Festivals, longlists, shortlists and prizes
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On 26 October, Sophie Masson will be coming to Thursday Book Club to introduce her new novel, The Paris Cooking School. To come online with us, just click on the link to my Zoom conference room at 8pm on 26 October:JOIN BOOK CLUB ON ZOOM Dear Friends
Last week's Rose Scott Women Writers Festival was wonderful - inspiring, welcoming and varied. Artistic director, Augusta Supple, did a terrific job combining author talks with soirees and musical performances. On Saturday, I was in conversation with Kate Forsyth who had us all captivated. On Sunday, I did a reading from my novel The Watchful Wife. The other authors in our session included Lauren Aimee Curtis, who has a new novel out: Strangers at the Port. I loved Lauren's debut novel, Dolores.
In news that made me very happy last week, my novel Running with Ivan has been longlisted in the Children and Young Adult's section of the ARA Historical Novel Prize. You can find the full longlist below.
Tomorrow night, it's a double billing at Wollongong Library: I'll be onstage with Susan Duncan, author of the bestselling memoir, Salvation Creek. You can register for the event here. Wollongong is my hometown and a group of us are going for dinner afterwards - please let me know if you'd like to join us.
Thursday Book Club is on tomorrow night before we break for the school holidays, returning on 12 October. Happy reading until then!
NEW RELEASE RECOMMENDATION
THE AIR RAID BOOK CLUBAnnie Lyons https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/the-air-raid-book-club-the-most-uplifting-world-war-2-historical-fiction-inspired-by-true-events-9781035401055.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Gertie's beloved husband has died, and she doesn't know how or why she should bother going on without him. The bookshop that was their dream has become her nightmare, and she plans to sell. It's 1938 though, and war is in the air again, so when she is asked to take in a young Jewish girl who has been evacuated from Munich, she decides it is the least she can do. Gertie always wanted children, but 15yo Hedy is not what Gertie had in mind - a seemingly sullen and ungrateful, headstrong miss. Books and reading, however, will provide the path to understanding for both of them… And as the war descends upon London, Gertie finds a new purpose in life, and another place in the community.
This is a sweetly gentle and diverting read, the sort that perfectly accompanies a pot of tea and a sunny corner on a Sunday afternoon. Lindy
AN ANTHOLOGY OF AESOP'S ANIMAL FABLES
Helen Ward https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/an-anthology-of-aesops-animal-fables-9781800786202.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This was first published nearly twenty years ago, and it is a true delight to see it reissued, as it has always been one of my all-time favourite collections of Aesop's 'unwitting wisdom'. The retellings are poetic and capture the point of the stories quite beautifully, and cover a dozen of the best known fables. But it is the lush and gorgeous illustrations which are eye-catching and realistic that make this book a joy to own. Animals are portrayed in fine detail, insects and plants are depicted with great fidelity, and (in a nod to the supposed Greek origins) every now and then ancient vessels are gracefully rendered. A splendid book indeed! Lindy
RESCUE READS
I’m Katrina Davis and I’m a firmly stuck-on member of Thursday Book Club. All my life I have loved reading. After spending the best part of a year helping out in the not insubstantial book section of a local op-shop, I have developed a passion for bolstering my to-be-read pile with second-hand literary gems. Every week I'll review one of these not-so-newly released treasures. You'll also find me on @RescueReads and @rescuereadsau.
Less Than Zero
by
Bret Easton Ellis
The blurb on the back of this Bret Easton Ellis novel (my first) describes its coming of age story as ‘fierce’. I’d describe it, poetically, as languid, frankly, as dull. Yet I still liked this book and think it’s successful. I loved the short snapshots of happenings around LA collected during eighteen-year-old narrator Clay’s return for the Christmas holidays. I loved the short sentences of uncomplicated words and their inventory of scenes. It’s just that Clay and his collection of rich, chemically affected friends are really boring. This may well be the author’s point. Even Clay’s psychiatrist tells him to stop being so mundane. The plot sort of goes: nothing happens, nothing happens, nothing happens, things so violent I wanted to be sick happen, then nothing happens. I fear I’ve become very old and so will likely read more Ellis to convince me of my relevancy.
