appearances

Festival fun ahead

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I’m very much looking forward to the Port Fairy Literary Weekend on 12-14 September. It’s a great program, and a gorgeous town.

My great-great grandfather William Mott was a whaler there – I could claim the adorable National Trust property Mott’s Cottage as my family home. I always go poke around in it when I’m in town. (We always thought it was his cottage but it turns out the family actually owned it in the early 20th century, when he was long gone.)

Image of Mott's Cottage - cute brown cottage
National Trust image of Mott’s Cottage

But back to the present day – my co-author Sharmini Kumar and I are on a panel with Lyn Yeowart and Belinda Lyons-Lee, chatting with my old mate Kate Mildenhall about writing mysteries, 5.30, Saturday 13 September. Program and tickets here.

Panel with Kelly & Sharmini, 5.30pm. Saturday 13 September, Blarney Books

On Friday 19 September, Sharmini and I are speaking with students in the Professional Writing and Editing course at RMIT – Author Conversations is a free program the students curate and everyone is welcome. The fabulous Lili Wilkinson is on the same day – double bill of authory fun (actually it’s a triple bill).

Image advertising author conversations - Lili, Sharmini and Kelly are all on 19 September at 27 Cardigan St, Carlton, 2-4.15pm

It’s also Writers on Campus on my own campus on 23 September, where I’m hosting a session on Writing Sport, with experienced sports journalist Merryn Sherwood and Pam Kappelides, an expert in sports management and policy, including writing about sport for communities. There’s no better time than Grand Final week in Melbourne to talk about it. So if you’re interested in how we write about sport from a range of angles, come along to the library on Bundoora campus of La Trobe University. All welcome. Free but book here.

On the evening of 25 September, I’m interviewing Vikki Petraitis about her fabulous new book, The Stolen, for a Sisters in Crime event at Darebin Libraries. It’s free, but you can book here.

And after all THAT, Sharmini and I are heading to the US for a huge Jane Austen convention, the Jane Austen Society of North America annual general meeting in October, in Baltimore, Maryland. But more on that later.

Hope to see you out there!

Coming up: events & appearances

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Miss Caroline Bingley’s unceasing attempts at world domination continue. We can’t stop her. God knows we’ve tried, but she persists, and who are we, mere authors, to stand in her way?

Coming up soon:

Warm Winter Reads, Northcote Library: 16 July

I’m looking forward to giving an author talk as part of the Winter Reads series at Darebin Libraries, on Wednesday 16 July at 6pm. You’ll hear about how and what I write, and especially the influence of Miss Austen and our version of Caroline Bingley. It’s free, but do book here. Fairfield Bookshop will be on hand and I believe there may even be cake! I know it’s hard to leave the house on a Melbourne winter night, but it’ll be worth it.

Virtual JaneCon, online: 19 July

Virtual JaneCon is billed as a “radically inclusive Jane Austen event”, and it’s held online so people can attend anywhere in the world. My co-author Sharmini and I appear with our dear colleague Dr Kylie Mirmohamadi, talking about Miss Bingley and Mary Bennet, two characters Jane Austen doesn’t seem to like much, and all the other sessions look fascinating. It’s over the weekend July 19-20, with video sessions posted on YouTube. You can see all the details here.

Afternoon tea, Antipodes bookshop Sorrento: 30 July

Join me and Sharmini for a special afternoon tea celebration of Miss Austen’s 250th birthday in Sorrento, at the always-stylish Antipodes Bookshop. Murder, mystery, and afternoon tea (there will be no actual murder, you understand, just discussion of imaginary murders). Also bubbles. 2pm on Wednesday 30 July. Bookings essential and details here.

Bendigo Writers Festival, 16-17 August

Always a terrific writers’ festival, with a huge programme and always thoughtful guests. I’m involved in three events this year:

  • On the Lam 10:15 am, Saturday 16 August. I’m part of a panel with Tara Calaby and Lucy Sussex, chaired by Steph Downes, on spirited women of the past – in fact and fiction.
  • Carrying On 10:30 am, Sunday 17 August. I look forward to interviewing Melanie Cheng, Kylie Mirmohamadi and Jock Serong on the nature of grief and ghosts, legacies and loss and their beautiful novels.
  • Edinburgh: Midnight and Blue 11:45 am, Sunday 17 August. I’m interrogating crime writers Fiona Hardy and Jock Serong about Ian Rankin and his take on justice, redemption and the blurred lines between right and wrong in the book, Midnight and Blue.

Bendigo’s full program is here, and it’s a ripper.

Words in Winter, Hepburn Springs, 24 August

Talking crime with champion chair Jacqui Horwood and Zane Lovitt, author of The Body Next Door. We’ll be trying to answer the enormous questions, crime fiction: who writes it and why? 11.30am, Sunday 24 August, Hotel Bellinzona, Hepburn Springs. Tickets and details here, and check out the rest of the program because there are some great writers involved (Tony Birch, Nadia Mahjouri, Izzy Roberts-Orr and many more!). 

