There was an unplugged authenticity

I loved this Byron Bay Writers Festival more than any of the past five I’ve blogged, or attended, going back to 2004. Yes, I say that after every festival! But this year I felt it more. There was an unplugged authenticity. And the calibre of the writers was strong right across the board, from the big stars of which there many – where does one start?  Stuart Littlemore, Katherine Boo, Jessica Watson,  Gail Jones – this link talks about Jones’s incredible tempering of her speech and writing with poetry.
It’s never easy to précis all that you learn and hear over three days. I never can decide how to blog. It’s a stresser – when you step away to write you miss too much and when you are listening to panels all that you hear fills your brain layer by layer to overflowing.
Think of a smorgasbord being catered for by the world’s top chefs…
So this year I tweet, tweeted #bbwf2012 and left bigger recollections to bubble to the surface afterwards. Here are a few of my highlights and a rough kind of archive. (Apologies for the unscheduled delay in finalising.. pleading the firstborn’s HSC trials/18th defence.)

Kerry O’Brien and Bob Brown. Photo: Evan Malcolm

In any festival there is so much of the ‘Who knew?’ variety of facts collected. How compelling Bob Brown’s telling of his growing up years was. His policeman father and his divorcee mother who had to go from church to church in order to find someone who would marry them. How events echo down the years… Brown’s inner turmoil about being unexpectedly made school captain, about winning the hurdles race, about being caned for watching a whale from the classroom at Coffs Harbour High School, and how he was made school captain when another boy got into trouble, and he left and cried. Where did his passion for the environment start? Brown came home one day with flowers from the bush and his mother told him they’d have been best left there. These things shaped Brown.

His years far from home, in an inner wilderness, that changed when he heard some of the most important words ever spoken to him: Why don’t you be who you are?
He said the Prime Minister Julia Gillard had kept her word with him. And at a private farewell dinner with the PM and her partner, Brown’s partner Paul Thomas, had asked her about her position on gay marriage. She explained it to them, just as she explains it in public. It still mades no sense to him, said Brown.

Who knew that Adrian Franklin proudly has more vases than any other man in history? He was influenced in this by Pablo Picasso who said that vases enabled people who were not wealthy to have real art in their homes. He also collects curtains that were designed by artists, including Henry Moore. Collectors sometimes get a bad press said Franklin. The whole psychology of labelling collecting as obsession is not warranted. Research is compelling and sometimes people mistake that for psychosis, says Franklin.

The program also covered the newest of novelists. One of the sessions I heard people talk about most – and that they are still talking about for I’ve lost count of how many people have told me about it – was the homegrown panel about Writers’ Groups. This included Sarah Armstrong, and debut novelists, Lisa Walker and Jessie Cole, chaired by Jesse Blackadder. These writers are fantastic in their support of each other within their groups. I knew this already and not without some envy from past soirees that these groups go far deeper than a cuppa and a natter. Now writers’ groups members all over the NSW North Coast and beyond, including the one I am in, are being told about these writers who send their work to each for editing ahead of their meetings. I wonder what the ripple will be …..

Nicole Moore reveals to people a collection of censored books – it’s the absent library that a country keeps away from itself. Australia barred hundreds of book up until 1973. Some of them were books not banned anywhere else in the world. There were 22 Micky Spillane books banned, and literary books aroused the most suspicion and were all read by one man. Apparently he did not enjoy his reading.

Who knew about Niromi de Soyza? She appears now, as far from being a child soldier, as anyone could be. My first sighting of

Niromi de Soyza’s book

her was at a session on schools Thursday. It was a gorgeous afternoon and she had herself and teachers, and students in tears. What struck me most was how one minute she and her parents were going through all the normal teen/parent angst, and then the next she and a friend were Tamil child soldiers. And yet mid a deadly game they still wanted the connections and rites of passage that every teen wants. But she, and her family came through. I know this because I gave them a lift, spending 30 minutes with them, trapped in traffic to Byron.

