Festival fun ahead

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!

Miss Bingley adores compliments

It’s not long now until Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective descends upon an unsuspecting world. I’ll post soon about launches and events in April and May (that’s when the book is out in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, although of course you can pre-order now). US readers will have to wait until July (sorry!).

In the meantime, we’ve received some lovely praise for the book. Here’s a sample:

‘Loved this adventure in Austen’s world, with Caroline Bingley taking centre stage and proving what we knew all along; that there was much more to her character than met the eye! Wonderful scene setting and addictively pacey, this book will delight Jane Austen and Agatha Christie fans alike. Queen of the one-line put-downs, Miss Bingley makes the most brilliant sleuth – proving that detective work is right up there with watercolours and dancing as the height of ladylike accomplishments!’ – Fliss Chester, author of the Cressida Fawcett Mysteries

‘Utterly delightful! Miss Caroline Bingley is revealed as a perfectly imperfect heroine in this charming Austen-inspired escapade. Beyond its entertaining surface and mannered Regency dialogue also lies a shrewd critique of British imperial rule and a resounding message of female empowerment. As Miss Bingley would say, no hand wringing allowed!’ – Kyra Geddes, author of The Story Thief

‘I can only assume that Jane Austen would be delighted to read of Miss Bingley’s exploits.  An elegant and utterly accomplished mystery’ – Sulari Gentill, bestselling author of The Woman in the Library and The Mystery Writer

Thanks to the many authors who’ve supported Sharmini and me in the lead-up to launch with blurbs, encouragement and hugs.

Book cover of Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective

Season’s greetings

It’s summertime here, so we’re buckling down not only for festive celebrations of various sorts but also for bushfires and heatwaves and all the true delights of summer (sandy togs, ice cream dripping down your fist, long light evenings, cicada song, cricket on a distant radio – although that’s a sound that’s dying out). I have sunburned feet already after a day messing about in boats.

I’ll be kicking off the New Year with a bit of a holiday in my other home – NZ, then working on a couple of writing courses and a retreat, before Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective launches in early April.

I hope you’re enjoying your summer/winter/wet season break, if you have one, and any celebrations. Stay safe and happy reading.

See you on the other side!

Image of sunset over sand and distant waves, with spinifex grass growing up.
Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.com

Huge news

I’m absolutely delighted to announce that HarperCollins Publishers Australia has acquired World rights to publish Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective, the crime novel I co-wrote with Austen expert and all-round good egg, Sharmini Kumar, founder of AustenCon.

That means the novel will be published simultaneously in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and North America in April next year.

From the HarperCollins press release:

Roberta Ivers, Publisher at HarperCollins Australia, said: ‘I’m so excited to be publishing this brilliant, affectionate tribute to outspoken, independent women of the Regency era alongside my colleagues in the US and the UK, Rakesh Satyal and Cat Camacho. Not only is this story a delicious romp about women who won’t take no for an answer, it treads a skilful line between humour and pathos, with serious themes around colonial privilege that give us the other side of Austen’s story. I know everyone will fall in love with Caroline Bingley’s superior talents, as we all have around the world.’

Rakesh Satyal, Executive Editor, HarperVia said: ‘This ingenious homage to Austen is both respectful to the source material and daring in its scope, revealing to us new layers of this oft-visited and beloved world. I’m thrilled that this book will be available to readers around the globe. It’s fresh, wise, and endlessly diverting.’

Cat Camacho, Commissioning Editor, HQ, said: ‘I devoured Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective in one sitting. At the first page the authors pick you up from wherever you are and transport you utterly into the Regency world. It’s a brand-new, completely fresh take on the classic we all love, giving fan favourite characters their own stories and voices for the first time. I can’t wait to see it unleashed on the world.’

Literary agent Jacinta di Mase said; ‘From the moment I first pitched the concept to Roberta Ivers during an informal catch-up between sessions at Sydney Writers Festival in 2022, I knew she was the right publisher for the inimitable Caroline Bingley.’ While fellow agent Danielle Binks adds; ‘The reaction from the entire Harper family has been wonderful! It felt like we jumped from admiration to love, from love to acquisition in a moment, and we’re delighted at this home for Caroline, Kelly, and Sharmini.’

We’re pretty delighted too! Huge thanks to our agents, Danielle Binks and Jacinta Di Mase, and to everyone at HarperCollins.

Photo of Kelly and Sharmini, back to back and smiling.
Photo by Liliana Braumberger in this screenshot of the news in the trade magazine, Books & Publishing.

I have news

I’m delighted to announce that for the past few months I’ve been collaborating with the lovely Sharmini Kumar (organiser of AustenCon, and writer of several theatre adaptations of Jane Austen novels) on an Austen-inspired novel.

We think it will be called FINE EYES: CAROLINE BINGLEY, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR. We are well into research, drafting, and complicated crime plotting.

We’ve been having so much fun writing Regency crime together, it may even be a series.

Anna Chancellor as Miss Bingley in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice
Anna Chancellor as Miss Bingley in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice