookclub news and see you soon!
xxEllie
July 18, 2016
On ‘Safe’ books
A letter from a reader:
“I’ve just finished Every Word. I’m 52 and really enjoy YA fiction. My youngest (13) put me on to your books. They are well written, have a great plot, move quickly and are appealing to readers both 13-18 and beyond. I know it is not my place to ask you for anything. But if I could I’d ask you to leave out the swearing and the pre-sex touching and feeling. Your books are great without it. I feel uncomfortable knowing that my daughter has already read the Every series. It’s not something I encourage or condone here. Please don’t take this the wrong way. I’d just feel more comfortable knowing that my daughter was reading ‘safe’ books. It’s great to have more Aussie authors, with Aussie dialogue, themes and places. Well done. Don’t think too harshly of me. Kind Regards”
My response:
Hi XX,
Thank you for writing, and thank you for your lovely compliments on the series – positive feedback from readers is what makes it all worthwhile.
Although I don’t usually respond to comments from readers on language or content in my books, I thought I’d say something on the issues you raised in your email. I certainly don’t think harshly of you for raising them. Every YA writer I know considers these issues deeply, and is aware of the range of ages within the YA category – 13 to 18 years of age is a broad spread. I do think carefully about the language and content in my books, and it’s something I consult with my editors about as each manuscript goes towards publication. It’s wonderful that you’re attentive to your daughter’s reading, and I certainly understand your concerns, as I’m not just a writer, but a mother with teenagers of my own.
For this reason, I feel that it’s important to write representations of language and intimacy that are honest, and that reflect young peoples’ experiences, and offer a place for teenagers to figure things out. This means that while I understand you would prefer your daughter read ‘safe’ books, it is not my obligation to write them – in fact, I believe that teenagers talking and learning about language and sex and relationships through reading books and having conversations with people they trust is pretty much the safest thing there is. When I notice my own teenagers reading a book that I know contains language or sexual content, I know that questions will follow, and we can have a conversation about it. I would much rather they had these conversations with me than go online, or search elsewhere for the answers.
I know this response may not satisfy you, but it’s the best response I can give. It might comfort you to know that research has indicated that teenagers are excellent at self-selecting literature. If they find something they’re not ready for, they’ll generally put it down. I also suggest, for further information, that you read this article below, on a statement by Malorie Blackman, the former UK Children’s Literature Laureate:
I hope your shared reading with your daughter provides an opportunity to discuss these important topics and equip your daughter to make the right choices for herself. Good luck with your reading and all the best.
Regards
Ellie Marney
*I would like to thank the numerous other writers I contacted when asking for advice on responding to this letter. Their suggestions were invaluable, and some of their words and phrases directly informed the content of this letter.
July 14, 2016
State of Anticipation – July 2016
I’m putting this stuff down fast, before it slips away…
What I’m writing:
I’m putting the finishing touches on my story for the newly announced #LoveOzYA anthology, which will be released by HarperCollins in May 2017 – it’s nice to finally be allowed to talk about it! The story is actually finished, but I’m adding a few bits and deleting a few other bits, and basically trying to make all the words sound good. Does the story have a certain Every series slant, you ask? Why yes, it does! I’ll share more about that as we get closer to release.
I’m also thinking that I’d like to submit a story to the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Silver Shoe award, which is only open to past Stiletto winners. I have a good idea, from a story I wrote some time ago. Problem is, I’m a bit flat out. Whether I get the story tidied up for submission…well, we’ll have to see. But if you’re a female writer, and you’d like to submit a story for the Stiletto Awards (big cash prizes, people), the closing date is 31 July – go go go!
I’m also editing the New Book. I have a deadline for it, but at the moment, while I’m time-poor, I’m thinking up new and interesting details for the plot (and possibly rearranging the entire character arc of one person…but let’s not go there right now).
What I’m up to
This week I’m teaching full time – not much wriggle-room.
Next week, I’m heading for the Coonabarabran High Festival of Words, from 19-22 July. If you’re in Coonabarabran, make sure you’re onto it!
When I get back, I go straight from the airport to a writing retreat, which will be FANTASTIC, as I’ve hardly had any sit-down writing time at all over the school holidays, and I really ought to get some stuff done, plus I get to see a big bunch of writer friends, and hug them and give them noogies, and drink wine, and play Cards Against Humanity, and, and… It will be awesome. I’m totally psyched.
On Tuesday 26 July, I’ll be at the Wheeler Centre for Writers Victoria, teaching GATEways students about Writing Crime, and a week later, on Tuesday 2 August, I’ll be doing it all over again!
That’s quite enough to be going on with, I think.
What’s bugging me
Well, the world seems to be going to hell in a handbasket , including here in Australia, where there have been ongoing political machinations since the LNP (conservatives) declared they can form a majority government. Tumultuous times often provide great fuel for creative work, but not great environments in which to have that work shared and renumerated. I’m still very nervous, like I’m sure many creatives are, that the Federal government in Australia will pass the legislation necessary to remove parallel importation on books. I think that would be a hugely destabilising influence on our publishing industry, and make working as a writer that much harder.
