In 2010 I…
fell madly in love
presented/chaired at Perth Writers Festival, Format Festival, the Australian Booksellers Association conference, Byron Bay Writers Festival, Write Around the Murray; and locally here in Melbourne for the Melbourne Writers Festival, Williamstown Literary Festival, Emerging Writers Festival, and some events for Express Media. I also attended other writerly events, such as Writers at the Convent and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
taught workshops in Horsham, Echuca, Croydon, Swan Hill, Byron Bay and Albury
interviewed Peter Goldsworthy, Alex Miller (at PWF), Elif Batuman (a ‘responsive’ interview), Maile Meloy, Colm Tóibín (in person), Wena Poon, Bret Easton Ellis (in person, with Kathy Charles), Kabita Dhara, China Miéville (in person, with Benjamin Solah) and Paul Murphy. Plus, Andrew Wrathall interviewed Charlaine Harris for me
showed Tara Moss my desk
visited The Wheeler Centre for different events and participated in a critical culture ‘un-conference’ there
published short stories in The Lifted Brow and Torpedo Greatest Hits
kept up a gym routine, somehow
read my stories to an audience at Read You Bastards and Dog’s Tails
published articles and reviews in A Cafe in Space: The Anais Nin Literary Journal, Miscellaneous Voices: Australian Blog Writing No.1, Bookseller+Publisher, antiTHESIS, Crikey, and Mascara
read plenty of books (of course)
met a muppet
hosted guest posts. Thank you Elena, Lyndon, Matthia, JJ, Raili, Sam, Elizabeth, Chris, Derek, Jonathan, Alice, Genevieve, Gerard and Greg. Stars – all of you
saw Waiting for Godot, Richard III, The Trial and a few other plays
was interviewed in Victorian Writer, Epicure, on Triple J briefly, on regional NSW ABC radio, and for bookish pieces in Women’s Health
‘blurbed’ the Aus edition of Elif Batuman’s The Possessed
read stuff on my iPhone
edited Bookseller+Publisher for a few months… before leaving (to start my doctorate)
began a Doctor of Creative Arts in the Writing & Society Research Group at UWS
shared some thoughts on writing
was illustrated
celebrated the blog’s third birthday
had a photo shoot (coming to a newspaper supplement near you)
wrote about my favourite Kafka story for The Gum Wall
participated, with friends, in The Novel Challenge, raising $630 for people affected by MS
began an affectionate side-blog, infrequently updated, called LiteraryMinded Crush
went to Sydney Film Festival
had some awesome times with friends and family
did some consulting work (on blogging and social media)
taught a few classes of online writing at RMIT
was an official blogger for Melbourne Writers Festival
launched Lisa Lang’s Utopian Man
chose a favourite book for 2010
sent out a bunch of tweets
saw Colin Meloy, Daniel Johnston, The Eels and The Eagles live
commissioned reviews on Twitter
drank a lot of booze
revealed the reasons for my Bowie love
made my first vlog
presented my first academic paper
watched about 150 films (cinema and DVD)
became an ACMI member
caught up on TV shows (finally) and especially loved Mad Men and Bored to Death (oh, George)
stayed madly in love
oh, and I drafted a novel…
*
As busy a year as 2009? Perhaps more so (though it felt less busy, which is good). What does 2011 hold? AN OVERSEAS TRIP, that’s what. But also – Perth Writers Festival again (and others I’m sure), some proper Q&A vlogs, second draft of the novel, sending more stories out, plus a very special blog-able reading project, the details of which I’ll announce as soon as I get back on here mid-Jan…
I’m taking two weeks off! One here in Melbourne and one in sunny (?) Coffs. First, a five-day detox, then a retox! Coffs will also involve reading the Richard Yates bio and Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories; plus playing board games, beach walks and riding a horse. All with loved ones. Happy New Year!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