Despite the deliberately eclectic programming, there seemed to be a large number of ex-members of the legal profession…. Stuart Littlemore, Michael Kirby. And John M Green, Shamini Flint, Elliot Perlman and Sulari Gentill – how many lawyers does it take to make an audience laugh? Shamini Flint can’t afford a sports car any more – and somehow amid bringing up a family she produces novels – childrens novels, detective novels, and adult – prolifically. Sulari Gentill drew the dots of herself, not practicing law any more and instead writing in baggy pyjama pants, and Elliot Perlman painted in the picture of himself wearing those same pants, as he wrote. I realise he said something more than that but after a while there was too much laughter, and little wonder I only ended up with a signature on his book (that I can’t wait to read).

Katherine Boo is a Pulitzer Prize winner, and someone who clearly knows where to source the best of Indian cotton clothing. More than once, I was tempted to ask – where DID you get that dress? But instead I asked her if she would mind repeating to me, something she said during a panel. She’d told us of wanting to write about a housing project in the US that deserved writing about and of the disappointment when told that while it was a worthy story, editorial budgets would not run to it. It’s not right, what can I do? she said. Her editor said, “Subsidise their lack of interest with your surplus.”

I thought the best place to remember what Katherine Boo said was in her book

I think that’s what writers do. And soon, very often there is interest, and community, readers and something much more comes.

Marian Edmunds

Digitial big bang: a brave new world for writers

The digital big bang is neither a good thing, a bad thing but neither is it neutral, agreed panellists Marc Fennell, Antony Funnell and Stephen Sewell.

The way Sewell described it, we’re looking at a revolution. Pillars of our economy, our arts and our society are crashing down around us. We cannot possibly know what might be left when the smoke clears. An oppressive online environment controlled by large corporations, or a great freedom and deregulation with all the advances and the dangers that might encompass. Fennell thought it was most likely we’d end up somewhere in between.

Funnell agreed with the sentiments of revolution. He described the digital big bang as an evaporation of everything we understand about writers, books and publishing. We are standing on the edge. Exhausted as we might feel by the constant digital expansion, we’ve barely dipped our toes in the water.

Dickens’ words “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” captures perfectly the digital revolution. Sewell fantasises about being author to a kind of Alice in Wonderland story. Readers would just leap into a hatch and could go wherever they pleased within the written world. On the flipside, the internet brings new debates about censorship and copyright, it brings trolls onto the scene and it takes some of the legitimacy away from ‘published’ books.

With so much choice, the panel wondered, how can we know what is worth reading? Publishers have performed that function: will we eventually need to trawl through masses of unsolicited works to find the diamond in the rough? A publisher brings a critical eye and editorial ability to a manuscript. Without them, authors risk self-publishing inferior work or they will be forced to hire an editor privately. Potentially a very profitable decision, Fennell thought – IF the book proves successful.

At a session yesterday, I heard about how the success of 50 Shades of Grey has caused publishers to start wildly publishing erotic fiction hoping to capitalise on E. L James’ success. The same thing happened following the hysteria over Twilight. With the economic climate turned against publishers, there is a risk that excellent writing will be left on the reject pile because it fails to fit the sellable mould.

Digital publishing risks the intensification of the shrinking literary variety. Publishers can receive feedback through our e-readers on what we’re reading, how quickly we do it, what we highlight and how often we return to it. In the same way the advertisements you see online are tailored to your search history, we may see publishers tailor their commissioning of new work to suit the style that our data says sells well.

To be an author online is to open yourself to criticism; you need to be prepared for that sort of audience interaction. Fennell spoke about his The Movie Book, the subject of at least three blogs. He is used to his work being discussed online (his advice is to never Google yourself). Fennell however felt that his work was skewed for audience interaction, and the way people reach out to do that is online. As a movie critic, his role he felt is in starting a conversation which the audience finishes. Maybe that’s the future for all writing. Writers stepping out of the ivory tower and into the throng.

Emily Handley is a Southern Cross University media student.

Something in the Water – Byron’s never ending supply of talent

The Byron area produces an abundance of writers. So many emerge that the Writers’ Festival can afford to showcase the new talent every year. The theory posited this afternoon was that there is something in the water. There does seem to be an element in the area that is especially conducive to writing. If I had to make a guess, I would say it’s the festival itself and the community it fosters. When Jesse Blackadder introduced the four debut authors, she asked for a proper Byron welcome. The following roar of applause, whoops and cheers was as endearing as it was deafening.