What I’m looking forward to
WRITING RETREAT! WRITING RETREAT! WRITING RETREAT!
Did you all catch that?
#LoveOzYAbookclub
The discussion post for last month’s title, THE INTERROGATION OF ASHALA WOLF, provided some great comments – and you are still welcome to add your thoughts and comments about the book, either here at the discussion post on the blog or here on the FB thread.
We’re now getting into the new book for July – RUBY MOONLIGHT, a wonderful verse-form novel by Ali Cobby Eckermann. You can order the book through Boomerang Books (and get free shipping) by following the links on the blog post title announcement. Enjoy!
On my TBR
xxEllie
July 11, 2016
#LoveOzYAbookclub – July 2016 book selection
We are past the halfway mark of the year – how on earth did that happen? – and…we have another title for bookclub! I’ve had a few delays on my end with Real Life stuff, so I’m sorry this post is a bit late, but the wait will be worth it, I promise 
July 2, 2016
#LoveOzYAbookclub – June 2016 Discussion Post: THE INTERROGATION OF ASHALA WOLF (Ambelin Kwaymullina)
Good morning! (or afternoon, or evening, etc) It’s 3 July here in Australia, and while we may not yet have a stable government after yesterday’s election, d’you know what we have got? Yes! We’ve got the first Indigenous woman in the House of Representatives!
That’s right: Linda Burney, the new Member for Barton, is the first female Indigenous MP for Labor. And regardless of political affiliations, I think we should all be cheering that (despite the fact that it took us this long to get here).
In honour of Ms Burney’s election, and because I think we all need a bit of a boost after the strange and curious democratic process we’ve all just been through (in which there was no clear outcome, but chances are strong for a hung parliament or – agh – a return to the polls), I’m putting up today’s discussion post of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina, and declaring a day of rejoicing for this fantastic YA novel.
The Kirkus Review of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf declared, “If an “exhilarating dystopia” strikes you as oxymoronic, this vivid, original debut just might change your mind.” But I’m going to go back to the Kids Book Review assessment of the novel, which offered more detail: “The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf is sure to appeal to readers interested in dystopian fiction. It is also ideal for study in a high school classroom setting, offering a range of themes and issues such as discrimination, ethical leadership and the abuse of authority, the role of technology in society, environmental issues, and the different ways of bringing about change in society”.
I read Ashala Wolf over Christmas last year, and was struck by the originality of the concepts, and the particularly tricky plot-layering, all of which added up in my mind as ‘wow, this is excellent’. I loved how Ashala relied deeply on her friendships with Georgie and Ember, and the way issues of trust and memory were interwoven through the story – I was cheering Ashala all the way through. A lot of people have said that reading Ashala Wolf made them want to instantly go out and read the rest of the Tribe series – have you picked up The Disappearance of Ember Crow and The Foretelling of Georgie Spider yet?
Now here’s your chance to share what you thought of The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf – feel free to comment here, or join the discussion on the Facebook thread at #LoveOzYAbookclub. All thoughts are welcome! And stay tuned for the coming announcement of our July title, which is courtesy of Ambelin Kwaymullina and all ready to go. Enjoy the discussion, and see you ‘round!
xxEllie
July 1, 2016
An Open Letter to my local MP
30 June 2016
Ellie Marney
Dear [name redacted],
Firstly, thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement on the occasion of my recent success with a Creative Victoria Arts Grant for my new work of YA fiction, Off The Grid (working title). It’s gratifying to receive recognition, and I’m very aware that as a grant recipient, I am one of the lucky few to receive this kind of State endorsement. I’m hugely grateful to Creative Victoria and to the State government for providing me with the opportunity to bring my manuscript to publication, and thus to a wide teenage readership.
With this letter, I am also taking the opportunity to address an issue that concerns me greatly – the recent Federal government decision to accept a recommendation from the Harper Competition Review and the 2009 Productivity Commission report, and remove Parallel Importation on books in this country, to take effect in 2017.
I understand that both the Opposition Leader, Mr Bill Shorten, and the Shadow Arts Minister, Mr Mark Dreyfus, have come out in support of the arts and creative industries in the lead-up to the coming election in their statements regarding the Labour arts policy, announced on 4 June. The policy says that Labour will be ‘cautious’ regarding proposals to alter the current territorial copyright regime, and specifically notes that “A strong local publishing industry also fosters emerging Australian authors, often giving them their first publications and the chance to enrich our culture by telling Australian stories to ourselves and to the world”. Despite these reassurances, there is no clear indication in the policy statement about how Labour will deal with the Productivity Commission’s recommendations on Parallel Importation.
