Interview with Karen Healey



Photo sourced from author's website

Last Thursday at the 2010 Inky Awards Ceremony, I was lucky enough to catch up with gloriously quirky and friendly author Karen Healey. Observe her answers to my journalistic outpourings!

BC: For those who haven't yet read "Guardian of the Dead", could you please sum it up for them in just six words or less?

KH: Dark New Zealand young adult fantasy!

BC: One thing that I loved immensely about your book Karen was the rich vein of Maori mythology that you tapped into, laced with your own interpretations and adaptions of course. Was there any particular defining moment that sparked your interest in Maori culture and stories, and how did you go about researching the material you needed for the book?

KH: I'm Pākehā, and these stories aren't my cultural possession. But, like most Kiwi-born people of my generation, I grew up with these myths as a common story. New Zealanders tend to be familiar with the creation story and the stories of the trickster Māui at the very least. There was no particular defining moment - I've known these stories for as long as I can remember, and they're special to me because they're the first stories of my homeland. I've always been very interested in mythology in general, and I think the way New Zealand Aotearoa mixes the stories of many peoples is fascinating. I knew I wanted to write a book about the way stories shape us and our land, and there was never any doubt that Māori mythology would be central to that.
But of course, fuzzy childhood memories aren't good enough when you're dealing with other people's cultural treasures, so research was definitely called for. I did a lot of reading, trying to use the most credible translations, and I also approached cultural consultants for advice, seeking to be accurate and respectful.


BC: How does it feel having your book shortlisted for the 2010 Golden Inky Award?

KH: It's so fantastic! I think the Inkys are a really important award; it's so vital to have teen awards chosen by teens, that reflect the interests of actual teen readers. I love writing for young adults, because they're so engaged and interested.

BC: I must say that "Guardian of the Dead" kept me really engaged as a reader, in that I never quite knew what was going to happen next, so that I found myself not only caring about the characters but also eagerly relying on them to discover what could possibly happen next. Do you find that a story's plot has to be meticulously planned (to what degree?) or are you more of a "discover as you write" kind of person?

KH: I find that it changes for each book. Guardian of the Dead I discovered as I wrote. I got to the end of the rescue of Kevin, and went, hang on, this isn't the end of the book, is it? I have to do more stuff here! And I had left myself so many clues to what was really going on that it was pretty easy to pick up those threads and find the deeper story. The Shattering, my second book, had a much tighter structure from the beginning, but it was a largely character-based structure - I knew the secrets behind the mysterious suicides of Summerton's tourist boys - and it was a matter of how my protagonists were going to find out what was going on, and what they were going to do about it. The book I'm working on now has a strong event plot plan, but it's not as strong on character moments. I'm discovering those as I go, and that's great.

BC: I'm really interested in the fact that you are writing a dissertation on American superhero comics. Please discuss!

KH: I am afraid that, like every PhD candidate ever, I now have an allergic reaction to discussing my dissertation! But yes, it's on contemporary American superhero comics, and the topic is looking at them as something that's almost unique - a web of texts that is largely written by people who are already fans of what they're writing, using characters and situations that were originated by other writers. That's really very unusual in a professional context. Fans of Harry Potter can write as much Potter fan fiction as they want - I sure did - but they won't get paid for it, and it won't be official Harry Potter canon. Whereas people like Grant Morrison can write New X-Men, which is basically his spin on the work of Chris Claremont and John Bryne, using characters invented by Stan Lee, and dozens of other people, and he gets paid for it, and it's a legitimatised part of Marvel Comics canon. I find that really fascinating.

BC:  Lastly, what's next in store for Karen Healey?

KH: Well, I have to finish a dissertation. And a book. And then hopefully another book. And some more books, that would be terrific! But before that, I think it's going to be important to eat a lot of liqueur chocolates and perhaps watch some more Vampire Diaries.

Interview with Kirsty Eagar

Photo Sourced from Author's Website
Photo Credit: Carol Gibbons

Kirsty Eagar, author of Raw Blue, was kind enough to respond to my query about doing an interview in regards to her book, life, synaesthesia and writing as a whole. A big thanks to Kirsty for her approachability and enthusiasm!

In other news, the 2010 Inky awards ceremony will be held on Thursday November 25 at 10.30am at the Village Roadshow Theatrette, State Library of Victoria.

