Monthly Archives: February 2016

Big issues and the power of ideas

Record numbers of Western Australians attended the Perth Writers Festival over four days. I agree with Program Manager, Katherine Dorrington, that the focus on ideas and issues helped bring a more diverse audience to the festival this year. I believe people are hungry for intelligent conversation and different ideas. Even if you didn’t agree with everything that was said, there was a lot to reflect on.

Of course, as a writer, I was inspired by some of the visiting fiction and non-fiction authors. How can anyone not marvel at the beauty of Gail Jones’ language, the breadth of Simon Winchester’s knowledge, the joyfulness of Katherine Rundell’s books for children, the compassion of Patrick Gale’s writing or the powerful storytelling of Etgar Kerat?

But I was especially energised by the debate and discussions about our society and who we are today. Thinkers and writers like George Megalogenis, Don Watson, Jane Caro, Stan Grant and Laura Tingle made me think and ask myself different questions. The sorts of conversations I heard at the festival seem sadly lacking in the general media and among our politicians.

In a society fixated on fast-paced environments, the ten second news grab, the ping of the mobile phone with another message and a “go, go, go” mentality, it’s difficult to find the time to sit down and reflect. But I plan to do this and think more about what I heard and the books I am reading.

As American President John F Kennedy said: “Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

I am a big believer of moving outside my comfort zone to develop informed opinions – so well done Perth Writers Festival. Challenging, inspiring AND entertaining!

There are more photos on the Gallery page.

Rose, Liz Byrski, Melinda Tognini

Signing books with Liz Byrski and Melinda Tognini after our ‘Shared Narratives’ panel

The Perth Writers Festival

As many of you know the Perth Writers Festival is fast approaching. It’s held from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st February in the beautiful grounds of the University of Western Australia.

While I’ve been involved in the event for many years, this is my first one wearing a variety of hats – interviewer, author, facilitator and guest speaker to launch a book!

I will be involved in two sessions as an author this year. I’m thrilled to sharing the stage with Stan Grant, Yassmin Abdel-Magied and George Megalogenis in We are Australian on Saturday 20th at 10am. We will be discussing what it really means to be Australian and whether we are still a tolerant, multicultural nation. And later the same day I will be talking about the intricacies of telling someone’s true story with Liz Byrski, Melinda Tognini, Alice Nelson and Bruce Russell in Shared Narratives at 2:30pm.

As I’ve done the past, I am interviewing some terrific writers over several sessions – something I enjoy immensely. I’m really looking forward to meeting Hyeonseo Lee who will be talking about her experiences of being trapped in North Korea, escaping to China and being reunited with her family in South Korea. This session is called The Girl with Seven Names and is on Sunday 21st at 2:30pm.

David Dyer, Katherine Rundell and Patrick Gale all have new books that drip with snow, ice and winter and I’ll be talking with them about the importance of place in their narratives. Winter is Coming is on Friday 19th at 10am.

I’m also facilitating the publishing seminar again this year, which is on Thursday 18 February. For those of you interested in understanding the publishing landscape in Perth, this is an extremely valuable day.

And lastly, as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I am honoured to have been asked by Liz Byrski and Rachel Robertson to launch a new book called Purple Prose, a collections of stories by women writers on what the colour purple means to them. The launch is on Saturday 20th at 5:30pm.

There is something for everyone at the Perth Writers Festival and I really hope to see you there.

Purple Prose

I am very honoured to have been asked to launch Purple Prose at the upcoming Perth Writers Festival on Saturday 20 February at the University of Western Australia.

A wonderful new book of stories published by Fremantle Press, Purple Prose has been written by Australian women answering the question “What does the colour purple mean to you?” It all began with a conversation between Liz Byrski and Rachel Robertson and grew into a book with vibrant, personal stories about love and loss, beauty, art and nature – all inspired by the colour purple.

The launch is in Tropical Grove at 5:30pm and all are welcome. I hope to see you there.

Liz and Rachel

Liz Byrski and Rachel Robertson

purple prose cover

 

 

 

 

 

How has it come to this?

There is a terrific article in the Monthly by Robert Manne that sums up the current situation on Australia’s asylum seeking policy and procedures. Robert Manne is an Emeritus Professor and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at La Trobe University.

“Now that the High Court has decided that the offshore detention of asylum seekers is lawful, reports suggest that the Turnbull Government is considering returning 234 asylum seekers to Nauru along with the 33 babies of these asylum seekers born in Australia. Given what everyone knows about the spiritual, psychological and bodily ruin that accompanies indefinite detention on Nauru, if the reports turn out to be true this will be a genuinely monstrous act which will outrage millions of decent citizens.

Outrage and acts of protest, however, are not enough. If things are to change, if the decision is to be reversed, what we need is to try to get the prime minister to acknowledge and to reject the thinking that has brought us to a place where it is now possible that a decision of this kind can be taken by the responsible minister of an important department of the Australian Commonwealth Government.”

You can read the full article here.