I am one of those Australian authors who were given “their first publications and the chance to enrich our culture” – my first book, Every Breath, was released by Allen & Unwin, this country’s leading independent publisher of children’s books, in 2013. That book went on to receive awards listings and critical acclaim, as well as solid sales, and was sold into Canadian, US and UK markets. It was most recently listed last year by the Australian Library Information Association as one of the top ten most-borrowed YA books in Australian libraries – a list that, incidentally, contained only two Australian YA novels.
I am citing my book, and my own personal experience, because I believe that without PI protection, it is unlikely that I would ever have become a published author. Apart from hard work and luck, it was the current strong literature and publishing industry in this country that secured my publishing future, and allowed my creativity and innovation to benefit both myself and the larger Australian cultural and commercial economy.
I will spare you a full breakdown of Parallel Importation: that information is readily available elsewhere. It is tempting, as author James Bradley says, to ‘shoehorn’ the whole issue into an argument about book prices, but this issue is not only about whether the price of books would reduce further after PI is lifted – with deep discounts and Amazon competition, book prices have already dropped 30% in the last ten years, and New Zealand’s experience of lifting PI doesn’t seem to have borne out many economists’ price-reduction predictions. It is also not a question of availability – consumers can still buy cheap books anytime.
It is not even a question of cultural nationalism, although without a strong local publishing industry, I would need to sell my stories to US and UK publishers (who have made no moves towards dismantling their own local PI restrictions), who are just not that interested in stories set in Victoria, featuring Australian characters and vernacular – overseas publishers already have a wealth of home-grown talent that caters to their own markets. I have already been told that to make my writing more palatable overseas, I would have to make the landscape ‘more generic’, the stories more relate-able to an overseas audience, the language ‘less Aussie’. So my references to kids playing Aussie Rules would have to go, along with descriptions of Australian gum trees and fauna, and the diversity of Australian multicultural life, not to mention my use of Australian slang. All these minor details, and the essential cultural issues that make my books distinctly Australian, would be sacrificed in order for me to successfully hawk my wares outside of my home country. Genuine Australian stories would slowly give way to more ‘US-friendly’ stories – not just from me, but (by necessity) from all Australian authors. Richard Flanagan, author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North, describes this as ‘a nation with its tongue torn out’. Even if I alter my work and manage to sell my manuscripts internationally, the economic benefit of my work will go offshore into the hands of foreign publishers as they sell my books at less-than-cost-price here in Australia.
But as I said, these issues are not the primary ones. What I would ask you to consider, after putting aside all these other considerations, is another question that James Bradley poses: whether Australia can continue to compete in a global knowledge economy once we’ve ceased to protect our creative industries commercially, and also whether such a change would foster innovation, and maximise the benefit of that creativity and innovation to the Australian economy.
Remember: under the current system of PI restrictions, I am rewarded for my creativity and innovation by being able to sell my book rights locally and internationally. US and UK writers enjoy these same rewards under their own countries’ territorial copyright regimes. But without PI restrictions, what do I get for my innovation and effort? Within Australia, almost nothing. So what is there to encourage me to continue to create, in that case?
I think the answer is clear.
After PI restrictions are lifted, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to sell my work; in addition, any local ‘return’ I receive from my work becomes negligible. But I can’t afford to write for nothing. I have to think of my family, and weigh the benefits of continuing to produce creative work against what it costs me in time and energy and effort. The Productivity Commission’s report was incorrect when it suggested that ‘most writers don’t write for money’. Of course we write out of love, but we aren’t stupid: we only put the kind of intense effort necessary to create a 335-page book (three years worth of effort, in the case of Every Breath) into something we think will bring us some reward. This is not being mercenary, merely pragmatic. I know many professionals – doctors, tradespeople, teachers, and more – who love their work, but they aren’t expected to donate their skills for no return. Writers are in the same boat. We contribute to the cultural, knowledge and commercial economy of this country, but we can’t be expected to do it for free. Writers also don’t want to be wholly dependent on government handouts – hugely competitive grants, like the one I have received, which can be withdrawn with the stroke of a pen by future governments, or used more insidiously to encourage ‘government-appropriate’ creative works.
So without PI, there is no real incentive for Australian writers to continue to produce Australian stories, and Australia ceases to be a fertile ground for innovation and creation as the pool of talent and opportunity shrinks. Increasingly, good ideas will be sent offshore, and the profits from them will be reaped by overseas markets – none of this benefits the Australian creator or consumer. This is what the ultimate outcome of repealing PI restrictions will be. And this is why so many of us in the literary and creative industries oppose it.
PI restrictions provide some measure of protection for Australian publishers, with their strong but small market, competing against the big players of the global book industry. PI restrictions make it possible for Australian publishers and authors to thrive. But most importantly, PI restrictions allow Australians who innovate and create to commercialise and benefit from their own work. Without such rewards, creators and innovators cease to exist, and the Australian cultural and commercial economy withers.
So this is all I wanted to say: please appeal on my behalf, and on behalf of other Australian authors in your constituency, to reject the recommendations of the Productivity Commission, reject the lifting of PI restrictions, and allow the local publishing industry, and local stories, to live on.
