It's a funny thing about writers festivals: there's nothing really new to be said about reading and writing - surely we've said it all - and yet everything seems to feel new! Why is that? I guess it's the stimulating environment that festivals create (the repartee that occurs between participants) and that there are always different ways of saying … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2016: Recap
Literary events
Canberra Writers Festival, Day 3: Three conversations and a disappointing miss
Oh no! Because, as I explained in my first post, I booked late, I missed some events that I would love to have attended, but I was thrilled that one of my "musts" was still available, Charlotte Wood (author of The natural way of things). However, I woke up in the morning, looked at the Festival … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, Day 3: Three conversations and a disappointing miss
Canberra Writers Festival, Day 2: A morning tea, a launch and some conversations
Let's get the guilt admission over first. I ditched the session I'd paid for this afternoon to attend three free events. I reckon I got my money's worth. I did this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I didn't realise that the afternoon event - on adapting a book (Rosalie Hamm's The dressmaker) to film - occupied the whole … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, Day 2: A morning tea, a launch and some conversations
Canberra Writers Festival, Day 1: Two book launches
Well folks, finally we have another writers festival here in Canberra. From 1983 to 2001, we had something called the Word Festival (though its name varied a little over the time). Since then, to the best of my knowledge, we've only had the one-off Canberra Readers' Festival (on which I posted) in 2012, so it … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, Day 1: Two book launches
Jane Austen, a moral absolutist?
In my post on the Jane Austen Festival Australia a couple of months ago, I summarised the various papers presented at their day-long symposium. One of the papers was by a Marcus Adamson and his topic was "The ever absolute Miss Austen". Adamson's paper was a challenge to fully comprehend, partly because he referenced, in a … Continue reading Jane Austen, a moral absolutist?
Finlay Lloyd: Celebrating 10 Years of Publishing
This weekend I attended a delightful event run by the National Library of Australia's bookshop. It was an afternoon of author readings to celebrate the 10th anniversary of independent small publisher Finlay Lloyd, which is based in Braidwood, about an hour's drive from here. It is run by two men, author Julian Davies and artist Phil Day. … Continue reading Finlay Lloyd: Celebrating 10 Years of Publishing
My literary week (1), in a sense
I say "in a sense" because my reading has been slow this week as Mr Gums and I have been getting back up to speed after our Lake Eyre trip. However, in terms of the literary world, much has been happening and I thought I'd share some with you, documenting it at the same time for … Continue reading My literary week (1), in a sense
Monday musings on Australian literature: JAFA, an indulgence
OK folks, today I'm begging your indulgence to let me stray from the "proper" theme of my Monday Musings series. In other words, I'm not going to talk - except for a minor digression - about Australian literature. But, I am going to talk about Australians talking about literature. Bemused? I'll explain. This last weekend in Canberra … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: JAFA, an indulgence
Monday musings on Australian literature: Blak and Bright
I should have written about the Blak and Bright last Monday, as the Festival was held last weekend, but unfortunately I only heard about it - my inattention, I'm sure - a few days ago, via an ABC RN program (which you can listen to online). However, although the actual Festival is now over, I think it's still … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Blak and Bright
Author Talk with Kate Llewellyn, Barbara Hill and Ruth Bacchus
Having attended Robert Drewe's Seymour Biography lecture at the National Library of Australia last week, I was thrilled to see another event come up this week. It was billed as an author talk with Kate Llewellyn, and with Barbara Hill and Ruth Bacchus who edited First things first, the collection of Llewellyn's letters which I reviewed a … Continue reading Author Talk with Kate Llewellyn, Barbara Hill and Ruth Bacchus
Whispering Gums 