NEWS
The Longlist for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Adult Category is:
Limberlost – Robbie Arnott (Text Publishing)
The Fire and the Rose – Robyn Cadwallader (HarperCollins Publishers Australia)
Nimblefoot – Robert Drewe (Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Random House)
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies – Alison Goodman (HarperCollins Publishers Australia)
Salonika Burning – Gail Jones (Text Publishing)
The Sun Walks Down – Fiona McFarlane (Allen & Unwin)
Iris – Fiona Kelly McGregor (Pan Macmillan Australia)
The Settlement – Jock Serong (Text Publishing)
The Bookbinder of Jericho – Pip Williams (Affirm Press)
The Longlist for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Children and Young Adult (CYA) Category is:
The Great Gallipoli Escape – Jackie French (HarperCollins Publishers)
Running with Ivan – Suzanne Leal (HarperCollins Publishers)
The Killing Code – Ellie Marnie (Allen & Unwin)
The Bookseller’s Apprentice – Amelia Mellor (Affirm Press)
Waiting for the Storks – Katrina Nannestad (ABC Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
The Upwelling – Lystra Rose (Hatchette Australia)
The Mud Puddlers – Pamela Rushby (Walker Books)
Iris and Me – Philippa Werry (Ahoy! An Imprint of The Cuba Press)
Tilda – Sue Whiting (Walker Books)
The winners of the 2023 Ned Kelly Awards are:
Best debut crime fiction
Wake (Shelley Burr, Hachette)
Best crime fiction
Exiles (Jane Harper, Macmillan)
Best true crime
Betrayed (Sandi Logan, Hachette)
Best international crime fiction
The Lemon Man (Keith Bruton, Cutting Edge).
The winners of the 2023 Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women are:
Adult novel
All That’s Left Unsaid (Tracey Lien, HQ Fiction)
Young adult novel
Seven Days (Fleur Ferris, PRH)
Children’s novel
The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-bottomed Boat (Charlie Archbold, Text)
Nonfiction book
Out of the Ashes (Megan Norris, Big Sky)
Debut book
Dirt Town (Hayley Scrivenor, Macmillan)
Readers’ choice
The Unbelieved (Vikki Petraitis, A&U).
The shortlisted titles for the 2023 Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award are:
An Intimate History of Evolution: The story of the Huxley family (Alison Bashford, Allen Lane)
Anam (André Dao, Hamish Hamilton)
Emperors in Lilliput (Jim Davidson, Miegunyah)
The Age of Seeds (Fiona McMillan-Webster, Thames & Hudson)
Life So Full of Promise: Further biographies of Australia’s lost generation (Ross McMullin, Scribe)
Shirley Hazzard: A writing life (Brigitta Olubas, Virago).
****Cast your vote in support of your favourite finalist and you could win a Nib Award prize pack containing each of the six shortlisted books and a $100 gift voucher from Award community partner Gertrude & Alice Bookstore. The finalist with the most votes will receive the Nib People's Choice Prize ($4,000).
Author Talk with Susan Duncan and Suzanne Leal - Wollongong Library
6pm - 7pm Thursday 21 September 2023
You can register for this free event here.
Suzie Miller in conversation with Michaela Kalowski to discuss her new novel, based on her award-winning play, Prima Facie.
6.15pm for a 7pm start, Thursday 5 October 2023.
Paddington Uniting Church, 5 Oxford street, Paddington NSW
You can buy tickets here.
Writing Competitions
18 September: Jugiong Writers Festival Short Story and Poetry Competition
Presented by the Jugiong Writers Festival, the 2023 theme is ‘Moments on the Murrumbidgee’. There are sections for Primary and Secondary students as well as Adults (Local and Open) and one overall champion prize in both poetry and short story. There is a prize pool of $2000.
22 September 2023: POEM FOREST Writing Prize
Created by Red Room Poetry, in partnership with Wollongong City Council, POEM FOREST invites students and teachers to use their words to make positive climate action. For every nature poem received a tree is planted to help heal habitats and create a POEM FOREST for future generations.