Thank you again for your time, acknowledgement and consideration, and with all best wishes for the coming election.
Yours sincerely
Ellie Marney
June 20, 2016
#LoveOzYAbookclub – Five Messy Questions with Ambelin Kwaymullina (Ashala Wolf)
Hi bookclubbers!
Welcome to a new round of Five Messy Questions with our author of the month. Our June author in the hot seat is Ambelin Kwaymullina, who wrote THE INTERROGATION OF ASHALA WOLF. I’d like to thank Ambelin for taking the time to join us, and for having a bit of fun with these questions!
* One of your favourite words and why:
Rhythm. I can’t spell it. No matter how many times I write it, the exact combination of letters never sticks in my head. The word is an eternal mystery to me. To write this answer I spelt rhythm about five different ways, none of which were correct – in fact they were all so far wrong that spellcheck wouldn’t provide me with the correct spelling – so I’ve had to look it up on google.
It’s rhythm, and NOT rhythym, rhthym, rthym, or rythym.
* Something important about your writing process you’d like to share:
My writing process is a cultural process. In my culture, some knowledges are restricted; and so I am careful about what gets put into my books. Also, there is so much misinformation out there about Indigenous peoples that in writing to Indigenous realities I have to be perpetually aware of the many falsehoods that exist about Indigenous realities.
* Rec us a book on writing craft, would ya?:
Any poem, or any song. Good poets and songwriters are masters at telling a story in few words and in a way that captures the imagination.
* Why write for teenagers? Why not adults, or little munchkins?:
Actually, I do write for the little ones; they are the worlds harshest critics. Five year olds don’t care about my feelings. Five year olds don’t think writers have any feelings. But I will never write for adults. For starters, I think that grown ups are collectively failing in our responsibility to leave the world better than we found it – on the contrary, we’re *$#&ing up the planet for those who come next. But teenagers are the hope of the world – quick to embrace new ideas and discard old ones, increasingly globally aware, and capable of absorbing knowledge at incredible speed. Probably like most YA and kids writers, I get asked all the time why I don’t write for grown ups (the assumption generally being that ‘serious’ authors write for adults) – and my answer is this: the young matter more.
* We’re at a dance party right now, and the DJ wants to know which song gets you out on the floor for major boogies and you say…:
There is no song that gets me on the dance floor, because I have no rhythm. If there is such a thing as anti-coordination, then that is what I have. I am a danger to myself and to everyone around me. I will, however, after a great deal of alcohol, get up and sing at karaoke (even though I can’t sing either) – but only to sing the likes of Eternal Flame, Don’t Stop Believin’, and Love Shack. What can I say, I was a teenager in the 80s.
June 5, 2016
#LoveOzYAbookclub: June 2016 book selection
This month’s title selection has been generously provided by Chris Currie, author of May’s book, CLANCY OF THE UNDERTOW (and proud new dad, as of Saturday May 4th – congratulations Chris! Love to the whole family!!).
Chris has chosen…*drumroll*…
THE INTERROGATION OF ASHALA WOLF by Ambelin Kwaymullina!! Yay! Kermit flail!
In this first book of The Tribe series, Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose, and is about to be subjected to the Machine – memories and thoughts will be yanked straight from her mind, exposing her Tribe, the runaway Illegals with extraordinary powers hiding in the Firstwood. Betrayed by someone she thought she could trust and at the mercy of the Administration, the only hope for Ashala, and the Tribe she belongs to, is her own strength of will…
This staggeringly inventive and twisty dystopian fantasy was well-received upon first release – it was nominated for the 2012 Aurealis Award (YA), and the 2013 Gold Inky. Kid’s Book Review says: “While the thriller aspects of the story keep the pages turning, Ashala’s need to have a connection with her past and with her surroundings as well as her need to be true to herself and those she loves adds a real depth and thoughtfulness to the novel.”
After reading so much YA dystopia, I was starting to get heartburn, so I was delighted to find that ASHALA WOLF is the most energetic and original work I’d read for a long time: the writing is so seamless, it’s hard to believe that this is a debut work. The Tribe series is written by Ambelin Kwaymullina, from the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of West Australia. A vocal supporter of Australian Indigenous voices in literature generally and in YA in particular, Ambelin has contributed to the discussion around diversity, representation and appropriation in publications like Kill Your Darlings (go here: kyd article_Ambelin ), and talks about Indigenous superheroes here, about the new ABC production Cleverman (which is ACE, btw, and you should get into it!). You can also read her Author Notes to the second book in the series, The Disappearance of Ember Crow, here: Author Note Ember Crow-1.
I hope you enjoy this month’s book, and welcome the addition of a fantastic new voice in Australian YA fiction! Remember that if you’d like to order the book through Boomerang Books, you can use the code ‘loveoz’ at the ‘use promotional code’ section of the order form to get free shipping.