There they'll be announcing the winners of the Gold Inky, Silver Inky and Creative Reading Prize, as well as hearing from last year's winner Randa Abdel-Fattah. There will also be cake! So come along...I'm so excited about meeting everyone!

BC: Hi Kirsty. Firstly, was Raw Blue the kind of novel you imagined would be your first published book, and what aspects of your life inspired it?

KE: No and yes. I wasn't sure what it was and where it belonged (in a market sense). Prior to that I'd written two adult fiction manuscripts that didn't get anywhere, and Raw Blue was what happened when I stopped thinking about getting published. But from the beginning, that book had its own energy, so it felt like all was right with the universe when I found out it was getting published, and that my publisher wanted to put it out first (another book was accepted at the same time). In the broadest sense, I wrote it because I felt grateful. Like everyone, I've had shit happen in my life and could have gone either way as a result. The specific aspects from my own life that I wanted to incorporate were surfing and what it's like to work in kitchens (hard work and badly paid).   

BC: The way you evoke Australia's surfing culture is, in my eyes, intensely vivid. Did this come about due to your own experiences of surfing, or was it more of your own imagining?

KE: My experiences, but as viewed through the eyes of Carly (the main character). The break I surf at fascinates me. I live there now, so I'm seeing the place at all times of the day and night. Which is good.

BC: It's quite evident these days that writers are made into much more public incarnations than their earlier cousins. How comfortable are you with this role in comparison to your writerish solitude?

KE: I find it difficult. I guess I'm never sure if it's adding value for the audience. I don't think it does when writers are just droning on about "their novel" - snore. I don't mind talking about the process though, because I draw a lot from other people's processes, particularly artists and athletes. And I like doing workshops, because then you're allowed to be excited, and it's not about you, it's about the doing. The best thing is talking to readers who for whatever reason have clicked with something you've written. Usually it's a snippet that you didn't think twice about.     

BC: Congratulations on Raw Blue winning the 2010 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Young Adult fiction! (What a glorious mouthful!)  So what do you feel is next on the horizon for Kirsty Eagar?

KE: Thank you! Promise not to snore, but I'm working on a novel called Night Beach. If I was going to make up a label for it, I'd call it sea gothic. Not a booming genre.    

BC: I was particularly intrigued by the character of Danny. Where did you first learn about synaesthesia?
KE: Okay, here's where I drone on about process. When I started writing the story, all I really knew about Danny was that he saw people in colours. I have no idea why, as I had never heard of anything like that before, but it was my story, so if I believed it of him, well, I figured I'd make it work somehow. Carly was always going to be blue, (and as the draft went on, I realised her particular kind of blue might be linked to rage, or anger, which is why Shane, the surf psycho, is a similar blue).
But then, after I'd started, I read an article about synaesthesia completely by chance and realised it was exactly the type of thing I'd envisioned Danny having (although his variation of the condition - colours from people - is apparently quite rare). So then I got all scholarly and looked into it.
Online content about the condition changed rapidly in the few years between my first draft and final edit. When I first looked around, I found these wonderful descriptions from people riffing about their sensory charges. One guy said his wife gave him tobacco smoke and velvet curtains, all this lovely colour and texture. I never could find that again. Now, the web content seems to be from more organised sources. 

BC: For those who haven't yet read Raw Blue, could you describe it to us in just six words?

KE: It's about letting go and Living. (The capital is important).

BC: Lastly, if you had the ability to implant a recording of your voice within the head of every young, aspiring writer, what would you say?

KE: Look, I was going to say work hard, and don't beat yourself up when it's not perfect. But I can be a terrible slacker, and I get crippled by the fact that my attempts are crap. So I don't know. Maybe the most important thing is to keep returning to it. This will be easier if you write about the thing that's gotten under your skin; people, places and situations that fascinate you; the things that you want to hold on to; the things you need to let go of. Write, write and write. Keep a journal of your process so that when doubt bites you next time around, you'll have proof that you've gotten through it before. Don't give up: success can mean a lot of different things, and failure can be the making of you. Although it doesn't matter what other people think, the right ones will tell you to get back to work, so listen to them. Make writing your Plan A. Forget Plan B. And by that I don't mean quitting your job or uni and no longer doing other things. I mean, arrange your life so that you can write. Make it your discipline. Invest in it - your time, your heart, your patience. And you will be so, so glad, because it will give you more than you ever dreamed of. 