The first emergent writer to speak about how the area shaped her as a writer was Jessie Cole. Her novel Darkness on the Edge of Town was lauded as exquisite and pitch perfect by The Australian this week. She grew up in the area, she tells us, but she never really felt like part of it. Cole explained how she is quite often isolated, both emotionally and geographically, living in a technological black spot with no mobile reception and no broadcast media save for the dear old ABC. Jessie gives credit to this degree of separation for providing her with an impetus to write. She wasn’t compelled by the Byron area so much a given a realm without distraction to create her story.

Amanda Webster’s story is an entirely different matter. The Boy who Loved Apples is Webster’s memoir, detailing her experiences raising an anorexic son. The impact of Byron on her story is immediately apparent; the story, after all, is set in Byron Shire. The novel took eight years to emerge fully formed, and when it did Webster was not without reservations. She explained that the beauty of this area might help you write, but it leaves you unprepared for publication and the sensation of having a readership. She was telling her son’s story as well as her own, exposing a very personal experience to the world. Webster remained chipper, though, as she took us through the experience of writing in Byron.

“It’s not the water, it’s the coffee.” She laughed, but ended by saying that the real value of the area is the support of her fellow writers.

Lisa Walker’s first novel, Liar Bird is a romantic comedy featuring a pig that is feral and a frog that is a philosopher. She always knew she had a book inside her, but it was her move to Byron from the city that compelled her to finally write it. Her own sea change acted as inspiration for Liar Bird, with the novel’s protagonist undergoing a similar experience after losing a PR battle with a potoroo. Walker explained how fond she is of the local fauna; she was very impressed to see that wildlife is an important part of so many people’s lives. This, perhaps, explains the philosopher frog. Walker also detailed the lack of anonymity the area provides to writers, how her readers might be trying to find analogues of people they know. A futile activity, she assured the audience, as all her characters were entirely fictional.

Shamus Sillar absorbed the stories of the area from his childhood onwards, managing to find hilarity in the experiences recounted to him. He told of how he noticed a scar on his father’s leg while body surfing. It turns out his father was out spear fishing and found that his leg was the catch of the day. Sillar told us about his Nanna and the trove of stories covering both family and local history. We’re told she had wonderful store of tales and an even more wonderful store of lollies. Sillar’s wedding is just such a story; involving a doughnut of storms, a tearful bride-to-be and a happy ending with rainbows and humpback whales. As the title suggests, Sillar’s debut novel Sicily, it’s not Tuscany is set in Sicily, but it’s author has taken Byron with him and put the attitudes and character of the place into the story.

It probably isn’t something in the water, it might not even be the festival or any other X-factor that turns Byronians into auteurs. There might be, but even if it’s just a stroke of luck, there’s no denying the effect the area has on the locals that are brave enough to put pen to paper.

David Wilton is a Media student at Southern Cross University

Pitch a story and pull a crowd

How easy it was for me to sit, with the sun on my back, and to wait to hear what the Perfect Pitch entrants 2012 would come up with. It was easy for me, this time, just to watch. When it’s you standing up talking about this book that you have poured your heart and your work and your belief into, and when you are confronted not only by an audience but real life publishers, any one of whom could be the one who loves your book, and may publish your book… In the first moment of panic on stage you can forget that the publishers and audience simply want to hear a about the story you created, and something about the story of you, as someone who created a book, something that remains a wonder and that most people won’t ever do….
Susanna Freymark, who pitched her novel a few years ago was superb in the MC role and Shamus Sillar, another former pitcher, kicked off proceedings.

It sounds like Christopher Dewhirst has written a rollicking crime thriller, Fractured, set in Shanghai and Casino and many places in between. Chris received very positive feedback from the panel of three judges to say there was lots of detail in his pitch about the story plot, They mentioned they would like to hear more about character motivations, and particularly of the love story.

Kathryn Lyster told us about her epic love story of Rip and Sahara torn apart when Sahara left Byron for Sydney.  It is a story of love, and longing and loss, and none of us was in any doubt that Kathryn spoke from the heart beautiful pitch from Katherine about her story of epic love dedicated to Sam who took his life weeks after their last kiss.

 Feedback from the judges  including HarperCollins publishing director Shona Martyn and Meredith Curnow from Vintage said the wonderful characterization gave the story extra poignancy. The judges said to be careful of telling publishers how marketable a story but still asked to speak to her afterwards.