Happy reading!
XxEllie
May 31, 2016
State of Play – June 2016
LOTS of things happened last month, so much that I didn’t get it all out to you before the month was over. And as you can see from the title, football season is in full swing here (C’arn the Tigers!) so my household is replete with musty footy socks, dirty jerseys, and the smell of Dencorub. Coming-into-winter time is when I usually feel like hibernating, but this season I’m making an effort to do some exercise and stay in shape – mentally and physically – for the year ahead…
What I’m writing:
On Monday 9th May I submitted my new book to my editors. Pressing Send on a submission draft is a special kind of heaven-and-hell experience – I always read the book through before I send it, and it’s never quite as good as I want it to be, so that’s hellish, but getting it away to my editors is the world’s biggest relief, and feeling that weight lift off your shoulders is heavenly. So I’m now a lot more relaxed than I was last month, but I’m still on deadline: I’m writing a short story for a Thing, which I can’t share with you right now, but it’s a Thing that will be a Good Thing.
Can I tell you what the story is about? Uh, no, it is sekret. Can I get more annoyingly vague than that? No, I don’t think so. Either way, the story was due today, and I submitted it early! *fistpump* It’s now in editing stages, but it’s somehow not as daunting to be on deadline for a short story as it is to be on deadline for a whole book.
What I’m up to:
I was at Tarneit Library on May 19th, with cool chicks from the Stella Program. I ran a creative writing workshop for teenagers from 4pm, and then spoke on a panel with Simmone Howell and Bec Kavanagh, talking about women writing place and crime. I had a ball – and wow, the students were eager and responsive and wonderful, so good on you, Tarneit!
On Saturday May 21st, I was at the Children’s Book Council of Australia conference for 2016. The theme was Myriad Possibilities, and it was a bit of a crazy day – I flew into Sydney, got lost on the train system with Melissa Keil (and what is going on in with all the construction in the CBD, Sydney peeps? That was insane), was rescued by Will Kostakis (nice one, Will!), met up with Gabrielle Tozer (wee!) and rushed into a few bookshops to sign copies – if you’re keen for an autographed copy of my books, or of Will’s or Melissa’s or Gab’s books, do drop in to Dymocks CBD, or Kinokuniya!
Then we raced back to the conference, just in time to jump up onto the stage for a panel on YA. We talked about diversity in YA, the influence of #LoveOzYA and overseas trends, and suggested some of the things that librarians and teachers can do to fire up their students about local YA stories. We also touched on the gap between what publishers and
gatekeepers like to stock on shelves and what teenagers like to read, how the proposed changes to industry legislation sound ominous for local stories, and a whole lot more – it was an exciting panel, and I hope I gave you a wave if you were in the audience!
I was at Castlemaine Secondary College on Thursday May 26th, where I had morning tea with the awesome students who are involved in the CSC book club and helped launched the new CSC library bookclub site – our host was Amazing Librarian and All-round Fantastic Human Being Andrea McDonald, who laid on food and prizes for participating students (and the party pies disappeared before I even got a whiff of them, let me tell you) .
I also did a Youtube interview for Miranda at Books101 this month – you can check that out here – we talked all over the Every series, from inception to publication, and a bunch of other stuff, including why I sometimes DNF books I don’t like! (uh, because life’s too short?)
Today (Wednesday 1st ) I’ll be in Bendigo for the Latrobe Bendigo Story Slams workshops with Cate Kennedy, Simmone Howell, John Charalambous, and Nathan Curnow, running creative writing workshops for teenagers.
I’m also teaching a lot this month and next – I’m relieving a teacher on leave at my sons’ school, and then in July, I’ll be in Coonabarabran for some exciting festival goodness!
What’s bugging me:
What’s bugging me is pretty much what’s bugging every creative in Australia right now: Australia Council grants info was released a short while ago, and as a result of the current federal government’s appalling lack of interest and investment in a long-term future for the arts, 62 organisations – some of them long-standing, vibrant community members – have been denied funding. Meanjin, one of the country’s longest-running literary journals, the Emerging Writers Festival, and Express Media – which runs Voiceworks magazine and the John Marsden prize and is the only organisation of its type for young writers – were amongst the victims of the cuts. While lots of worthy organisations and artists did receive funding, there are no real ‘winners’ in the arts industry in the current political climate. I’m really angry about it, and also incredibly saddened, and nervous about what the future holds for the arts community in Australia.
I’m also ticked off because, in almost the same breath, we’ve had to deal with the news that the government is considering introducing new legislation to halt the current parallel importation restrictions in Australia. There’s also been a lot of talk about changing the current copyright provisions, which would be devastating for our local story industry.
Parallel importation would knock a few bucks off the cost of books, but would probably signal the death knell for Australia’s literary and publishing ecosystem – it would mean that booksellers could import cheap copies of my book from overseas, bypassing local publishers and distributors, and returning no royalties to me, the author. If you’re not sure how it all works, check out this article by Jay Kristoff (I reckon he’s pretty much nailed it), and keep in mind what happened when PIR was removed in New Zealand (spoiler: the NZ publishing industry died).
