Suzanne Leal's Blog

Dear Friends,

It's been a distressing week for the world and my thoughts are with the Ukrainian people, and with those of you who have friends and family caught in the conflict.

On a happier note, I really enjoyed getting to know Marion Frith on Thursday Book Club last week. If you missed our interview, you can watch it here.

My next guest is Michelle Tom whose memoir, Ten Thousand Aftershocks, considers the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes. It's a beautifully written work and I'm looking forward to speaking with Michelle on 31 March.

Congratulations to Aoife Clifford whose new novel, When We Fall, is being released this week. Aoife will be my guest on Thursday Book Club later in the year. In the meantime, she's written a piece especially for us - please scroll down to read it.

I'm excited to be back on stage this week. Tomorrow night, I'll be at Wollongong Library to interview Maya Lee. Maya's book,The Nazis Knew My Name, is an extraordinary account of the wartime experiences of her mother. The event is sold out, but you can join the waitlist here.

Hope to see you at Thursday Book Club this week - just click on this link at 8pm on Thursday: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8521042343.

NEW RELEASE RECOMMENDATION

THE WAY IT IS NOW
Garry Disher

https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/the-way-it-is-now-9781922458162.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ---- With this novel, Garry Disher has marshalled all of the considerable skills he has amassed across his long career. The mystery is compelling - the cold-case of the disappearance of Charlie Deravin's mother 20 years ago. As a policeman, Charlie has spent a lot of his spare time investigating the mystery while many suspect his father (a retired detective) was the murderer despite having been cleared at the time.

Over the top of this is a rich layer of family dynamics, and Charlie's personal journey with relationships, failed and new, running alongside challenges in his employment - on suspension for assaulting a superior officer. All of which is delivered with a warmth and empathy for our human flaws.

The finishing touches are Disher's acute eye for the minutiae of daily life and of Australian culture, both current and times past. The dialogue is pitch-perfect and I can see actor Patrick Brammall inhabiting the role of beleaguered Charlie (if a screen adaptation were to come). Craig Kirchner Enter the code THURSDAYBOOKCLUB at the checkout for a 15% discount on Abbey's new release recommendations and our For Kids recommendations.This code will also get you a 15% discount on the books by my guests on Thursday Book Club and my latest novels, The Teacher's Secret and The Deceptions.
FOR KIDS

EARTHQUAKE Jackie French, Bruce Whatley

https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/earthquake-jackie-french-bruce-whatley-9781743834817.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This is the latest in the duo's series (Flood/ Fire/ Cyclone etc) of historical Australian natural disasters, and covers the Newcastle earthquake of 1989, with mention of the Meckering WA quake in 1968. Told in rhyming couplets and digitally illustrated in a watercolour style of muted hues, this captures the shock of the quake, and the community efforts that followed. It is also reassuring, explaining that earthquakes might happen anywhere, but humans have adapted by making buildings stronger. A gentle introduction to one of the forces of nature. Lindy Jones
NEWS

Congratulations to those writers longlisted for the 2022 Stella Prize. You can find all the details here.

To be part of Better Reading's Top 100, simply vote for your all-time favourite adult fiction book and be in the draw to win a pack of 100 books. The top 100 books chosen will be stocked in Big W stores for the rest of the year. You can vote here until 13 March.

Hear educator, activist, and agent of change Wendy McCarthy in conversation with Jennifer Byrne at 6.30pm on Wednesday 9 March 2022, live at Margaret Martin Library in Randwick and also online. You can register here.

Writing NSW's First Friday conversation with an industry professional offers the chance to learn more about the writing and publishing industry. On 4 March, Ali Green, co-founder and CEO of Pantera Press, will share her insights on how writers can best engage with publishers. You can find all the details here.
[image error]
Festival director, Jo Dyer, has put together a terrific program for Adelaide Writers' Week which will take place from 5 to 10 March Amongst the guests are Kathryn Heyman who was our guest on Thursday Book Club last year and Emily Bitto who will be our guest later this year. For those who can't make it to Adelaide, the festival will also be live-streamed. You can find the full program here.

