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.)

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.

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).

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!