27 September: KSP Poetry Competition
The KSP Writers' Centre presents this annual poetry competition for Australian writers, which is free for youth to enter. Entries must be original and unpublished, and all poetry styles and themes are acceptable. First prize is $300 plus a weekend residency at the KSP Writers' Centre in WA.
30 September: Ian Wilson Memorial Fellowship
This Fellowship is offered annually and supports an emerging contemporary Australian children's author or illustrator with creative time and professional development. IWM Fellows will spend two weeks working intensively on their creative project; a further week will be spent undertaking a co-constructed schedule of supported networking opportunities, visits, and professional development.
30 September 2023; Bridport Memoir Award
This is an international award for writers embarking upon a memoir. To enter, submit a 300 word overview in addition to a 5000 to 8000 excerpt.
30 September: Woorilla Poetry Prize
With poets of all backgrounds and styles able to enter their work into the international competition, entries for the Woorilla Poetry Prize are open once again. There are two categories in addition to the open section - Youth Section (12-18) and Youth CALD Section (12-18) - and a prize pool of $4300.
1 October: Chilling Pen Award
The Chilling Pen Award is a short story competition designed to unearth the hidden gems of unpublished authors and ignite their creative spark. Submissions are up to 1000 words under the theme 'Betrayal', and first prize is $500.
2 October 2023: Sydney Morning Herald/Dymocks Essay Prize.
This new prize is for persuasive non-fiction writing on a choice of topics and is open for entry in two age groups, those aged 14-18 years and 19-24 years. There will be six winners decided by senior editors at The Sydney Morning Herald and special guest judge, award-winning author Tara June Winch.
2 October: Mayoral Creative Writing Prize
The Mayoral Creative Writing Prize is a chance to showcase and foster the talents of Blacktown City’s aspiring writers. It is open to adults and children (aged 8 to 17 years), who live in Blacktown city, with submissions of poetry up to 25 lines and fiction up to 500 words.
2 October: Nillumbik Prize For Contemporary Writing 2024
The prize is open to short stories up to 2500 words under the theme 'Resistance', with Open, Local and Youth awards. There is also a memoir category with no theme.
20 October: 2023 Newcastle Short Story Award
The prize is open to short stories up to 2000 words. First prize is $3000, second prize is $1000 and third prize is $500.
20 October: 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize
The prize is open to short fiction of up to 3000 words themed around the notion of ‘travel.' The winning story will receive a $5000 first prize and be published in Overland.
31 October: FNAWN Varuna Fellowship Program
This program is open to all FNAWN writers, poets, and storytellers who have a manuscript in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Six applicants will receive an all-expenses paid, fully catered residency at Varuna in the Blue Mountains.
27 January: Local Word Writing Prize
Geelong Regional Library Corporation (GRLC) and Deakin University (DU) present the Local Word Writing Prize. The prize is for an entry of up to 3000 words in prose fiction and creative nonfiction. The winner will receive $2000.
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, I interview a guest writer.
Author Sophie Masson will be my guest on 26 October to introduce her new novel,The Paris Cooking School 
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 (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
Alchemy by Kate Forsyth and Wendy Sharpe
Hazel H
The Watchful Wife by Suzanne Leal
Campbell McC
The Overstory by Richard Powers
The Fern Tattoo by David Brooks
Noela A
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Take care,
Suzanne
PS. Would you like me to drop in to your book club?
If your book club has chosen to read The Watchful Wife, 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.
JOIN BOOK CLUB ON ZOOM
My new novel, The Watchful Wife, is out now You can buy it from Allen & Unwin here or at your favourite bookshop.
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 Watchful Wife, The Teacher's Secret, The Deceptions and Running With Ivan.
The Deceptions Paperback
Audible QUESTIONS? EMAIL ME You can buy
The Watchful Wife, The Deceptions,
The Teacher’s Secret
and
Running With Ivan
online and from your favourite bookshops, including https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/the-deceptions-suzanne-leal-9781760875275.do
https://www.gleebooks.com.au/product/deceptions-the/
https://www.gertrudeandalice.com.au/product/the-deceptions/
Booktopia
Suzanne Leal | suzanne@suzanneleal.com |
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