The Publishing Day
By Dawn Markowitsch
I was excited to discover the workshops for traditional and self-publishing at Bittern Hall as part of the Western Port Writes Festival. The line-up of presenters and the convenience of attending a literary event mere minutes from home had me book my ticket. What I also got on the day was a real sense of community. It was in the opening of a wooden fly screen door to the cosy weatherboard hall; in the clutch of people chatting in the communal kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil; in eating lunch with a stranger and discovering our connections. It was how people came together to share big, beautiful ideas. We did not just receive the wisdom and guidance of successful people in the literary industry, we revelled as a community of local writers and book lovers.
In the traditional publishing session, Irma Gold expertly guided the session with thoughtful questions, interspersed with inspirational and sobering facts (around 1% of manuscripts submitted to publishers are published!). We learnt that Danielle Binks’ talkative nature led to a blog and to her role as a literary agent (another sobering fact – it’s harder to get an agent in Australia than a publisher!). Trish Bolton shared how her work rose from the slush pile to be published by Allen and Unwin and we received some honest advice from Lindy Cameron, who discussed the realities of being published by one of the big five, or an independent publishing house.
Irma again moderated the second session and we discovered which bookshops stock self-published titles, how the colour of a cover can trigger the urge to buy and how to market a book. Fiona Hammond took us through the intricate process of creating her beautiful book Gather, down to the choice of quality paper. Mike Hast shared insights from his extensive career in publishing and editing and Fran Henke had a suitcase full of her own books to reference in her advice about the practicalities and challenges of self-publishing.
All the presenters had extensive backgrounds in the writing world – publishing, editing, podcasting, writing, mentoring and advocacy. Their passion and knowledge were shared without reservation, and they were just as chuffed to share as we were to receive. It was an honest and insightful account of the book industry. I know from conversations with others how grateful we all were to have that experience in a community we call our own. What a treat!
Thank you Western Port Writes for curating an excellent panel of experts.
Children’s Stories
By David Andrewes
Magical Picture Books – Coral Vass and Karen Anderson
Coral Vass did a beautiful reading of her picture book (for 3–8-year-olds), The Forgotten Song. This book is about the plight of the Regent Honey Eater. The illustrations were colourful and appropriate to age group. The lessons learned about the importance of saving this distinctive bird were easy for the children to digest.
Karen Anderson had two Labrador dogs with her that were learning to be guide dogs for the blind. The children loved patting these peaceful animals while they listened to her story about the Bundjil Creation (a collection of stories about the Boon Wurrung language group).
Karen read her book to the children in the Coolart garden and after her reading, they were offered a collection of stones, feathers, bark and soft fur skins of the possum and a kangaroo and were encouraged to make up their own creationist story.
Wendy’s brother and a friend on their first horse, Biddy.
Fantasy Stories To Thrill Young Readers – Rebecca Fraser and Wendy Orr
This session was for 8–12-year-olds.
Before the two authors started the readings, the children present were asked whether they liked horses. There was a line of around seven children sitting in the front row and they all put up their hands with great enthusiasm.
Wendy Orr also read a section from her book, Cuckoos Flight Set in The Bronze Age.
This story included a valley which contained a herd of horses.
Rebecca Fraser read from her delightful book Jonty’s Unicorn. This is a lovely tale about a girl’s wonderful relationship with her unicorn and how they entered a race against horses.
Liam Piper – The Writing Life
By Ingrid Tadich
Liam Pipier was an ABIA winning ghost writer of global best sellers and other books, for ten years, when COVID, struck and the world changed. He was stuck inside for what he said felt like 10 years. He spent his Lockdown days in his pyjama bottoms and a suit jacket, while writing other peoples’ novels. ‘It was therapy writing’ he joked.
‘There’s nothing like finding six new releases – all of which you have written and none of which has your name on it,’ he said. Pipier tells us the role of the ghost writer is to help make the author sound more like themselves. There’s an art to choosing what goes in to the book and what gets left out.
Pipier originally came to the creative process – writing his own books – when he was unemployed. His Therapist suggested he read the self-help book. Which funnily enough – he had ghost written.
His first book, The Feel-Good Hit of the Year is a memoir of his family life as the son of hippies. It is a memorable, experience and in his words, ‘may be quite litigious,’ as most people in the book (he tells us), are still living.
Pipier has had a young life, well lived, sad, funny and overwhelmingly dangerous. It is good to see him come out to the other side.