Hope to see you out there!

PS This time two years ago I was walking (well, at this point, plodding along slowly and painfully with boots full of blisters) the length of Hadrian’s Wall, so here’s a gratuitous photo of that most spectacular country, because it never ceases to amaze me. In fact, I’ve written a whole novel set there now (still rewriting).

Hadrian's Wall and milecastle

The Regency Roadshow: part three

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Things have calmed down a little, as Sharmini and I are in Hobart, working on Miss Bingley’s further adventures. We are grateful to the Salamanca Arts Centre for hosting us in the gorgeous cottage set aside for artist residencies, and we’ve been working hard, and plotting even harder. It’s the perfect place to think Regency, surrounded by Georgian buildings and exploring museum collections of the era. But more of that another time.

It’s not all long days bent over the desk. We’re appearing at Dymock’s Hobart on 11 June at 6pm, to talk about Miss Bingley, crime in the Regency era, and writing historical fiction. It’d be lovely to see some Tasmanian crime and/or historical novel readers there. Details and bookings here.

After we return to Melbourne, Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator will be published in North America – on July 6.

Then the events in Australia continue with an afternoon tea at Antipodes Books in Sorrento on 30 July. Bookings are essential for this one, and we anticipate delicious morsels! Find out more and book here.

After that, we have writers’ festivals and events lined up – I’ll let you know as they arise, but in the meantime, book ahead for the Historical Novel Society of Australasia’s History Unbound festival in Parramatta in November. Sharmini, Alison Goodman, and I will all be on a panel together, hosted by the magnificent Pamela Hart. Now, THAT’S Regency.

And if you haven’t seen it, here’s the stunning US cover.

Book cover Miss Caroline Bingley Private Investigator

The Regency Roadshow, part 2

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Miss Caroline Bingley continues her tour of the Antipodes, with Sharmini and me appearing alongside Alison Goodman in our Regency Roadshow, so you get to hear about Miss Bingley and the feisty heroines of The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin.

Here’s where we are (in various combinations) next:

Launches at the Library In a way, it all started at a Jane Austen seminar in the Library at La Trobe University, hosted by my dear colleague Kylie Mirmohamadi many years ago. Now Kylie’s gorgeous novel, Diving, Falling, is out and so is ours, so we’re celebrating both books, with Sharmini, Kylie and me in conversation with another dear colleague, Carrie Tiffany. 12.30, 29 April, Seminar room 1.34, Bundoora campus Library, La Trobe.

Books in Bars Join Sharmini and me for a great night of cosy crime and murder (well, talking about murder), with the good folks of Dymocks Geelong. 6:30pm, 30 April, Waurn Ponds Hotel.

Utter Ruin! I’m interrogating – I mean, interviewing – Alison about her new book, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin, hosted by the lovely people at Ulysses Books, on 8 May. 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, in the bookshop itself, in Hampton.

A Very Austen Afternoon The fabulous Wendys at Bookish in Bendigo have invited Alison and me to celebrate Miss Austen’s 250th birthday with a high tea and a conversation with the delightful author Katrina Nannestad, to discuss all things Austenesque – mystery, manners and the role of women in the Regency period. 2:30pm, 10 May, Mackenzie Quarter, Bendigo.

The same day, Sharmini is taking part in another very special Austen celebration: Jane Austen’s Music, Pemberley Revisited. In this performance, Austen’s razor-sharp wit and keen observations on love and society come vividly to life through carefully chosen readings and period-perfect musical selections, performed by Rachael Beesley, Aura Go, and Lizzy Bennet’s Band. Afterwards, Sharmini will be in conversation with Melbourne book editor, event moderator and bookseller, Jaclyn Crupi about Jane Austen, her literature and her legacy.  4pm, 10 May, at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Anna Chancellor as Miss Bingley in the 1995 TV adaptation of Pride & Prejudice

The Regency Roadshow: part 1

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Here’s what’s coming up for the first little while as we take to the high road. Three authors, two books, wonderful booksellers, and plenty of laughs.

  • Sydney launch, Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective, Monday 7 April, 6pm for drinks and nibbles, followed by a conversation with author Pamela Hart – at Better Read than Dead in Newtown
  • Writers to Watch is an online event for librarians in North America hosted by Library Love Fest but anyone is welcome, featuring new or forthcoming books including Miss B. It’s broadcast live at 7pm ET (8 April in the US) or 9am Melbourne/Sydney time (9 April) and you can RSVP here for Facebook or here for Crowdcast.
  • Ballarat celebration: Sharmini and I, in conversation, on Thursday 10 April, 6pm, at the Old Colonists’ Club in Lydiard Street, with Collins Booksellers (free, but please book)
  • Austen Con: April 12, Abbotsford Convent – Alison Goodman and I are on a panel in the morning, and there’s a dramatised reading of a scene from the book, as well as all sorts of Austen-world delights. Sharmini is hosting as always.
  • Moonee Ponds, in conversation: on April 16, Sharmini and I will be in-store at Collins Booksellers in Puckle Street, having a chat and answering questions from 6pm (free, but do book)

Then we’re all having a little break over Easter to breathe and eat chocolate.