David Roland’s book, “How I rescued my brain” was a firm favourite with the judges, who described him as a confident performer. One of the judges spoke of “soundlessness of the first chapter as being amazing.” The judges said they could clearly see where the book is going. David said he would be finishing the book in eight months. He received a clear signal to continue his work on just as he has been going until now.

        
Anthony Brown is an ex-policeman who did grueling, heart-rending work in dark, damp places diving to find bodies. It’s work that would affect anyone profoundly. Anthony is now a psychotherapist for men supporting boys through to manhood. His book describes his journey from dabbling in drugs and prostitutes and his realisation he was ticking off the list of “an unconscious death wish”.

Diving beneath the mask will be a part memoir, and part guide of what to do, and what not to do, from a ‘macho cop’ using reiki and crystal as his weapons of choice.  The judges said it was a fantastic pitch. They suggested he consider whether he was writing a memoir or guide and that there might be two books in there.

 

 

I had heard and could recall clearly a chapter from Sharon Dean’s White Heron read before and had not forgotten it. It is the story of a banana farmer, Janice Bostok, who was also a world-leading writer of haikus. Sharon was enthralled by Bostok’s life, a narrative that included twice marrying her husband, the second time after he had shot himself missing all vital organs. It also describes the pressure Janice was put under to stop her from writing but how she persisted publishing several volumes of haiku and even writing apornographic book set in a nursing home! The judges said it was a lovely pitch in s conversational style and that the wild details Sharon shared in the pitch should definitely be part of the written synopsis. The book emerged as part of a PhD.

The judges mentioned in general terms that books written as PhDs need to be written differently tor trade publishing.

Julia Prendergast impressed the judges and the audience with her quiet presence and the fact that she has written a book that sounds powerful yet disturbing. It also impressed us all that she had done so amid a busy family life with six children. It must be a good number of children for writers as John Marsden mentioned he has six children. Julia Prendergast’s novel is complete and the story about Chelsea who is on a quest to save her mother.  The judges felt Julia’s book is brave and complex and said they would like her to “Tell us more about the story and sell it to us.” It was dark and interesting, they said.

The six authors exchanged cards with the publishers, paused to bask in the occasion, before returning to their homes with a new list of things to consider before sending off their finished works to agents and publishers. 

Marian Edmunds

 

Women go wireless by writing in cyberspace

This afternoon, I was presented with the opportunity to watch one of my absolute long time inspirations, Marieke Hardy, the well-known author, radio presenter, blogger, screenwriter.

Hardy was on a panel with Virginia Murdoch, one of the founders of Booki.sh (an online/ebook publisher) as well as a graphic designer by trade, who also works with Overdrive and Haylee Kerans, an avid reader of romance and the Publishing Manager at Harlequin (think Mills & Boon, Harlequin & Mira). She is living proof that life can imitate fiction: Kerans did her thesis on the polemics of Mills & Boon and now works in a position that has put her research to excellent use. Jeanti St Clair (journalist, media lecturer at SCU and ABC North Coast’s arts reviewer) chaired this session so I looked forward to some lively debate.

With the arrival of the internet as not only a competitor but also possibly a replacement of traditional reading sources, is it now necessary for writers to embrace this environment for survival? Those more familiar with a pen and paper can be daunted by the challenges that this landscape throws out, but decreasing printed book sales, a diverse array of available content and the options of e- & self-publishing have emerged as a new force within the literary world that can’t be ignored, regardless of our personal views.

The rapid growth and global accessibility of blogs, YouTube, social networking and easily downloadable content has seen an explosion of both the “good” and “bad”, releasing more for consumption than ever before. So what do today’s writers need to be aware of to stay in touch with changing trends?

These four uniquely talented woman discuss the issues emerging from internet writing.

Jeanti St Clair began explaining that women are quick to take up e-publishing and blogging and that studies show that women trust blogs. Why? Due to the length and depth of format, as well as the online “community” available, St Clair says blogs are hitting a chord with female audiences.

Marieke Hardy commented, saying that community is definitely a strong drawcard to blogging and that she often finds  “young, funny, sharp female writers” online who usually have other day jobs, but are accessible due to the ease of creating a blog. She says her own blog,  has a large following and she often uses it to comment on political and media-related issues, such as the axing of Channel 10’s The Circle, which has outraged many viewers, and Hardy has been vocal about it.