Copyright changes, if they were introduced, would mean that any book I publish today will only be mine for 15-25 years (depending on what the government decides) – after that, it would be open slather on the rights to work that I’ve put my blood, sweat and tears into. It would mean that, while I could build a house today and watch its value appreciate as I get older, and even bequeath it to my kids, my books (and the meagre income I make from them) would be stripped from me in my old age. You can read about what Jackie French (Diary of a Wombat) thinks about this here.
So yeah, lots of things bugging me right now, and they should be bugging you too, if you want to keep seeing local stories on bookshelves. If you’d like to throw your support behind writers in this country, I urge you to sign the petition against parallel importation here, and protest the proposed changes to copyright law.
What I’m looking forward to
Ah, now we get to the nice stuff – and thank you to Jess Broadbent for suggesting this tag! I’m looking forward to visiting Coonabarabran in July, and then I’m really looking forward to getting together with a bunch of amazing writers very soon afterwards for a weekend retreat. Much writing will be done, and news will be shared, and shop-talk will happen. I can’t tell you what it means to be able to spend time working together as a group – it’s incredible, and refreshing, and I always learn so much!
#LoveOzYAbookclub:
May’s title is CLANCY OF THE UNDERTOW by Chris Currie – you can check out the title selection post here, and an interview with Chris was posted here
The discussion post for CLANCY has also gone up, so check it out if you’re interested, and you’re welcome to post a comment about the book and your feelings about it. You should also feel free to sign up to bookclub, if you want – we’re reading a book a month, and it’s all OzYA, so if that floats your boat, come aboard on the FB page.
On My TBR:
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maass) is on my reading list this month, along with Night Beach, which is an early book of Kirsty Eagar’s (her most recent work is Summer Skin). I’m reading ACOTAR to stay current – it’s been a big-selling book, both here and in the States/Canada, and I like to keep up with what’s out. And as for Night Beach– I’ve read it before, but I love it, and I think it deserves more love.
I also wanted to see how Kirsty had actually achieved one aspect: that feeling of dread and heightened sexual tension that the book is filled with. I’m trying to learn some craft tips, in other words. Whenever I’m writing, I always find that problems of craft are best solved by reaching for other people’s books. I learn a lot from reading how others have done it before me, and comparing my style, and figuring out how I might make some aspect of craft my own.
In fact, I’ll probably learn a lot from reading Lili Wilkinson’s new book, The Boundless Sublime – to my delight, I managed to wangle a review copy at the CBCA conference. I’m fascinated by the subject matter – cults – and Lili’s last book, Green Valentine, was lovely.
This month, I’ve already finished A Single Stone by Meg McKinley – it’s a CBCA Book of the Year shortlistee, and I had heard great things, which certainly wasn’t setting the bar too high. It was a wonderful book, with raw, poetic prose, and like The Boundless Sublime, it covers themes that are interesting to me right now, including isolated communities and extremism. I also read Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, which was delightful and romantic and incredibly intense, in places, and – oh my god – In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker, which was excellent – another CBCA book, and one I highly recommend you get your hands on.
Finally – for years, I’ve berated myself for not yet reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin and now I’ve finally read it, and my god, it was extraordinary on every level. World-building, depth, vigorous language, fascinating subject matter…seriously, I could go on and on. For such a slim volume, it kicks you right in the guts – if you haven’t read it, do yourself a favour.
xxEllie
May 23, 2016
Above the waterline
I get up at six. It usually takes me about half an hour to come back to earth, from wherever I’ve been wandering at night, so in that time I make myself a cup of coffee and take a stroll through social media. If this was a writing day, I would then get into work: opening up the document on my laptop, settling myself in for the long haul. But today is not a real writing day, there are too many chores, so instead I make a list of things to do.
I try to keep my list achievable – there are always many things to do. I want to write as much as I can, send three emails, print up a document, mail something, get groceries, write a blog post. I have not added ‘housework’ or ‘garden before everything dies’ or ‘exercise’ or anything like that to the list, of course. But groceries are essential. Of the things on my list, only two of them will ultimately get done – the groceries and the mailing. And I guess I’m writing the blog post now.
After list-making, breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon on toast for four, hurry hurry, please brush teeth before getting in the car. Someone always forgets to brush their teeth. Sometimes the someone is me. School drop off, including whole school assembly, which I attend today because my smallest son told me last week it’s been ages since I’ve come to assembly and he feels like the only kid in his class whose parents never come. Oh dear.