More event details to follow.

Old drawing of flowers. text: You are cordially invited...

It begins!

/ Kelly Gardiner / 4 Comments

Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective is now out in the world.

The novel, co-written with Sharmini Kumar, is published by HarperCollins and out now in Australia and New Zealand. It will be in shops in the UK next week (April 6).

We hope you like it.

We’ve got lots of events lined up, and some of them are with our friend and Regency co-conspirator Alison Goodman, whose fabulous new novel, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin, is also out about now.

I’ll keep you posted here and on socials.

The game’s afoot!

Coming up!

/ Kelly Gardiner / Leave a comment

It’s nearly spring here in Melbourne/Naarm and to be honest after a few bone-chilling weeks it feels warmer already – the jonquils are out!

Have I been hibernating? No, I have not. Well, maybe a little, but there’s lots on in the next few weeks so I’m madly preparing now for…

Bendigo Writer’s Festival – a delight every year, and this year I’m chairing a panel on writing collaboratively with Thomas Mayo & Kerry O’Brien (The Voice to Parliament Handbook), Bruce Pascoe & Lyn Harwood (Black Duck), and Tarryn Phillips & Edward Narain (Sugar). It’s on 9.30am on Sunday 18 August: details and bookings here.

Then a couple of days later, I’m launching the wonderful new novel Grace and Marigold, by Mira Robertson, at Readings Carlton. It’s a terrific coming-of-age story of a young Australian woman, Grace, living in a London squat in the seventies. One of the things I love most about it is the fine detail of the hopeful people making lives in the squats, the bleak Thatcher-ite world around them, the gritty feel of London – the city coming alive, and the hilarious insight into seat-of-the-pants publishing of the time. The launch is on 20 August – free but you need to book as it’s filling up quickly.

Book cover: Grace and Marigold - features a pair of black boots and autumn leaves.

The annual Davitt Awards in women’s crime writing are nearly upon us, with longlists and shortlists announced by Sisters In Crime. The big night, when we announce the winners in all the different categories is on 31 August. I’m sort of the MC and will spend part of the evening in conversation with guest of honour, Sulari Gentill, author of the Rowland Sinclair series and her newer contemporary mysteries such as the Woman in the Library. Tickets include dinner, and it’s likely to book out, so get organised, if you’re coming along. Details here.

See you out there!

Kelly

It’s a new page for me

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Around this time last year, I retired from full-time teaching at La Trobe University (though I’m still hanging around – they can’t get rid of me).

Since then, I’ve been writing (a lot), travelling (a lot), walking (quite a lot) and planning.

And here’s what I’ve been planning: a series of writers’ retreats and masterclasses. I’ve called it New Page (see what I did there?) and it will include one-day in-person masterclasses, weekend retreat intensives, and short online courses. You can read about it here.

I’m delighted to kick it off with a subject close to my heart, and my writing: How to build a heroine.

Modern fiction is filled with fabulous, feisty, funny girls and women making their way through the universe. How do writers imagine them and bring them to life on the page?

Of course, the concepts and skills you’ll learn can be applied to a wide range of characters in fiction.

21 September, all day, in person, North Melbourne (Australia). 

Bookings are essential because I’d like to keep the class size small.

All the details are here.

If that sounds like something that interests you, do please get in touch. Otherwise, stay tuned for updates on coming events and writing retreats.

What. Fun.

Graphic of New Page writing retreats and masterclasses logo

Literary La Trobe

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I’m delighted to be part of this new podcast that gathers together many of our writing events on campus and at local literary festivals: Literary La Trobe, hosted by my dear colleague, historian Professor Clare Wright.

The first few episodes were recorded at last year’s Bendigo Writers’ Festival, and we’ll soon be adding more, including the Writers on Campus series that I organise and often host, and Clare’s series of book Launches @ the Library. Topics will range from crime fiction to writing history to the art of translation, so subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Graphic for Literary La Trobe with hands holding open book

Coming up: Mysteries with History

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Graphic advertising Sisters in Crime event 13 October - details below

I’m so pleased to be hosting the next Sisters in Crime author panel on Friday, 13 October.

The Mysteries with History panel is a cracker, featuring novelists Alison Goodman, Nilima Rao, and Margaret Hickey. We’ll talk about writing historical crime, creating characters, and the ways the past so often bleeds (pardon the pun) into the present in crime fiction.

I’m even more pleased that Sisters events are back in the swing after all those months of lockdown video events (though they are still doing plenty of new video too).

Mysteries with History is on October 13, 2023, 6pm – 10pm at the Rising Sun Hotel, cnr Raglan Street and Eastern Road, South Melbourne. You can either come for dinner and the show (!), or there are limited places available for the panel section only. There’ll be the legendary Sisters in Crime raffle and then the annual general meeting happens straight after the Q&A with the panel.

Details and bookings here.