Events and giveaways!

Three launches...and you're invited! Congratulations to shortlisted friend...

Events and giveaways!

Dear Friends
I really love Saturday mornings: a sleep-in, then coffee and newspapers in bed. Last Saturday morning was particularly good, for when I opened up the Sydney Morning Herald and headed straight for Spectrum - as always - I got a surprise: Running With Ivan had been chosen as Fiction Pick of the Week in a review that opened with these words:
Suzanne Leal’s debut children’s book is a time-slip novel.
It’s as fully imagined an adventure as Ruth Park’s Playing Beatie Bow,
with the same timeless potential.
Of the authors who have shaped me from childhood, Ruth Park would have to be at the top of my list. I lovedPlaying Beatie Bow and Callie's Castle and lost myself in The Harp in the South and Poor Man's Orange. So to have Running With Ivan compared to Playing Beatie Bow has kept me smiling all week.

*** HarperCollins has two copies of Running with Ivan to give away to members of the Thursday Book Club community.

To be in the draw, simply reply to this email by Monday 27 February with the name of the author who has most shaped you.

Next week the witty, charismatic best-selling author, Candice Fox, is in conversation with the husband and wife crime-writing team known as Nicci French - one of only two events in Sydney before they head off to Adelaide Writers Festival. The event is on at 6pm on Wednesday 1 March at the Royal Oak Hotel in Balmain. You can book your tickets here.

*** If you'd like to be in the running for free tickets to the event, all you have to do is reply to this email with a book recommendation for us.

I hope you can make it to Thursday Book Club tomorrow night. If you're in central Europe, simply click on this link to join my Zoom conference room at 10am tomorrow morning. For those of you in Australia, just click on the link, as usual, at 8pm tomorrow evening.

NEW RELEASE RECOMMENDATION

CLARKE

Holly Throsby https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/clarke-9781760878740.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Barney Clarke wakes up one hot morning to find his backyard is going to be excavated by the police searching for a long-disappeared local woman, Ginny Lawson. He was unaware that his new rental was her last address; but his next door neighbour Leonie has been waiting six years for this very thing to happen. She has long had her suspicions that her friend was a victim of domestic violence, but Ginny's popular and well-regarded husband has protested his innocence of any wrong-doing. Barney and Leonie begin a tentative friendship, not asking the obvious questions about other missing women in their lives - where is Barney's wife? Why is Leonie looking after her nephew?
I've enjoyed Throsby's previous novels (Goodwood; Cedar Valley) all centred around a southern highlands/south coast shire and set in the early 90s, but this one is her best so far. Community and connections are important to her stories, and this one explores the quiet hurts of ordinary lives and the gentle possibilities of moving past them with a tenderness and regard for the characters that makes them feel very real. Lindy
Enter the code THURSDAYBOOKCLUB at the checkout for a 15% discount on Abbey's new release and children's recommendations. This code will also get you a 15% discount on the books by my guests on Thursday Book Club and my novels, The Teacher's Secret, The Deceptions and Running With Ivan.
FOR CHILDREN

INTO GOBLYN WOOD

Anna Kemp, David Wyatt

https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/into-goblyn-wood-9781398503830.do

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Hazel was left at the Ditchmoor School for the Wretched when she was two. She has a pendant which can't be removed, a deep attachment to animals and nature rather than other people, and one dear friend, Pete. When he is kidnapped as they try to escape into Goblyn Wood, Hazel finds herself in a realm of odd creatures, whose magical power is gradually draining away – it's not just Pete who needs her help! She also discovers who she really is... A rich and lively world with great characters – but be warned (or be thrilled!) this is the first of a trilogy! Ages 8-12 Lindy

RESCUE READS

I’m Katrina Davis and I’m a newish but firmly stuck-on member of Thursday Book Club. All my life I have loved reading. One day a week I have the splendid honour of helping out in the not insubstantial book section of a local op-shop where I bolster my to-be-read pile with second-hand literary gems. Every week I'll review one of these not-so-newly released treasures. You can also find me on @RescueReads and @rescuereadsau.