Home again. The plasterer is unexpectedly here, to do the tiny bedroom we’ve recently attached to our tiny house for our oldest boy, who’s now fifteen and has shared a bedroom with at least one other brother for almost his entire life. I make the plasterer a cup of tea, then try to sit and write. I am on deadline this month. I do a lot of writing in marginal space – between other tasks and responsibilities. Sometimes I read back through the stories that’ve emerged from this process with a sense of wonder, as if I’m discovering it all myself for the first time. I often find it incredible that a cohesive narrative has formed. It’s like planting a garden with random seeds from unlabelled packets – you watch in Spring as all the flowers come up, like magic. You’re surprised and delighted to find beauty, and occasionally, order.
But back to the writing: I receive four phone calls, one from a scam trader. Every time the phone rings, I tense. It could be the school, asking me to come collect a sick child. It could be work, calling me in to do an extra shift. I manage to get some words down. Not enough. Lunch – I put on a load of washing. The plasterer needs more tea. I should have offered him lunch – I’m neglectful of him.
It’s two p.m. This day is disappearing fast. I do two urgent chores that I forgot to put on my list. I can’t print up anything, because my printer is in stubborn denial of its function – add ‘take printer for repair’ to my next day’s list. School pick up time, hurry hurry. I make sure one of my sons gets to his tennis lesson, another to orchestra practise. I’ve forgotten my youngest son’s bathers for swimming – oh crap. I turn around and drive home, get the bathers, drive back. Go to the chemist, the green grocer, drop my son at swimming. Get chook food. Pick up from swimming and orchestra, drop off at futsal. My partner has a physio appointment and can’t make futsal pick up. I drop two of the boys at home, sit down for a moment. Breathe. Then get back in the car, drive back for futsal pick up. Get groceries. Come home.
It’s 8 p.m. and I’m moderating an online event to help promote #LoveOzYAbookclub and a friend’s book. My partner cooks dinner, makes lunches, while I moderate. I come in just in time to help get everyone off to bed. The morning in reverse – change into pyjamas, brush teeth, get into bed. My son wants to talk about his birthday party, which is a week away. It’s 9 p.m. and I make a coffee, sit down, talk to my partner about plans for tomorrow. All plans suddenly change at quarter to ten, when I get a call to teach relief at the local high school tomorrow. I was planning to write all day – alas.
At 10 p.m. I change into track pants and go to work. I am one of a team of support carers for a local man who is an elderly non-verbal quadriplegic.* He’s been admitted to hospital with gastro – I go to the hospital, where I find him exhausted, covered in vomit, unable to properly communicate with nursing staff. With the help of a sympathetic nurse, I get him out of bed, into the shower chair, give him a shower, change him into clean clothes, back into bed, sort out communication issues. No, he doesn’t want to be woken in the night to be bladder scanned, BP tested. He just wants to get some rest. My shift usually finishes at 11.30 p.m., but tonight I don’t leave the hospital until half past twelve.
This is the fourth round trip into town and back for the day – each trip is a distance of forty kilometres, so including extra detours for groceries and what have you, I’ve driven more than one hundred and sixty kilometres today. This is brought home to me when I nearly hit a kangaroo on the drive back. All the way home in the car, I’ve wrinkled my nose at the scent of hospital soap on my hands. It smells like musk sticks.
Now I am here, writing this.
I’m not telling you about all these details of my day to bore you, or invoke pity. I’m not actually relating anything unusual or out of the ordinary – other writers work demanding day jobs, parent, try to maintain relationships, have responsibilities, extra-curricular activities, aged parents, friends who need support. They cope with disability, or mental or physical health problems, or they juggle additional commitments. I know two writers with twins – twins! Some writer friends have new babies. I’m in awe of people who keep writing with twins, or a new baby.
People are busy. I should also say that it’s not just writers – in the world of books, every editor and agent and publishing industry professional I’ve ever met has worked their arse off. We’re all in this industry because we love literature and words – basically we’re all crazy book people. And we work hard to bring words onto the page, and books onto shelves, and into readers’ hands.
I recently wrote here about strategies I use to keep myself on an even keel when I’m splitting my focus between the part of me that writes and the part of me that copes in the day to day. This post is similar – it’s about how to keep writing when you’re under stress.
The topic of stress is a timely one: many arts organisation were devastated recently by funding cuts. Livelihoods have been lost, artists of all stripes are in pain with this. The Federal government seems hell-bent on destroying the local literary industry through legislative change on parallel importation and copyright. How can we stay sane, keep our chins above the waterline, when everything around us is crumbling? Each blow to the creative industries in this country is a personal blow. But you have to keep soldiering on – in your own mind you have to remember what you are doing, remind yourself that what you are creating has worth. You also have to function on a daily basis, and cope with the twenty-four-seven complexities of personal life.
So here are a few things I do when I’m juggling writing and a great deal of extra ‘stuff’.
Sleep. It’s easier said than done, if you have small children. But really, if your kids are little, getting rest whenever you can is the most important thing. If you don’t have children, and you’re under stress, you still need sleep. I’m bad with this, and I know other people who are too, but I try to discipline myself not to skimp on sleep. Your creative brain can’t function without it.
