In my happy place again : Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival

A week ago I basked in two days of words: novels, poetry, non-fiction; alongside the writers who put those words together in beautiful, funny or astonishing ways.

Plus, of course, fellow lovers of all things words and books.

I heard sessions with favourite authors such as Kate Grenville, Hannah Kent, Garry Disher.

A small panel discussion on ‘How to read a poem’ invited audience participation in reading, absorbing and a little unpacking of one shared poem.

I listened to a passionate discussion about the complicity of institutions, mainstream media, governments, arms manufacturers and dealers in genocide, at Antony Loewenstein and Randa Abdel-Fattah’s session ‘After Zionism‘. They concluded that genocide needs to be made unprofitable, that we should all support independent media and journalism, and that Israel has become a ‘poster child’ of sorts for oppressive and fascist regimes of all religious and cultural backgrounds.

A moving and thought-provoking session about a recent collaborative book titled Blue Mountains Aboriginal Elders: Stories From Our Hearts generously invited us to reflect on their stories and experiences and treated listeners to two marvellous poems by Biripi poet Brian Bell, who has made his home in the Blue Mountains.

*Audience anticipation builds before a sold-out festival session*

Left to right: Nicole Abadee interviewing Kate Grenville; Blue Mountains Aboriginal Elders discussing their collective book; Garry Disher & Candace Fox talking crime and writing in ‘Repeat Offenders’

Highlights?

A number one standout was the session by Jasmine McGaughey, Daniel Browning and Merinda Dutton discussing the UQP- published anthology Words to Sing the World Alive: Celebrating First Nations Languages (2024). Forty First Nations writers, journalists, thinkers, artists, and others were asked to contribute one word from their first or heritage language, with a short piece about the word’s meaning and its personal significance for them.

The result is an accessible collection of incredible lyricism and grace. I had a strict limit on the number of books I allowed myself to buy at this festival (two) and this one was my number one purchase. I will be writing more about this book in a later post.

Hannah Kent was big drawcard. A popular and award-winning author, she unfortunately couldn’t attend in person due to illness, but was able to Zoom into her session. The packed room was not disappointed as we heard lively stories about her road to becoming a published writer, some hilarious and moving anecdotes of her time as an exchange student in Iceland which led to her debut novel Burial Rites, some of which are retold in her recent memoir Always Home, Always Homesick. (My review of that one is here.) Hannah is an engaging and sympathetic speaker and her interview with Amy Sambrooke a definite shining star in a packed program.

As was Kate Grenville’s discussion of her own recent memoir Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place (Black Inc Books, 2025.) I reviewed this one recently. Kate suggested that while the Reconciliation movement has achieved some positives and comes from a good place, it now seems to her that a Reconciliation event like the Sorry Walk across Sydney Harbour bridge (in 2000, to express sorrow for the policies and actions that resulted in what are now called the Stolen Generations) was something of a metaphor, involving as it did a bridge across an expanse of deep water. Perhaps white Australia was too eager to do reconciliation without ‘getting their feet wet’. In other words, without doing the hard work of deep reflection, learning, knowing and understanding.

Food for thought there.

And for a lighter note, I found the duo of crime and thriller novelists Garry Disher and Candace Fox both engrossing and occasionally hilarious (especially the latter’s reflections on the lengths she has gone to in her research for books.)

As an example, she once sat with a serial killer in an American prison for five hours, trying to understand what made him ‘tick.’ Turns out, he was not smart, mysterious or magnetic – just a horrible narcissist. Candace’s comment on that: ‘I’ve dated horrible narcissists. He was nothing special.’

The prolific and best-selling authors had tips for the aspiring writers in the audience and some insights into their own writing processes. Garry writes all his first drafts in blue biro on the back of manuscript pages! (He is adamant that if he uses a black biro, ‘all the magic drains away.’) In between writing, Candace is a WIRES native wildlife rescue volunteer and along with her six-year-old daughter has effected over 600 rescues so far.

These are the kinds of lovely tidbits that readers can hear from their favourite authors at a literary festival.

Congratulations to Varuna, the National Writers’ House in Katoomba, for this year’s very successful festival. It’s a big event and a lot of hard work goes into making everyone feel comfortable and welcome, and keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes.
I’m now looking forward to once again being in my happy place at next year’s festival.