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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
The school holidays are over and we're back! I hope the past weeks have been good ones for you.
There's a lot happening over the next couple of months. On 21 and 22 October, it's time for the 2023 HNSA Conference (Historical Novel Society Australasia). To my delight, I'll be interviewing the inimitable Tom Keneally after taking part in the session Capturing Imaginations: writing engaging historical fiction for children and young adults with Alison Stegert and Susanne Gervay. You can find all the details here.
This year's BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival is bigger than ever with five days and four nights of in-conversation events, panels, literary crime walks and trivia competitions. I'll be interviewing Nikki Mottram, Darcy Tindale and Rhys Gard and will also be on a panel with Michael Robotham, Tim Ayliffe and Sue Turnbull. You can find the program here.
Happily, I have giveaways to sessions at BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival. To be in the running, simply reply to this email with your book recommendation.
In November, I'll be on tour in both NSW and Victoria. You can find all the details here.
Finally, I'm excited to let you know that my middle-grade novel, Running with Ivan, has been shortlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize, along with Waiting for the Storks by Katrina Nannestad and The Bookseller’s Apprentice by Amelia Mellor. It's lovely to be in such company.
I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow night and catching up on your holiday reads. NEW RELEASE RECOMMENDATION
SUMMER OF BLOODDave Warner https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/summer-of-blood-9781760992200.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- It’s 1967 and two Sydney detectives, John and Ray, are in California looking for the missing son of an Australian politician. The trail leads into the summer sunshine of hippie and festival culture around San Francisco and Los Angeles, which the two embrace with enthusiasm, and Warner has fun setting the scene with cameos from musicians of the moment. The son remains missing, along with some young women, and menacing biker gangs move into frame. An enjoyable and relaxing mystery. Craig
Enter the code THURSDAYBOOKCLUB at the checkout for a 15% discount on Abbey's new release 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, Running With Ivan and The Watchful Wife.
THE LOST LIBRARY Rebecca Stead, Wendy Mass https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/the-lost-library-9781922790477.do
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This sweet tale is set in a small town with a big mystery. Evan knows his dad tends to keep to himself, but then he learns that his father is implicated in the loss of the town’s library many years ago. He decides to investigate the true cause with the help of his fearless (but rule-bound) friend Rafe. Told in turns through the eyes of Evan, Mortimer - the large orange cat who guards a newly-appeared street library - and a ghostly Assistant Librarian, this is a charming story for ages 9-12. Lindy
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.
True Stories
by
Helen Garner
The thirty pieces of non-fiction published in this collection are taken from Garner’s writing life in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. I engaged with almost all of them. Garner uses plain language to make sacred all her subjects. I elevated a few of these essays by the application of post-it notes and scribbled thoughts I didn’t want to lose. Garner’s description of the preparation and execution of her family’s Christmas concert lent a literary gloss to my own family’s annual Mother’s Day bake-off and the snacks offered up, some salty, some sweet. Garner’s interplay with her sisters brought to mind the un-pin-downable relationship I have with my own sister. Garner sings in the Walkley Award winning article about the murder of Daniel Valerio. Her piece regarding the reception of The First Stone is something I will come back to again and again for further study. Against her 1995 account of a weekend on a spartan Russian cruise ship I simply wrote: hell.
Booker Prize 2023
The shortlist for the Booker Prize 2023 has been announced:
Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
This Other Eden by Paul Harding
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
2023 ARA Historical Novel Prizes 
The Shortlist for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Adult Category is:
Salonika Burning – Gail Jones (Text Publishing)
Iris – Fiona Kelly McGregor (Pan Macmillan Australia)
The Settlement – Jock Serong (Text Publishing)
The Shortlist for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Children and Young Adult (CYA) Category is:
Running with Ivan – Suzanne Leal(HarperCollins Publishers)
The Bookseller’s Apprentice – Amelia Mellor(Affirm Press)
Waiting for the Storks – Katrina Nannestad(ABC Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards;
Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance ($25,000)
The Jaguar (Sarah Holland-Batt, UQP)
Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards ($12,500)
Jasmin McGaughey
Jonathan O’Brien
Fiction Book Award ($15,000)
Praiseworthy (Alexis Wright, Giramondo)
Nonfiction Book Award ($15,000)
We Come with This Place (Debra Dank, Echo)
Children’s Book Award ($15,000)
Waiting for the Storks (Katrina Nannestad, ABC Books)
Young Adult Book Award ($15,000)
Completely Normal (and Other Lies) (Biffy James, HGCP)
Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection ($15,000)
Women I Know (Katerina Gibson, Scribner)
Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection ($15,000)
Harvest Lingo (Lionel Fogarty, Giramondo)
David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Writer ($15,000)
‘To Give Them a Voice’ by Maria van Neerven
Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer ($15,000)
‘First Name Second Name’ by Steve MinOn
People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award ($10,000)
The God of No Good (Sita Walker, Ultimo)
Queensland Writers Fellowships ($19,500)
Al Campbell for her novel project ‘Door 64’
B R Dionysius for his poetry project ‘The Eromanga Sea’
Melanie Saward for her novel project ‘The Next Chapter’
* * *
Brisbane Children’s Writers Festival
14 October
For young writers aged 10 to 16 years. Presented by the State Library of Queensland and Queensland Writers Centre.
Melissa Lucashenko in conversation with Daniel Browning at the State Library of NSW
6pm, 18 October 2023
Award-winning Goorie author Melissa Lucashenko discusses her epic new novel with Daniel Browning. Edenglassie torches Queensland’s colonial myths, while reimagining an Australian future.
HNSA Conference
21-22 October 2023
The HNSA 2023 conference is both a live and online event with in-person sessions livestreamed to the virtual audience. Ticket holders will have on-demand access to sessions for 3 months after the event.
Blue Mountains Writers' Festival
20 -22 October 2023
Join some of Australia’s finest literary talent alongside international luminaries as they share the story behind their stories. Don't miss events with Nib Award prize winners Robert Dessaix, Richard Fidler, Lee Kofman and Carol Major.
Headland Writer's Festival
27 - 29 October 2023
A celebration of reading, writing, sharing stories and indulging the mind at the spectacular Tathra headland.
BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival
1-5 November 2023
A festival with a place for every crime story: fiction, true crime and social justice events, to entertain, inform and provoke, all day and into the evenings.
October at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts
The Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA) was established in 1833 and has played an integral part in the fabric of Sydney’s cultural scene. With deep roots in adult learning, the SMSA is a member community for curious minds, literature lovers, and lifelong learners. Here's a list of free events coming up at SMSA:
Classic Film Matinee: L’Atalante (1934): 13th October, 13:30 - 16:30 Join us to watch Jean Vigo’s classic film L’Atalante (1934) introduced by SMSA Member Peter Rainey. Newly married couple Juliette and a ship captain Jean struggle through marriage as they travel on the L’Atalante along with the captain’s first mate Le Père Jules and a cabin boy.An Afternoon with Robert Frost: Poetry reading at SMSA: 16th October, 12:30 – 14:00
Members of the SMSA Poetry Group will read a selection of Robert Frost’s greatest poems including “Mending Wall”, “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. Three of Frost’s dramatic narratives will also be read. The event will start with a brief introduction.
The Seven: Chris Hammer in conversation with Catherine du Peloux Menagé: 31st October, 12:30 – 13:30
Join us for a conversation with author Chris Hammer and Catherine Du Peloux Menagé about his latest book, The Seven.
Writing Competitions
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
Other Houses by Paddy O'Reilly
Lee G
No Matter Our Wreckage by Gemma Carey
Blessed by John Doyle
David B
Traced by Catherine Jinks
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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