Most people who know me also know that I don’t get on with summer. Which is why I spent most of January somewhere a bit cooler…
Ah, take me back…
But there’s one thing I do love about Perth summer—Perth Festival Writers Week! If you’re here next week, culminating in the weekend of 23–24 February, you’re in for a treat.
Curator William Yeoman, in his second festival—‘Our Imagined Selves’—has put together a fabulous program, with visiting guests Ben Okri, Anna Funder, Monica McInerney, David Malouf, Markus Zusak, Trent Dalton, Esi Edugyan, Fiona Wright, Jane Caro, Benjamin Law, Chloe Hooper, Hugh Mackay, Kristina Olsson, Carly Findlay, Angela Meyer and many others. Local writers are out in force, too, including Alice Nelson, S.A. Jones, Dervla McTiernan, Susan Midalia, David Whish-Wilson, Meg McKinlay, Steve Hawke, A.J. Betts and Carrie Cox.
I’m thrilled to be chairing a session with award-winning UK author Amy Sackville, who will be talking about her wonderful new novel, Painter to the King. And my fellow panellist in the ‘(Re)Writing History’ session is UK historical novelist Andrew Miller, whose latest, Now We Shall Be Entirely Free, I didn’t want to put down.
I’m also going to be trying very hard not to fangirl Gail Jones at the Sunday morning breakfast, ‘Ars Longa Vita Brevis’, during which she, Amy Sackville and I will be talking about our most recent works, all of them about art and artists.
My Saturday afternoon workshop ‘Writing Fiction: Getting Started’ is designed for those just starting out—or thinking about it—and covers basics like inspiration and creativity, and an introduction to the craft aspects of writing fiction.
Every year I warn myself not to go crazy in the bookshop, but I already have two four must-haves on my list, and I suspect that’s just the beginning!
Please come and say hello if you see me around, and I hope you have a wonderful festival.
looking up/looking down 
I’ve promised myself to have a Northern winter like yours, Amanda, one of these days. I think I’ve got a step closer, in a way. But for now, I have to get used to the sun and the heat, as I’ve just relocated to Alice Springs. I’m typing this in the Alice Public Library (I haven’t got home internet yet) looking out at the huge Neville Shute mural alongside the front entrance, There’s a Neville Shute Memorial Garden there, too…
Do enjoy the PWF. It feels a little strange not to be there for it, after all these years…
Alice? Wow, Glen, what a change for you! I presume it’s for work? I hope it proves to be a successful move, and that you find plenty of time for writing, too. I’m sorry we won’t be seeing you at the festival, but it’s a bit far…
Yes, it’s for work (Work, At Last). I think I’ll be a bit busy to start off with (I start next week) but I will have to make sure the writing gets done as well. I don’t think it should be too difficult, if I’m careful. And the Alice gets to host the NT Writers’ Festival this year, which comes up in May.
Well, congratulations on the day job, Glen, and here’s to finding plenty of writing time. The NT festival—bonus!
Merci Beaucoup!