A few good things
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Good things have been happening. In November, I went to the Brisbane book launch of The Art of Disappearing by Elisabeth Hanscombe, and met Elisabeth for the first time. Here we are, admiring her book together! It was a real thrill to meet her, and I realised later I'd already read and admired her work in Meanjin. The book is wonderful - the writing so effortless, honest, heartbreakingly good. My friend Karen Hollands was chosen for a Hachette Manuscript development program. My writing group buddies Warren Ward and Nikki Mottram won Katharine Susannah Prichard Fellowships for 2018, and Warren came runner-up in the latest New Philosopher writing competition. And my lovely friend Edwina Shaw was selected by Screen Qld to develop her Dear Madman manuscript as a screenplay, won a Katharine Susannah Prichard Residency, and has other projects in the pipeline too. Fellow medico-turned-writer, my friend Louise Allan, has released her beautiful book The Sisters' Song to widespread acclaim (I'm halfway through and I am spellbound). And in my neck of the woods, late last year I received a couple of rejection emails from well-regarded Australian literary journals, with warm, helpful feedback and suggestions to submit further work. I tried to be pleased, as I knew that might be the only encouragement I'd get for awhile. The last acceptance I'd received was December 2016, the last competition news (a shortlisting) was in March of last year. Then early this month, a message arrived from a writer friend asking me to read some of my writing at their upcoming book launch. I was so touched and of course excited, too! I was still buzzing from that piece of news when two days later an email arrived saying a submission I'd sent to the Quart Short Literary Readings (in Adelaide) had been accepted, and that my story would be read by a professional actor at the Summer Shorts evening - next Tuesday January 16th, at the Bibliotheca Bar and Bookstore. I've never had anything I've written read aloud, nor have I ever read my stories for an audience. These new and wondrous experiences await!If you've got some writing news to share, I'd love to hear it. (And if you don't, hopefully your news is coming very soon!)