Interview with Author Jandy Nelson

Photo sourced from author's website

I was lucky enough to catch up with author Jandy Nelson in regards to her book The Sky is Everywhere, and her thoughts on writing as well being shortlisted for the 2010 Inky Awards. I loved the book, and must say that it has inspired me to scatter my own poetry all over town. And, quite frankly, a new word needs to be coined for such a person (maybe a cross between a graffiti artist and a poet?) Also, Jandy was really warm and approachable - something that I love finding in writers because it shows that, beyond the printed words, they are people to. Thanks Jandy! Authors like you make me so proud to be a writer, and I hope that one day you hold a copy of my book in your hands (but then I think I would lose a substantial amount of sleep). Best wishes for the future Jandy, and good luck!

You can visit Jandy's website here.

BC: Hi Jandy. Firstly, could you sum up your feelings of being shortlisted for the 2010 Silver Inky Award?
JN: To sum it up in one word: ecstatic! I’m just so honored. When I found out, I wanted to tell everyone I came into contact with: strangers on the bus, people in line at the café, drivers with their windows down. For one, what company! I keep having to pinch myself that I’m on the list with the four other finalists. Also, I’m crazy about so many Australian YA writers like Melina Marchetta, Simmone Howell and Marcus Zusak (and so many more—what’s in the water over there?) so I’m kind of beside myself that SKY is being welcomed like this by Australian readers. And lastly, I love the Inky! Love that it is a teen choice award. So you see, all in all—ecstatic!

BC: One thing that I loved immensely about The Sky is Everywhere were the snippets of Lennie's poetry. Were these included in the original manuscript, or something that was added to the book during the editing process?
JN: Thank you so much. Actually it all began with Lennie’s poems. When I first started writing SKY, I thought it was going to be a novel in verse. I had this picture in my mind of a grief-stricken girl scattering her poems all over a town, but very early on, like after a couple weeks or so of writing, I realized the story needed to be told primarily in prose. After that, I wrote both the prose and poems simultaneously, weaving the poems in as I went along. I liked that I could reveal things about Lennie, things about her relationship w/Bailey, w/the boys in this way—it allowed me an extra layer of expression/meaning for her.

BC: Australian readers have been blown away by your writing, which I would describe as amazingly insightful yet distinctly refreshing. I know it's always hard for a writer to pinpoint, but what was your primary inspiration for The Sky is Everywhere?
JN: Ouuu, thank you again! My head’s exploding. This means the world to me! Lennie was the inspiration really—she just kind of crashed into my psyche one day with her clarinet and worn copy of Wuthering Heights. That image of her scattering poems was incredibly persistent, chasing me everywhere. I knew/imagined somehow that her sister had died and that she was going to fall wildly in love, but I knew it wouldn’t be an easy love story, that there would be another boy who would complicate things for her, a boy who shared her grief. So I guess the primary inspiration was the image of this very grief-stricken girl scattering poems. I had lost someone very close to me years earlier and I wanted to write about that kind of catastrophic, tectonic, transformational life event. I wanted to explore the intricacies and complexities of grief, but I wanted to explore them through a love story—or two really. I imagined a story where joy and sorrow cohabitated in really close quarters, where love could be almost as unwieldy as grief.

BC: I've read that you're also a literary agent. Could you tell me how this came about?
JN: Though I’m currently on sabbatical, I’ve been a literary agent for the last thirteen years representing authors of literature for adults, not for teens or children. I was really drawn to it because I love working with writers, love developing projects, love championing work I really believe in. It’s been so interesting being on the other side of it with SKY as an author. My favorite part about being an agent is making the call to a writer saying that I’m madly in love with his or her book and want to represent it—that’s such a joyful moment, as is making the call to an author that there is an offer or offers from publishing houses—it’s just crazy gleeful. But I have to say getting those calls is perhaps even more incredible than making them! It’s funny, but sometimes it was hard for me to remember throughout it all that it was actually my book and not someone else’s that was being published! I pinched myself A LOT over the last year!