Self-care. Everybody is different with this. My idea of self-care involves time to myself, some peace and quiet. Sometimes I like to get a hair-cut. I try to eat well, and I take vitamins. I’m sure you know the things you can do for yourself that make you feel nurtured. It’s actually really important that you carve out time and do them.
Organisation, scheduling and small goals. Get a diary, get a year calendar, make lists. It may seem an anathema to creative work, but as with any small business, it helps a lot to be organised – even if that organisation is as simple as making a List of Things To Do. And remember that you don’t have to get everything done today – I split up my list at the start of each week and schedule the jobs on it over the course of Monday-to-Friday.
Scheduling spreads the load and takes a weight off your mind. It makes you feel as if there are a number of small steps, so not everything is falling on top of you right now. Each small goal accomplished is a win. Scheduling blog posts and social media to go up at set times is also incredibly useful. Explore the options by Googling, or if you’re not a tech-savvy person, bribe a friend who is savvy to help you.
Take a break from social media. It’s not a terrible thing, and no one will hate you for it. Just post a brief ‘I’m taking a short break until after my deadline (until after this month, until I’m feeling better, until things have settled down…whatever), but I’ll be back soon!’. And then relax. The all-go-all-the-time nature of social media can be enough to make you feel overburdened. It’s okay to give yourself a break from that sometimes. Nothing will catch on fire, and it will all be there when you come back.
Find a release valve. Exercising. Venting to friends/partner/the dog. Watching TV. Re-reading books that you love. Meditating. I’ve used all these methods before, except meditating. I find exercising really helpful, but you may find something else helpful. Find that thing that immediately takes a load off, and do it.
Say no, go slow. You can do that, y’know – apologise and say you are too busy. Maybe you’ll feel guilty about it for a whole minute. But you can’t do everything. Delegate, if you can, or pass on an opportunity to a colleague or friend. Repeat the theme-song again: you can’t do everything. The things that you agree to do – slow down and do them well.
Go outside. Have you been sitting at your desk all this time? How many hours is that now? Okay, I want you to do something after you read this. Look up from your screen. Walk outside. Go for a walk on the street or in the park or in your backyard. Breathe. (That’s right – do it right now. You can come back and read the rest of this later…or not at all. I don’t mind.)
Art. I find sometimes that I need pictures, not words. Sometimes it’s okay to just feel, without worrying about the verbal expression of that feeling. Music can be good for that, too.
Stop multi-tasking. We have trained ourselves to think that multi-tasking is the best way, but actually it’s not. I read something recently that explained how constantly switching between tasks makes your brain slow down, because each switch requires a total recalibration that ultimately makes your brain tired. So while you feel more efficient, you are actually thirty percent less efficient. I’m trying (trying) to train myself to multi-task less.
Essential housework only. Another thing that will still be there when you’re feeling better. I cook, I do dishes, I sweep, do groceries. But the last time I mopped or washed windows or scrubbed the bathroom was…a long time ago. My family copes okay with a bit of mess when I’m stressed/under deadline. And I live way out in the country – visitors? What visitors? To hell with visitors. I always enjoy that quote, ‘Nobody ever wrote on their tombstone, ‘She always got the housework done’.’
Acknowledge you’re stressed. Don’t ignore it, or brush it off. It’s hard, staying the course when you’re incredibly busy or under duress. Give yourself props for that. Give yourself a pat on the back. Acknowledge the hard work you’ve done, are continuing to do. Have a quiet celebration when you make it through.
Get support. This isn’t always easy. It might be that you aren’t in a position to ask family or friends for help. You might not be able to afford childcare, or house maintenance – I’ve never been able to. You might not be able to access professional care. But if you can, do it. If you are in a position to ask, pluck up your courage and ask. It might not be a permanent solution, but it might be enough to give you some breathing room.
And your moral support also comes from your community. Writers and artists exist all around you – we all feel the same fears, face the same challenges. Don’t be nervous about reaching out to talk, to share coping mechanisms, to ask advice, to vent, to applaud each other, to sympathise. It’s important that we support each other. It’s vital.
That’s it, that’s all I’ve got. I should go – I’m supposed to be writing a book right now J Have you got more suggestions? Add them in the comments, please – we should share resources and strategies.
xxEllie
*Postscript: I wrote this blog post in February. My elderly support client, Danny, who went into hospital, passed away within a week of writing. Danny was in his seventies, and lived independently as a non-verbal quad for forty years. A gifted runner before being confined to a wheelchair, his life didn’t come to a standstill after his stroke – he married twice, had three daughters, travelled in a retro-fitted Combi van, went bungee-jumping, had numerous adventures and became a published author. He was an outspoken old hippie, and an ornery old bugger – and one of the most amazing people I’ve ever had the privilege to know. He would be furious about these cuts to the arts community in this country – he would be raging. I can almost see him now, spelling it out on the Etrans board: ‘Fuck those bastards! Don’t let them grind you down! Keep writing!’
Vale, Dan.
