My favourite collective noun has to be: A Festival of Authors, especially after attending my very first event as a ridgy-didge published author – the 2013 Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival (just last month).With House for all Seasons on the shelves barely three weeks, I delighted in hob-knobbing with the rich and famous… Err, hang on… This was a writer’s festival. Rich and famous is reserved for that other collectiv
e noun: A Red Carpet of Hollywood A-Listers! We were ‘just’ a festival of hard-working authors, albeit at varying stages of our journey, and even with a line up including short-listed 2013 award nominees: Jessie Cole, Druscilla Modeska, Carrie Tiffany, Romy Ash, and Cate Kennedy I definitely felt part of a tribe. (Oh, and in the pic above – that’s Me (L), Katherine Howell & Jessie Cole (R)
The oddest feeling was perhaps sitting on a panel in front of a paying audience for the first time in my published author life. People were there to hear what I (and others) had to say, which is why I put so much work (read: angst) into preparing a small presentation for both panels. (Definitely NOT a pantster when it comes to presentations.)
I think I did okay. (And yes there were lots of people in the rows BEHIND those empty chairs in the pic!!!)
Best of all, being Bellingen—a thirty minute drive south along the Pacific Highway—I met up with other Coffs Harbour writers (hello Willa and Shannon) and some locals introduced themselves (hello Debbie and Kerry).
I guess that makes a lovely local festival of authors, keen to get together and share stories over a coffee or two…or three.