BC: Lastly, what can readers and the international literary community at large expect next from Jandy Nelson? World domination through scattered poetry in one hand and paintings of green ladies in the other? Or another book? *hopeful intake of breath*
JN: Yes, what a fantastic thought! Let’s get that going on both our continents, shall we? Everyone scattering poems absolutely everywhere! But alas, yes. I am currently hard at work on a new YA novel about twins Noah and Jude. It’s really two novels in one and it alternates between Noah’s story which takes place when the twins are fourteen and Jude’s when they’re eighteen. It’s full of secrets and lies and heartbreak and romance and love and very strong passions. Both narratives revolve around a very charismatic and mysterious sculptor who changes both the twins’ lives, and they, his. I’m excited about it—fingers crossed!

BC: Thanks Jandy, and good luck!

JN: Thank you so much for the great questions! I’m so excited about the Inky—being on the shortlist is such a tremendous honor!

2010 Inkys Shortlist Announced Today!

So it's official: the 2010 Inkys Shortlist has been announced! The Longlist has been whittled down to the following...

THE GOLD INKY (for an Australian YA book)

• Liar by Justine Larbalestier
• Gaurdian of the Dead by Karen Healy
• Raw Blue by Kirsty Eager
• Swerve by Phillip Gwynne
• Stolen by Lucy Christopher

THE SILVER INKY (for an international YA book) 

• Going Bovine by Libba Bray
• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
• Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan & John Green
• The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

You can vote for your favourite book here, and don't forget to enter the Creative Reading Prize. Interviews with the shortlisted authors, and reviews of their books, will hopefully appear shortly. 

Opinion Piece, published in the September 2010 issue of "CityLife"

Year Twelve a Juggling Match

Year twelve – the very word brings to mind connotations of desk-ridden students hunched over an endless cesspool of homework. Being in the final year of high school myself, I’ve learnt from experience that this is often the case.

But having a mountain of homework does not mean in any way that a student is falling behind in their studies. Sometimes it can be quite the opposite.

When not completing the nightly homework set for them, students in year twelve have many more things to turn their attention to. For instance there is the constant necessity to revise over past notes, prepare for the next SAC (School Assessed Coursework – much like a big test), as well as the looming horror of exam preparation.

On top of this, bring into the equation the added stress that all young people must endure: learning to drive and grasping at independence through a part-time job.

With all these factors involved, it’s no wonder that year twelve is often labelled “The Big Year”.

However there are a few simple things that can reduce the inevitable stress arising from year twelve, and subsequently the VCE exams.

Firstly, it is necessary to keep things in perspective – there is more to life than schoolwork. It can be helpful to participate in something physical or creative, such as a sport or type of art. This not only gives you something to focus on besides your studies, but also ensures that you remain physically and mentally active, ultimately increasing your health and motivation to study.

Secondly, use your time wisely – and do not procrastinate. Study in a quiet place away from distractions, and reward yourself afterwards. Previous top-scoring students cannot stress enough the issue of self-discipline and organisation.

Parents often feel that if their child is not stressing, then they should be. This isn’t the case – everyone learns at their own pace and deals with stress in a unique way. If a parent is worried about their child’s study habits then there are always things they can do to aid them in their learning. The process of actually explaining a topic to a family member (for instance civil pre-trial procedures for Legal Studies) goes a long way to furthering a student’s own knowledge and memory on that particular area of study.

Ultimately, year twelve is meant to be hard. It’s meant to be a challenge. It’s meant to be stressful. But that doesn’t mean that it cannot be a fun experience either.

With exams less than a month away, it is now time for year twelve students to embrace this last hurdle in their secondary schooling.

After all, the end of exams will signal the first step into a student’s future, rather than their last.

By Broede Carmody

Interview with Author Steph Bowe

author photo sourced from: http://heyteenager.blogspot.com/p/about-steph.html

Last night I was listening to my copy of the latest Birds of Tokyo CD (which isn't that new anymore, but that's beside the point) and working on a YA novel I've been inspired to write. And, despite the fact that I'm sick and totally burned-out on my last Literature SAC (Gwen Harwood, find it in your heart to forgive me) and stressing over the looming VCE exams (combined with the fact that the novel I'm writing could quite possibly never get published), I realised just before I fell asleep that in the end everything will turn out OK.

Part of this existential afflation was due to talking with Steph Bowe, whose insight into life is truly inspiring.

