Emma Batchelor: What I’m reading and writing from the Canberra Writers Festival

Posted on 24 August, 2022

This month, in honour of the recent Canberra Writers Festival and ACT Notable Awards, I am sharing a whole bunch of book recommendations including plenty of Canberra region authors.

Happy reading!

The All of It: A Bogan Rhapsody

During the Canberra Writers Festival, I attended a side event at The Book Cow in Kingston where local author Kaya Wilson led a discussion with Cadance Bell on her debut book, The All of It: A Bogan Rhapsody. Bell’s memoir is as much about growing up in the country as it is about transness and transitioning. Both Cadance and Kaya spoke thoughtfully and generously about gender, bodies, writing, growing up and forming connections. I was also fortunate enough to hear Cadance speak again the next day on a Festival panel alongside Tabitha Carvan and Jackie Bailey.

The All of It: A Bogan Rhapsody by Cadance Bell | Published July 2022 Penguin

Chinese-ish

At a literary lunch during the Festival, Chef and author Rosheen Kaul and illustrator Johanna Hu spoke with food writer Joanna Savill about their cookbook Chinese-ish. As immigrants with Chinese heritage who moved to Australia as kids, Rosheen and Joanna both grew up living between multiple cultures. They connected during the pandemic creating super cute zines that blended culture and identity through food and illustration. Their first cook book is full of delicious, inauthentic Chinese-influenced dishes from all over Southeast Asia. If you don’t want to cook them yourself, book into Rosheen’s restaurant Etta next time you are in Melbourne.

Chinese-ish by Rosheen Kaul and Joanna Hu | Published July 2022 Murdoch Books

Killernova

Queanbeyan author Omar Musa’s latest collection of poetry was recently named Book of the Year (2021) at the ACT Notable Awards. Alongside striking woodcuts, these poems grapple with the poet’s heritage as well as race, colonialism, environmental destruction, isolation and recovery more broadly.

Killernova by Omar Musa | Published November 2021 Penguin

The Woman in the Library

I heard local author Sulari Gentill speak on the closing day of the Festival alongside Nigel Featherstone, Karen Viggers and Lee Koffman. Sulari shared insights on her latest crime novel, The Woman in the Library, which follows an Australian crime writer working on a new story about four strangers in a library who find themselves embroiled in a murder. The fictional author shares her story with a friend and fan whom she soon discovers might not be all they seem.

The Woman in the Library by Sualri Gentill | Published June 2022 Ultimo Press

Love & Virtue

I was lucky enough to appear on a Canberra Writers Festival panel alongside author Diana Reid. Love & Virtue, Diana’s debut has scooped up a tonne of awards and it was interesting to hear Diana speak about her approach to writing about sex, power, consent, and growing up through the lens of university students. Diana’s new novel, Seeing Other People, comes out later this year.

Love & Virtue by Diana Reid | September 2021 Ultimo Press

Top Blokes

Top Blokes, Lech Blaine’s examination of class, power and the larrikin myth, is one of the best Quarterly Essays I have ever read. Through a dissection of ‘top blokes’ such as Scott Morrison and Anothony Albanese, this essay unpacks the optics of our current political landscape. I sadly missed his panel at the Festival, but did thrillingly spy Lech across the room at the welcome drinks.

Top Blokes by Lech Blaine | September 2021 Quarterly Essay

Milk

Canberra based playwright Dylan Van Den Berg’s play Milk was recently recognised at the ACT Notable Awards. The play follows a young Palawa man as he plunges into an exploration of self and Country. Dylan’s new play Whitefella Yella Tree, a story about love, Country, and Blak queerness throughout history, will be performed at The Canberra Theatre Centre in September.

Milk by Dylan Van Den Berg | June 2021 Currency Press