A sliver of sunlight amidst the rain

Stories have a way of making the ugly... A night out with your favourite crime...

A sliver of sunlight amidst the rain

Dear Friends,

It's been such a difficult week for so many people and I hope you've managed to stay dry and stay wherever you are. In a sparkle of good news, here in Sydney, the rain held off for Mardi Gras and, after a long absence from the theatre, I went to see the musical, Girl from the North Country, at the newly re-opened Theatre Royal. The show showcases songs by Bob Dylan and stars Lisa McCune who was fabulous.

In a little more good news, I'd like to congratulate Thursday Book Club regular, Barbie Robinson, on the publication of her new picture book Charles the Gallery Dog (illustrated by Ian Robertson).

We had a good time at Thursday Book Club last week and I hope you can join us this week. Just click on this link at 8pm on Thursday: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8521042343.

NEW RELEASE RECOMMENDATION

HOVERING Rhett Davis

https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/hovering-9780733645624.do

This strange and beautiful novel won the 2020 Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. It blends a mix of narrative techniques - computer messages, split dual interactions, official notices - with the traditional third person, all to great effect. It's set in Fraser (read Melbourne/Geelong) a city that is repositioning itself. Literally. A resident may wake one morning and find their front door has moved. Or the entire house relocated to another part of the city. Roads no longer go where they were meant to. Buildings may be balanced on other buildings. Tourists visit for the thrill of discovery, and the occupants wearily accept and get on with the changes. Into this uncertain place, Alice returns from a long time overseas and lands on her sister Lydia's doorstep. Alice is secretive about her past, but she was part of a collective which launched cutting (and cutting-edge) artworks on unsuspecting cities. Lydia stayed home, dealing with their difficult parents and bringing up her son George whilst holding down a demanding data mining job. She doesn't welcome Alice reappearing in her life, but George, who has secrets of his own and has stopped talking, knows it will bring the spark back to his increasingly stressed mother. A novel full of ideas, of the disconnect in contemporary life from things once considered merely important and that reveal as essential, of secrets held and unleashed - and very beautifully written indeed. Lindy Jones

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

THIS IS NOT AN EGG

Laura Bunting, Philip Bunting

https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/this-is-not-an-egg-9781760976606.do

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Another witty and playful book from the Brisbane duo, starring a Bilby carrying something that the other creatures keep calling an egg. Bilby denies it's just an egg - it's a souvenir from Mexico, or a balloon filled with gravity, or a magic bean, or a host of fanciful things - until it meets another Bilby who understands that it's something special. Even the appearance of an Emu who knows the egg, doesn't sway the Bilbies' certainty... A picture book about the wonders of imagination, and finding someone else who not only indulges, but shares the joy of play. Lindy Jones

NEWS

Philippa McGuinness in conversation with Nicole Abadee at Gleebooks on 11 March 2022 at 6pm

Philippa McGuinness' new book Skin Deep explores beauty, ageing, imperfection, health and illness, all of which are closely related to skin, and interrogates whiteness, both historically, structurally and through current notions of white fragility and victimhood. She'll be in conversation with Nicole Abadee at Gleebooks on Friday. You can register here.

Emily Brugman The Islands online and in person at Avid Reader on 17 March 2022 at 6.30pm
Emily Brugman's debut novel, The Islands, is the moving story of Finnish migrants, Onni and Alva Saari, who become a fishing family on the remote Western Australian island archipelago known as the Abrolhos. It's a beautifully written work and you can hear Emily Brugman discuss it with Kristina Olsson at 6.30pm on 17 March 2022. The event is both online and in person at the Avid Reader store in Brisbane and you can register for it here.

Lynda La Plante in conversation with Sue Turnbull online on 31 March 2022 at 6pm
Travel online to the UK to hear Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect, Tennison and many others) talk with Sue Turnbull about her latest novel Vanished. Presented by BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival, you can find all the details here.

Seizing Justice online on 25 March at 8 pm, courtesy of Sisters In Crime
The formal criminal justice system doesn’t always deliver for women, so what can happen when women decide to exact justice themselves? Jane Caro, Debra Oswald, and Nina D. Campbell will explore the moral dilemmas and much more with award-winning short story writer (and autopsy expert), Philomena Horsley. This online event is presented by Sisters In Crime and you can register for it 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.

Wendy McCarthy in conversation with Jennifer Byrne online and live at Margaret Martin Library tonight at 6.30pm
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.

WRITERS' CORNER

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.

12 April 2022: Scribe Varuna Fellowships
The Scribe Varuna Fellowships offers writers of literary fiction the chance to spend a week in residence at Varuna with editors from Scribe Publications.

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
Wild Abandon by Emily Bitto
Your Recommendations
Kata K

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Barbie R

Those Who Perish by Emma Viskic
Gunfire Lullabies by Nore Hoogstad
Ocean Warriors: The Rise of Robo Shark by Candice Lemon-Scott

Louise R

The Spy's Wife by Fiona McIntosh
Women Who Kill (TV series)
White Lotus (TV series)

Ravi S

The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry by Gabriel Levin
Never by Ken Follett
The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks

Hazel H

The Passengers by Eleanor Limprecht

Dina D

Case Study by Graham Macrae Burnet

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