I caught up with Steph via email to ask her some questions about writing. She writes a blog here, and has just released her debut novel Girl Saves Boy which I reviewed in my last post. This is how the interview, in all its quirky fun, turned out:

BC: Your debut novel, Girl Saves Boy, has just been released. For the sake of being fun, and quite cruel at the same time, could you describe it to us in just six words?


SB: Quirky love story, features gnomes, death.

BC: Now for the generic question: What inspired you to write it?

SB: I don't think I ever have really specific inspirations for anything - all the time I'm taking stuff in, stuff I see and hear and experience, and getting lots of little ideas. All these ideas grow and grow in my head until they become a fully-formed story, ready to burst out. That's how it was with Girl Saves Boy, at least.

BC: So you like to draw on material directly from your own life experiences then, with a fictional twang of course...much like in Girl Saves Boy how Jewel is the quite-yet-insightful-observer type? Or do you write as a more withdrawn self, as though the writer within is a different person? Or more of a mixture of the two, somewhat like how this question is actually a series of questions and perhaps a prime example of obfuscation?

SB: I don't even know what obfuscation means, and I'd check Wikipedia, but everyone is always telling me how unreliable Wikipedia is, and that I shouldn't get information from it, so I won't. So I'll just have to go on not knowing....I rarely if ever draw on my own experiences, but I do use my own emotions and some of my own perspectives of the world. When I'm writing, I stop being Steph Bowe and start being that character, but inevitably bits of me always end up in there. I think it's unavoidable as a writer, writing something totally removed from yourself, but I find it's a great way to explore the world and experiences that I may not ever experience myself. So writing is a bit of an adventure, and involves becoming someone who doesn't exist.

BC: Take us through your writing routine...the very nuts and bolts of the entire process.

SB: I don't think I've been writing long enough to have a specific process - generally, though, I'll constantly have ideas swarming in my head (like little bees! but maybe not. I don't like the idea of little bees in my head. Sometimes I use the word percolating but that relates specifically to coffee and I don't really like the idea of my head being filled with coffee, either) and a specific story will grow and grow for maybe weeks or months. And then when it fills up so much of my head it's difficult to do other stuff on a daily basis, I know it's time to sit down and write it all out. I usually write in the evenings, and if I go too long without writing I tend to go a bit crazy, but if I write too much, I go a bit crazy then, too. Sometimes inspiration will come easily, and other times it'll be difficult to keep myself motivated. And from there I finish the book, leave it for a bit, then come back and edit like crazy.

BC: For any aspiring writers out there, what advice would you give to them?

SB: I have three pieces of advice:

1) Just write. Don't listen to rules and don't worry about publication, and don't just talk about writing and blog about writing and think about writing - to actually become a better writer you have to write, it's as simple as that.


2) Don't let anyone get you down. There's a lot of negativity you'll probably encounter - people saying it's impossible to get published, you can't do it while you're young, etc - and it doesn't stop once you get a book deal. Get used to it now, stay positive, and don't worry about the naysayers.


3) It's not a race, and if you're not good enough for yourself without a book deal, you won't be good enough for yourself with a book deal. Make sure you're not going after publication because you perceive that it'll make you a better person, or it'll complete your life. It's just a book deal. You won't metamorphose into a Glamorous Author once you sign a bit of paper. Keep writing, but do it because you love it, and don't feel as if you have to rush into publication. You're awesome enough as you are.

BC: Lastly, what can we expect from you in the near future? Are you writing another book...or for the moment are you preparing to take over the world with an army of emancipated lobsters?

SB: Yep, emancipated lobsters and garden gnomes...Nah. I'm focusing on my studies at the moment, so writing book two is on the backburner, but I am working on it! I'm not saying much about it because I'm afraid I'll jinx myself. But I'm taking everything a day at a time.

BC: Thanks for your time Steph, and best of wishes for the future!

SB: Thanks so much for interviewing me.

Book Review: Girl Saves Boy by Steph Bowe

The first time we met, Jewel Valentine saved my life.
Isn’t it enough having your very own terminal disease, without your mother dying? Or your father dating your Art teacher?
No wonder Sacha Thomas ends up in the lake that Saturday evening…
But the real question is: how does he end up in love with Jewel Valentine?
With the help of quirky teenage prodigies Little Al and True Grisham, Sacha and Jewel have a crazy adventure, with a little lobster emancipation along the way.
But Sacha’s running out of time, and Jewel has secrets of her own.
Girl Saves Boy is a hugely talented debut novel, funny and sad, silly and wise. It’s a story of life, death, love… and garden gnomes.