WRITERS' CORNER

Writing in the time of COVID

by

Aoife Clifford My new novel When We Fall was written over a series of lockdowns in 2020-21 in Melbourne, but it very nearly wasn’t. In March 2020, I was conducting my first lockdown bookclub on Zoom for a group of Year Nine students at a local high school. Their lovely teacher, keen to raise spirits, asked me to tell them how it was a good time to do some writing. Before 2020, the idea that I would be locked in my house, and all I could do was write, would have been a dream come true. However, the reality was scary and exhausting, and it was impossible to concentrate with my family at home. I tried to mumble something inspirational. The kids looked unconvinced, and I decided that I needed to try harder and so I got to work.

One of the great attractions of being an author is when the writing is going well, I am a god at the desk, in charge of a world I control. No one dies or gets ill unless I say so and even then I can raise or heal on whim. My characters don’t ask me to make their lunch, tell me they’re bored or almost finish the milk and then put the empty bottle back in the fridge. When I shut the laptop, my characters patiently wait for me until the next day.

Fiction does not solve our problems but it rather, in the words of Anton Chekhov, can ‘formulate them correctly’. Since the arrival of COVID in Australia, more people have returned to reading and those who were already readers have been reading more. That may be the merest sliver of a silver lining in a very dark cloud but it comforts me. Stories have a way of making the ugly beautiful and therefore bearable, even the last two years. I hope you add When We Fall to your to-be-read pile.

Writing Competitions
11 March 2022: Mascara Literary Review
Submissions are open for Mascara Literary Review’s very first print anthology, to be published with Ultimo Press.

17 March 2022: Peter Carey Short Story Award
Organised by the Moorabool Shire Council, the award is for short stories between 2000 - 3000 words, and is open to all Australian residents.

18 March: Griffith Review Emerging Voices Competition 2022
Submit fiction and creative non-fiction pieces between 3500 and 5000 words.

31 March 2022: The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award
The Australian/Vogel's Literary Award is now open for entries. Open to writers under 35 years of age, the award is seeking unpublished manuscripts of fiction, Australian history, or biography. The winner will receive $20,000 prize money and publication by Allen & Unwin.

31 March 2022: Art & Words Project – Northern Beaches Writers’ Competition
Submit entries of up to 2,500 words responding to the theme ‘tree’, along with at least one image that reflects and enhances that story.

31 March 2022: Flying Islands Manuscript Prize for Emerging Poets
$1000 cash prize and publication in the Flying Island Pocket Poets Series, with fifty free copies to the author.

31 March 2022: Best Australian Science Writing
The Best Australian Science Writing 2022 anthology is seeking published pieces that have appeared in print or online between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2022.

8 April 2022: Ada Cambridge Writing Prizes
Williamstown Literary Festival offers the Ada Cambridge Biographical Prose Prize ($500), Poetry Prize ($500), and The Young Adas ($250). $15 entry fee. Closes Friday 8 April. More info here.

22 May 2022: ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize:
For original short stories of between 2,000 and 5,000 words on any subject and in any style. Total prize money of AU$12,500 – 1st, $6,000; 2nd $4,000; 3rd $2,500. Entry fee $15 – $25. .

Ongoing: Call-out for poetry events
Poetry Sydney are seeking poetry events in NSW to list in their monthly electronic newsletter

17 June 2022: Writing for the Environment Prize
The 2022 Sutherland Shire Environment Centre’s national invites writers to submit a fictional piece of prose on the topic of peace and sustainability.

What is Thursday Book Club? Thursday Book Club is a relaxed, friendly book club connecting readers online. 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.

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 886 196

On 31 March 2022, my guest is author Michelle Tom whose beautifully written memoir,Ten Thousand Aftershocks, explores her experience of the Christchurch earthquakes in the midst of family upheaval.

Thursday Book Club Recommendations

My Recommendation
The Nazis Knew My Name by Magda Hellinger & Maya Lee
Marion Frith's Recommendations
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghey
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré
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. Click here for my Zoom Meeting You can buy The Deceptions and The Teacher’s Secret
directly from my publisher here:
Kindle version
Paperback