Award winning, and bestselling author, JL Oakley, is ready to share her insights into how to successfully self-publish books from scratch so you can reap maximum rewards. She’ll also give tips on producing audio books, an increasingly popular format for your books. This chat salon will not be recorded. JL Oakley Award-winning author J.L. Oakley ... Read more
1945 heralded the end of a war that devastated the entire world. Yet peace did not bring union but instead traumatic diasporas and a splintering of East and West. Gabrielle Ryan discusses with Ella Carey, Alison Booth and Rosetta Allan traces of ordeal, undercurrents of Cold War suspicion, and the chances for renewal faced by ... Read more
History tells many tales of women whose intelligence and skills allowed them to work with a degree of autonomy within patriarchal societies. Yet often this required them to withstand huge societal pressures. Kate Murdoch will investigate with Karen Brooks, Lauren Chater and Melissa Ashley why ‘wise women’ in past centuries were prone to persecution, condemnation ... Read more
The Australian Aboriginal people are the oldest known civilization on Earth with ancestries stretching back over 70,000 years. Their history has been handed down in ways of stories, dances, myths and legends. Meet Indigenous Studies lecturer, Madison Shakespeare, to learn her insights into this ancient world and find ways to approach respectful research when writing ... Read more
The thought of writing historical fiction can be daunting. Writers might have a great idea for a historical novel but find the necessary research and its interpretation into fiction a little overwhelming. In this workshop, Mirandi Riwoe will discuss research methods and the writing processes involved in writing a historical novel. The workshop will include ... Read more
Avoiding the slush pile requires more than attracting an editor’s eye with excellent writing. Successfully hurdling the gauntlet of the ‘Acquisitions Meeting’ is the next step. Mandy Brett (Publisher and Editor), Kate Lloyd (Marketing Manager) and Jamila Khodja (Publicist) from Text Publishing draw back the veil with Nadine Davidoff to explain the internal processes involved ... Read more
History is written by the victors. When such accounts are challenged who then gets to define history in the context of a shared past? How do we view the historical record, particularly oral histories, in terms of retrieving voices which have been silenced or simply not recorded? Paula Morris will investigate these dilemmas with Julie ... Read more
From where does inspiration spring? How can an object be used to provide the focal point for a narrative? Elisabeth Storrs, will ask Natasha Lester and Ian Reid to show and tell us how a painting and an embroidered coat are the catalysts for their plot arcs and interactions between their characters. The Panellists Elisabeth ... Read more
In this round table discussion, our Chair, Greg Johnston, will chat to shortlisted authors in our Adult and CYA categories for the $100,000 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize: Anita Heiss, Gail Jones, Jock Serong, Katrina Nannestad, Amelia Mellor and Pamela Rushby. About the ARA Historical Novel Prize The ARA Historical Novel Prize is now the ... Read more
Time to bid goodbye, say thank you, and tell you what lies ahead for HNSA. Elisabeth Storrs Elisabeth Storrs has a great love for the history and legends of the ancient world. She is the award-winning author of the A Tale of Ancient Rome saga which was endorsed by Ursula Le Guin, Kate Quinn and ... Read more
An ever-popular topic, Kate Forsyth will delve into WW2 and 1940s social history, discussing her research into the European theatre of war which most recently included the participation of ANZAC troops in Crete. Kate has published two novels set in this unforgettable period of history, The Crimson Thread and The Beast’s Garden, and is ready ... Read more
Making fiction requires not just artistic vision, but also the practical carpentry of writing. In this workshop for emerging fiction writers, internationally acclaimed author Kathryn Heyman will lead you through the crucial elements for structuring great fiction. By exploring the need for a bit of chaos in the writing process and giving you the tools ... Read more