Girl Saves Boy is the debut novel of sixteen year old author Steph Bowe, who does not condone the theft of garden gnomes and writes a blog here. I ran into Steph at the Melbourne Writer's Festival on Monday morning, funnily enough, straight after buying her book - which I avidly read all the way home on the train and then the bus, finishing it within two days.

Needless to say, it was amazing.

Girl Saves Boy is tangible truth that life is simple yet so complicated. Indeed, one of the characters say something along the lines of: "We can only be sure that we are somewhere between birth and death". How bittersweet and yet so true.

The great thing about this book is that it draws you in from the first line. In Steph's own words, it is a "quirky" love story - but it is so much more than that. It is also a fresh perspective on life, death, tragedy, family, friends and the small ironies that life instills.

It is written from a first-person perspective, but alternates between the views of the the two protagonists in a way that does not make the world of Girl Saves Boy a constrictive one.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever wondered about their existence, mortality, and everything in between.  And of course, love.

Well done Steph!

Three Quick Questions with Julia deVille

Photo: Rodger Cummins

Julia deVille is a Melbourne-based artist who combines jewellery with taxidermy in her work. Her last exhibition, Night's Plutonian Shore, was held at Melbourne's Sophie Gannon Gallery from July the 27th to the 21st of August. I first read about Julia in an article from The Age which you can find here. I believe her work is hauntingly beautiful and an inspiring insight into the mortal condition; and this is why, along with my own interest in taxidermy, I caught up with Julia via email to ask her a few quick questions:


1. There is often the clichéd saying that “taxidermy is dead”. Do you believe this is so, both physically and metaphorically?

J: Definitely not! Firstly, in the last few years I have watched the change in reactions people have to my work.... when I first started doing taxidermy about 8 years ago people thought I was a freak. Now it's quite fashionable and acceptable. I also think taxidermy is life - I use it as a tool to remind one of their own mortality so they can appreciate the significance of life. The creatures look alive and they were alive, so to me they symbolise life.

2. You have said in your Artist Statement on your website that you consider your taxidermy to be “a celebration of life, a preservation of something beautiful”. Do you believe that all taxidermy achieves this; or rather that good taxidermy needs to contain a certain level of artistic quality in order to achieve this description?

J: Firstly, I don't think taxidermy can celebrate life if the animal’s life has been taken to create the piece. This is one of the reasons I only work on animals that have died of natural causes. I think the piece also has to be respectful to the life of the animal - that quote is referencing my taxidermy, not taxidermy in general.

3. I understand that your latest exhibition, Night's Plutonian Shore, is currently being held at Melbourne's Sophie Gannon Gallery. What is it like having your work put across to the public and its scrutiny, and what kinds of responses have been generated?

J: I love it. It is the highlight of my career, to be able to show the work that I am so proud of. I have had an amazing response - hundreds of people have been to see the show (about 400 on the opening night), I've sold nearly half the work and had a huge press response.

If only I could have gone! If you want to find more about Julia deVille, you can visit her website for more info, including photographs of her work.

Some people believe that taxidermy is creepy and disgusting. However I, like Julia, think that if the creature has died from natural causes then it is a celebration of life and mortality. After all, what about all the creatures that die on our roads every year? From habitat destruction? What happens to them?

It seems evident to me that taxidermy has come a long way since the Victorian era, and that it can only have an even brighter future – with a little help of course from people such as Julia.

Hello Blog!

Hi all!

My name is Broede Carmody and I am an aspiring author, poet and journalist. This site is a place were I shall blog about writing and writers themselves - and I will also occasionally post some of my own writing.

I live in Victoria, Australia, and I am one of this year's Inkys judges. The Inkys are international and national awards for teenage literature, run each year by The State Library of Victoria's Centre for Youth Literature.

When the Longlist is announced, I will begin posting up my reviews for the books I like best (the longlist is a secret until the 1st of September.)

Until then, I hope to interview a series of authors about their experiences with writing. Think of it as a kind of prelude to the Melbourne Writer's Festival or something.

Ciao!