Haylee Kerans says blogs are as important for publishers as for writers, especially in the genre of romance in which she specialises.  Virginia Murdoch asks Kerans: “What about the book-to-blog phenomenon? Where do you start – the piles of manuscripts or online?” St Clair continues this line of questioning, asking if it makes writers easier to market when they come already having an audience? Kerans explains that it can make the job harder (trawling thorugh the internet for fresh content) as well as easier, because writers “know how to use the tools”.

Regarding structural changes, Murdoch notes that companies such as Booki.sh have not caused this trend and that in actuality, they serve to “widen the ability to reach audiences, engineered to help share and make easy and quick purchases”. She goes on to say that there are times when hard copies are more likely required (such as cookbooks, gifts, collections etc) and times when e-books are more practical (for travel and portability).

Digital/ e-publishing and self-publishing differ greatly, says Kerans. Despite popular opinion, she concedes that “some genres works better, such as romance”. Some say the resurgence of romance has a lot to do with the availability of private purchasing and consumption via downloadable content.

But with so much content floating around, what will make yours stand out? This is where a good publisher is worth their weight in gold. Kerans likens them to being “a champion” for your cause, quick to point out that just because a book is in the marketplace or worth reading, doesn’t guarantee at all that it will sell. St Clair suggests that publication has always been about “curation”, and hence it will continue, a statement I couldn’t agree more with.

Moving back to the subjects of blogging, Hardy talks about the rapid rise of the “mummy blogger”, joking that the internet was surely made for mothers of small children; a place where women can “discuss, heal and help each other”. All this is true, which leads into the slightly darker topic of the not so pretty side of blogging for women.

While this includes healthy competition, it also includes the absolutely vile and unacceptable comments being left on blogs, to which Hardy, like many high profile bloggers, have been subjected to. As she says, it “gets easier”, realising over time that the people who hide behind their screens bullying others in an unaccountable way are cowardly in their approaches. She advises other woman not to engage in nastiness and to develop a thick skin.

But what of a blogger’s responsibility to moderate comments on their own blogs? Hardy admits this is a grey area. At what point does this become necessary? Hardy doesn’t believe in removing posts that critique her work but sometimes has to draw the line at comments that are abusive or violently oriented at others.

St Clair’s last question relates to scarcity of female authors and the “glass ceiling” aspect to this industry. I can’t help but reflect upon other topics we have covered so far: the end of a solely female presented TV show despite a steady audience; abuse, nastiness and threats directed at women online as well as the disproportion of income, based on gender in most industries. With these sort of issues to face, is it any wonder there are less women out there sharing their thoughts?  This will only change by strength in numbers and long-term commitment to make real changes in this area. Women have voices and we need to start using them!

Virginia Murdoch mentions that while e-publishing will not change the gender figures alone, that sites like smashwords are available to all writers to self-distribute by uploading your own manuscript, and giving it away or selling it for a commission. She suggests that more community-driven audiences and less middle men will definitely change the way that people are published, giving people more and more of what they want and less of what they are given or sold by larger companies. Still, competing with large companies who are not interested in making any profits for authors can be hard, she says.

Kerans agrees saying that “we don’t value intellectual property enough, (we forget that) a lot of work has gone into it by the writer”. This is, without a doubt, a key factor in how the market has changed. With the advent of the internet, everyone wants everything right now and for free.

I try to think of it like fast food chains though, you might eat there occasionally when you are really hungry or desperate, but you don’t make a habit out of it because you usually regret it afterwards. It is so much nicer to sit down and eat a well-prepared and lovingly cooked meal. Even if it takes longer and costs more, we all know it is worth it. A writers’ work is no different. Creations of quality are always worth the wait and the extra few dollars.

On this note, I’d like to point out the self-proclaimed ‘granny blogger’ who made a few comments at the end of the session during question time, about why she blogs. Quite simply, she said that she and her fellow granny bloggers “blog online because we like writing and sharing, it makes us happy to do it”.

And that is the best inspiration there ever was.

Keira Patrick is a Southern Cross University media student.

