For readers and writers

Book recommendations to lift the spirits Meredith Jaffé is my guest on Thursda...

For readers and writers

Dear Friends,
Hope you enjoyed the long weekend. And for those of you in Queensland and Western Australia, hope you enjoyed your slightly shorter weekend!

On Sunday, I took part in the inaugural Words on the Waves festival in Umina on the NSW Central Coast. It was a beautiful day and all events were sold out. My congratulations to Mandi McIntosh, Angela Bennetts and the rest of the organising team.

At the Limmud Oz festival on Monday, I gave a presentation on the ethics of writing other people's stories, particularly in relation to the Holocaust (which forms the backdrop of my novel, The Deceptions). The festival was alight with ideas and discussion and music and food and I came home invigorated by the sessions I saw and the conversations I had.

Storyfest is taking place in Milton this weekend and I'm delighted to be a guest on the panel Impossible Choices with Kate Mildenhall and Meg Mason. I'm also excited to be in conversation with Craig Silvey on Saturday afternoon and to be interviewing Kelli Hawkins, Catherine Jinks and Lyn Yeowart on Sunday morning.

Congratulations to Hedwig L, Adele I, Kirsty M, Brooke L and Graeme F who have each won double passes to tomorrow's party to announce the winner of the  Russell Prize for Humour Writing.

   NEWS

Episode 2 of the BAD All About Crime Podcast is out now. You can find all the details here.

On Friday 2 July, Writing NSW presents literary agent Benython Oldfield who will be sharing his insights about the publishing industry in this online event. You can register here.

The winner of the Russell Prize for Humour Writing will be announced at a cocktail event at the State Library of NSW from 6:30pm tomorrow night. Meet the shortlisted authors and hear the winner in-conversation with presenter and media personality, Jan Fran, by registering for the event here.

Mark Brandi's bestselling novel, Wimmera, won the coveted British Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger, and was named Best Debut at the 2018 Australian Indie Book Awards. Mark's latest novel, The Others, is the story of eleven-year-old Jacob who lives in isolation with his father, hiding from the outside world. I'm looking forward to speaking to Mark at Berkelouw Leichhardt at 6pm on Wednesday 30 June. You can register for this in-person event here.

Authors Bram Presser and JP Pomare host the monthly online Apocalypse Book Club. This Sunday, they'll be discussing Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke. You can sign up to the Apocalypse Book Club here.

I’ll look forward to your company at Thursday Book Club this week.

What is Thursday Book Club? Thursday Book Club is a relaxed, friendly book club connecting readers online. Each Thursday we meet on Zoom from 8 - 8.30pm. There are no scheduled books to read: we simply chat about books we like & books we’re reading. Once a month, a guest writer joins us.

On 24 June, Meredith Jaffé will be joining us to talk about her new novel, The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison.

Zoom in as you can – it doesn’t matter if you’re late or have to leave early. Just join my Zoom conference room between 8pm and 8.30pm on Thursdays by clicking on this link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8521042343

If prompted, here are the details to manually enter:

Meeting ID: 852 104 2343

Password: 886196

Thursday Book Club Recommendations

My Recommendations

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz

Your Recommendations

Noela A
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

Ravi S
That Glimpse of Truth, The 100 Finest Short Stories Ever Written edited by David Miller
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Helen R
The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge

Hedwig L
Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows: Book 2) by Leigh Bardugo

Take care,

PS. Would you like me to drop in to your book club?

If your book club has chosen to read The Deceptions or The Teacher’s Secret, I’d be delighted to attend your meeting by Zoom (whether your group is meeting online or gathering together in person) to answer any of your questions. To schedule a date, please email me here.