Certain Admissions
by
Gideon Haigh
The artefacts of a murder investigation are ideal to vividly furnish an account of an earlier time and place. Haigh does this masterfully in this true story of a 1949 Melbourne murder, sprinkling primary documents throughout the vivid narrative. I am a regular true crime podcast listener and this case has all the necessary ingredients: documents, doubts, and charismatic characters. We learn that true crime as entertainment is not an exclusively contemporary phenomenon. Describing the significant popular interest in the case at the time, Haigh writes that by 1950 the “description of death by violence had become a consumer good”. Haigh works hard to bring forth a comprehensive account of the convicted John Bryan Kerr; if only the killed Beth Williams lived long enough to leave behind a book’s worth of remembrance.
NEWS

Nicci French in conversation with Candice Fox
Wednesday 1 March 2023, 7pm - 830pm
The Royal Oak 36 College Street Balmain, NSW 2041

Join Nicci Gerard and Sean French – the married writing duo behind Nicci French – as they talk about their new crime fiction, The Favour! You can book tickets here.

****If you'd like to be in the running for a free ticket to the event, just reply to this email with a book recommendation for us.

Scone Literary Festival
For the love of words
10 - 12 March 2023

I'm looking forward to being a guest of Scone Literary Festival next month. I'll be part of the Community Storytelling event as well as moderating Girls, Boys and Everything in Between with Daisy Turnbull, Chanel Contos and Tom Harkin and Pathways to Publication with Rae Cairns, Jo Riccioni and Stacey McEwan. With Sally O'Regan at the helm, it promises to be a terrific festival. You can find out more here.

Writing Competitions

26 February 2023: Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize
Queensland Poetry presents Australia’s only open-age prize for an unpublished poem by an Indigenous writer.

28 February 2023: The Writer's Space Fellowship
NSW-based writers with a disability or who are D/deaf are invited to apply for one of 12 fellowships at Varuna, the National Writers' House.

1 March 2023: Sorrento Creative Writing Prize
The Sorrento Creative Writing Prize is open to Australian Citizens or residents aged 18 and over, who have not had their work published by a commercial publisher. The winner will receive $5,000 and their writing will be featured at the 2023 Sorrento Writers Festival.

1 March 2023: Growing Up Indian in Australia Anthology Submissions
Submissions are open for this new Black Inc. non-fiction anthology, edited by Aarti Betigeri. Writers from a range of ages and experiences are invited to apply.

5 March 2023: Kill Your Darlings: New Australian Fiction 2023
Emerging and established Australian authors are invited to submit unpublished fiction between 2000-6000 words.

1 May 2023:The Writing Prize 2023
The Writing Prize will be awarded for the best writing on the question: Why is 'A Voice to Parliament' important and how will it be of benefit for Australia. The Writing Prize is for Australians forty years and under. The winner will receive $10000 and have their writing featured on www.writing.org.au

Open call-out: School Magazine submissions
The School Magazine is open for submissions, seeking quality children’s literature for ages 7-12+.

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 (between 10am and 10.30am if you're in central Europe) 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

Thursday Book Club Recommendations

My recommendation
50 Risks to Take with your Kids by Daisy Turnbull

Your recommendations

Noela A
The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland
A World of Curiosities: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, 18) by Louise Penny
The Bookbinders of Jericho by Pip Williams

Ravi S
The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

Fabian J
The Swimmers directed by Sally El Hosaini
Wings A Short Film by José Villalobos

Gillian H
Limberlost by Robbie Arnott

Dina D
Sorrow & Bliss by Meg Mason

Katrina D
Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford
Mortals: How the fear of death shaped human society by Rachel Menzies and Ross Menzies

Take care,

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

If your book club has chosen to read The Deceptions, The Teacher’s Secret or Running With Ivan, 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 Running with Ivan here

You can buy The Deceptions and The Teacher’s Secret
directly from my publisher here:
Kindle version
Paperback

*****Enter the code THURSDAYBOOKCLUB at the checkout at Abbey's for a 15% discount on my novels, The Teacher's Secret, The Deceptions and Running With Ivan.