Speaking Freely: The impact of censorship

If you were heading out to the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival today to an event entitled Speaking Freely: The Impact of Censorship, you’d probably assume that Julian Assange would rate a mention.

Instead however, the presence of Assange loomed large in the marquis tent this morning, like an omniscient presence – the proverbial elephant in the room.

Was it a conscious decision not to talk about the Wikileaks founder and the fate that surely awaits him for his role in overseeing what he describes as the pursuit of transparency?  Was it possible that the panel of journalists, hand chosen for their stance against censorship, had in fact chosen today to censor the big man himself? Perhaps it was just a really big oversight on um… someone’s behalf. Anyway -

Sitting on the panel were Mohammed Hanif, Denise Leith and Nicole Moore, who has just recently published a book on the history of censorship in Australia. Chaired by Julianne Schultz stepping in for Simon Marnie, Schultz paid homage to the PEN empty chair, reserved for not one, but three international writers who were currently imprisoned respectively in Mexico and China, on charges relating to censorship and conspiracy.

I couldn’t help thinking that a chair should have been reserved for Julian Assange but then that would have actually meant mentioning his name, and discussing a whole bunch of really necessary issues – giving less time for each panellist to plug their prospective books. Enough said.

The theme of ‘speaking freely’ pivoted around what censorship has to say about a society. The central questions society must ask of itself chimed the panel, revolve around what is being censored and why.

In Pakistan, explains Hanif, silence is the ultimate blasphemy. What is silenced and excluded tells you a lot about a society.

Moore brought an interesting perspective to the panel derived from the research on her book, The Censor’s Library. Funnily enough the book took seven years to complete, Moore tells us.

“I went down into the archives and then seven years later, I emerged.”

There were literally 793 boxes, equalling 12,000 titles of censored books.

Throughout Australia’s history, explains Moore, different types of books have been banned for different reasons, depending on the era and the moral panic of the time. Social norms played a huge role in determining what was classed as taboo. For example, in the thirties it was books on birth control and sex, then we moved onto homosexuality, and in a post war Australia it was all about political censorship, particularly Socialism and Communism.

In Pakistan, explains Hanif, it used to be about sex, and now censorship is all about religion. Even the average citizen must be careful how they speak about religion in the public domain and therefore a kind of self-censorship becomes normal in everyday life.

For the writer and for the journalist, there is a responsibility to share truth and to remain faithful to the truth while at the same time remaining respectful of those who may not want those stories told. Hanif suggests that fiction is the perfect solution. Writing fiction, he explains, enables the writer to tell the story they want to tell, the story they think is important, without having to worry about self-censorship or stepping on anyone’s toes.

On the topic of self-censorship, Denise Leith shares her own knowledge and wisdom on the subject of war reporting and particularly photojournalism.

“Photo-journalists are faced with a series of ethical and moral decisions,” Leith says.

Telling the truth isn’t always straight-forward, there are costs involved for the subjects in the photograph and their families, for the newspaper owners, for the advertisers and for the public at large. The journalist’s role is to document the truth and they give us the first cut of the truth but at the same time, there are consequences, and choices must be based around decorum, respect and tact. In the end it always comes back to that question of what is most at stake.

Evidently.

Michelle Sim is a Southern Cross University Student. 

Turn to the dark side of humanity to find hope and feel life

The darkside of humanity is a side we are advised to stay away from.

Throughout history, humans have been the cause of some extremely dark and evil events, from serial killers to the Holocaust and so much in between. As with everything we are advised to stay away from, some people just can’t help but be attracted to the darkside of humanity.

Three authors who are adept at writing about the darker parts of humanity are Denise Leith, Tony Cavanaugh and Stephen Sewell. These authors immersed themselves in the darkness of their characters, but don’t want to leave you feeling that darkness, but wish to impart a sense of hope (Except Sewell.).

Denise Leith is the author of What Remains, wants to understand the dark parts of humanity, but not from a twisted mind. Leith wishes to understand what makes a person help out others in the face of evil. A story she mentioned was of the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda during the genocide. It seemed as if all Hutus were killing Tutsis, but some Hutus took a risk of their own lives to make space to hide Tutsis.

