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Catherine Robertson – Writing a Bestseller
I met Catherine Robertson at a short-fiction workshop at the International Institute of Modern Letters when I was on a working holiday in the Land of the Long White Cloud. I don’t know how the others in the workshop felt about their time there, but I remember thinking, “This is it. This is why I took such a meandering path and made seemingly senseless choices…I’m meant to be alive at this moment, sitting in a circle with 12 intelligent and creative people who value creative expression as much as I do, and damn this view over Wellington Harbour is amazing.” The 13 of us in the room, 12 Wellington-based emerging writers and…
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You Belong Here – Laurie Steed
A few months before I had the opportunity to meet Laurie Steed, and before I found out about Laurie’s 1st Editions Retreat, I borrowed You Belong Here from my local library. I park at the library carpark when I do my shopping and often pick up books on my way through. Laurie’s book caught my eye as rushed to my car because of its title and the cover art. (When I use the library as a thoroughfare, I seem to bring home books in the ‘S-T’ section because they are displayed in such an enticing way). Laurie’s novel is about a Melbourne couple Jen and Steven Slater who meet and marry…
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Toronto Tales with Rose Tavelli – Screen Writer
Rose Tavelli is a screenwriter who was born in Perth but has lived in Canada for the last 26 years with her Canadian partner and three young adult children. I’ve known Rose for a long time but we’ve never really had a conversation with her about our writing. My writing is more introspective, challenged and enriched by Toronto’s diversity and Canada’s cold climate. What are you working on at the moment? I’m working on two feature screenplays. One is a rewrite for a film producer and the other is my own project. I’m not at liberty to discuss the former but happily getting lost in my own…
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Vahri McKenzie – Creative Practice in Academia
Vahri McKenzie is an arts and humanities lecturer and lives in Bunbury, a regional city two or three hours out of Perth. She is also a maker of performance and installation artist and short-fiction writer. Her research interests include artistic responses to science and technology, creativity, and dance. I wanted to include a writer living outside the Perth metro area and also someone who is a creative arts academic, and in Vahri I found both. Like all the interviews I’ve posted so far, this is a continuation of an unfinished conversation. How has living in Bunbury influenced your work? I think that living in Bunbury has enhanced the multi-disciplinary nature of…
