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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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KSP 1st Edition Retreat
I spent the last three days at KSP’s 1st Edition retreat working on the first complete draft of a short-story anthology and attending workshops alongside two other emerging writers. Laurie Steed was our mentor. One of the things we spoke about in the workshops was locating our stories in real places. I’ve fallen into the habit of anonymising places and names because I spent the last few years working on a qualitative research project. I am going to review my stories and see if they are better off anchored to a real place. Although many stories are set in imagined spaces that no longer or never existed in the first place,…