Leith’s interest in these horrible events comes from her teenage years, when she found herself with a strong hatred of injustice, making her an angry teenager. What Remains is a story about a female journalist, Kate Price, who doesn’t feel emotions unless it digs deep inside her. It follows her journey, as she confronts some of the most horrible parts of humanity, and her mental breakdown from the memories and horrors.

Tony Cavanaugh is a screenwriter and playwright, and has written his first novel, Promise. Promise is a story about the dance between cop and serial killer in the bright and sunny atmosphere of Noosa, Queensland. While writing the book, Tony Cavanaugh got into the mind of a serial in the character of Winston, who has a horrible distaste for humanity and wishes them dead. The story is juxtaposition between the sunny holiday setting of Noosa and the serial killings conceived and perpetrated by Winston. When writing this character, Cavanaugh found himself cleaning his house like a crazed man to help relieve himself of the darkness of Winston.

Both Leith and Cavanaugh write using such dark and disturbing topics, but want to leave the reader with a sense of hope, that even in the darkest times hope can shine through. Leith told a story of what happened after a disturbing event when a few people took a lot of the drug, ice and went on a killing rampage in a church.

But what Leith saw next was incredible. She returned some months later and found a grandmother caring and giving love to children. Even in the darkest moments of humanity, love shone through the brightest.

Stephen Sewell, however, doesn’t want to leave his readers with a sense of hope, but a sensation that they’re alive in their own skin, and he isn’t bothered if it’s a positive or a negative experience. It’s about feeling the experience, rather than feeling contemplative and upbeat.

Sewell’s first book Babylon is the story of youth and the struggle of living in a world of corruption and depravity. The landscape and characters reflect a broken down and intense world, where the social constructs in our society have been taken away, as well as the destruction of the environment. The book shows a link between the destruction of the environment and the decay of the human mind and society.

A critical moment in Sewell’s teenage years saw his perception become diverted by an attraction to the darkness of humanity. Sewell hopes to understand what makes humanity cause atrocities such as the Holocaust during World War II.  It is his spiritual journey to attempt to understand the violence and insanity that humans are such a large part of. One quote that stays in his mind is ‘There has been no poetry since Auschwitz’. This shows the difference between the beauty of poetry and horrors of war.

Unlike Leith and Cavanaugh, Sewell wants to leave his readers feeling like they’re alive and, regardless whatever else they feel, that’s the core of the matter. They are alive.

Aaron Monopolis is a Southern Cross University media student.

The Gods of Wheat Street – Jon Bell, Deb Cox and Lois Randall

The process of pulling together The Gods of Wheat Street, a 10-part TV series which has been filmed in Casino, was explored by its creators Jon Bell and Deb Cox with Lois Randall in a Screenworks-sponsored  session held on Saturday afternoon at the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival.

Described as “the Aboriginal Neighbours or Home and Away“, the series has cast many locals and will be broadcast on ABC1 in 2013.

Simmering Ideas

Sometimes an idea will coalesce in a single, brilliant, flash of insight, ready to be unleashed into the world. Usually however, the process of understanding and discovery is a slow one, with new understanding built upon old, continually re-assessed, refined and extended, before being tentatively nudged forward into public light.

Robyn Arianrhod understands well the slowness that often facilitates new ideas and breakthroughs: “I’m very slow myself. I’m a slow writer … To be able to get to a fundamental understanding of things is, I think, important.”

She’s no stranger to those brilliant insights, however. Her latest book, Seduced By Logic follows two women who were at the forefront of the Newtonian physics movement. A perfect example of sudden brilliance pushing understanding, Newton’s description of the movements of the planets enabled Einstein to, 250 years later, come up with the why behind the planetary movements, again rocketing forward our understanding of reality.

Time is an intimate aspect of writing, as Venero Armanno knows well. In researching his latest novel Black Mountain, Armanno encountered one of the biggest problems with historical writing, the lack of first-hand stories.

“Writers sometimes take too much time approaching these things,” Armanno explains, telling how he was only able to hear secondhand accounts of the Sicilian sulphur mines, as there were no longer any original survivors.

Opening with a commentary on the nature of time in scientific research, and shamelessly promoting his new book Sentinel Chickens at every mention of birds, Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty immediately has the crowd captivated.

“Grant writing is somewhere where you combine the scientific writing with fiction,” he says, explaining how researchers have to create a timeline for their research when applying for grants.

Doherty goes on to expound upon how slow the formation of understanding can be in research.

“Sometimes it isn’t until you actually sit down to write that you truly understand what you’ve found,” he says. “The process of writing and using language brings a focus.”

Soon the conversation turns to the subject of eugenics, a topic in which Armanno is interested, following his research for Black Mountain. Most often associated with Hitler and the Aryan race, Armanno explains how it emerged as a major field in the US around the turn of the 20th century, with a number of states possessing eugenics-based laws.

“It’s about inferiority,” comments Doherty, explaining how there must be a view of the inferior race to enable the idea of a superior one.

“It was like that with women as well,” say Arianrhod, coming in on the discussion. “The idea of women being the inferior gender.”

Now in bio-medical science though there are the ethics revues and ethics boards, says Doherty, with Armanno putting forth the idea that it’s now about looking at what people will do on their own, outside of the ethics framework.

Returning to the topic of nurturing ideas and ideas about time in science, Doherty talks about the nature of luck that exists in discovery.

“Because there’s a chaotic element to it, serendipity is very important.”

Thomas Weir is a Southern Cross University media student.

A new hope for feminist future through extreme journeys

Anna Rose, Ailsa Piper and Jessica Watson talk about their journeys and achievements. Photo: Kristie Yates

What do a climate change activist, a writer and world solo sailor have in common?

They are strong, intelligent and ambitious Australian women.

At 4.00pm on Friday, the ABC3 Marquee began to fill with an audience, predominantly female, but not entirely. Young teens and students, mothers and elderly groups eagerly awaited the arrival of the speakers.

Jessica Watson was the first to arrive. One particular fan had traveled across the country to Byron Bay and to listen first hand to Jessica share her story. She have the young man a hug and signed his copy of her book, True Spirit. He did not stop smiling the entire session.

In 2010, at the age of 16, Jessica Watson had successfully completed her dream to become the youngest person to sail around the world solo. This voyage meant 210 days at sea, more than 22, 000 nautical miles with only her boat, Ella’s Pink Lady, for company. Since becoming the Young Australian of the Year in 2011, Watson has written a book and now spends time speaking publicly and honestly about her journey and how she got where she is today.

Watson was then joined on stage by fellow speakers Anna Rose and Ailsa Piper along with chairperson Jill Eddington.

Anna Rose seemed to have a following within the crowd who were already familiar with her work on climate change. Striving to improve the condition of the world for the future, Anna is about as passionate about the environment as it gets and is the co-founder of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. Her latest journey was spent researching and writing the book, Madlands: A journey to change the mind of a climate sceptic.

Rose’s concluding comment gained instant support amongst the audience as they applauded.

“If we have climate change activists going to jail trying to help the world, the least I can do is spend four weeks with Nick Minchin.”

Continuing with the list of powerful women, Ailsa Piper has made an impressive name for herself within the Australian arts and film industries. She has dabbled in everything from acting, theatre directing, writing, teaching and public speaking, winning various awards along the way. Like Watson and Rose, Piper has also fused her passion into a book. Sinning across Spain is about her journey travelling, learning languages, facing fears and enjoying the entire process.

Piper speaks highly of her fellow panellists in relation to youth and experience as the stepping-stones to the future. She gestures between Rose and Watson: “If this is the future, Sign me up!”

Jill Eddington did a great job at keeping the session lighthearted, fun, intellectual and structured.

The first thing you noticed as these women took the stage wass how well the mixture of their confident personalities, elegance and even sense of humour meshed together, making them a compatible and thoroughly entertaining ensemble to engage with.

Entitled Extreme Journeys, the session was designed to explore the journeys of modern day, via powerful women who are keeping up or even overtaking industries that have previously been dominated by men. The three panellists revealed everything from their fears and vulnerabilities to their influences, strengths and fulfilling their dreams.

The emphasis on extraordinary journeys experienced by ordinary people delivers a strong sense of empowerment, which was invaluable for all audience members, particularly young women.

No matter the journey, it is women like Anna Rose, Ailsa Piper and Jessica Watson who pave the way to a better future. Through sharing their experiences with Australians, they are able to inform, empower and inspire us to take our own journeys.

Kristie Yates is a Southern Cross University media student.