Reality Bites

Last weekend I attended the Reality Bites Nonfiction Festival in Cooroy, Queensland. The festival is held over two weekends and this was the first of the two. I found it exciting but pretty exhausting. I flew up on Saturday morning, appeared on one panel on Saturday afternoon, a second on Sunday morning, and then flew home Sunday afternoon. Phew!

The weather wasn't wonderful - overcast most of the time and quite cool. Very disappointing for a southerner. I'd hoped for a little sunshine.

The organisers had worked hard to put together a varied and interesting program and a team of volunteers made it all happen. The speakers were ferried to and from the airport, between venues, and to and from their accommodation. It all seemed to run like clockwork.

I enjoyed my sessions enormously. The first was Grief, Loss and Recovery and I shared the stage with Paul Valent, a retired psychiatrist who has worked extensively in this area. Annette Hughes in the chair made sure it was a really memorable session. I think we were all just about in tears.

The following morning I ran into Paul and his lovely wife Julie in the rain in the streets of Noosaville. Spending time with them was a highlight of the trip for me.

Sunday morning's panel, Absent Parents, was chaired by local writer, Steven Lang. Those are my hands in the picture below, waving around, making a point:

Here I'm at it again, talking with my hands. I shared the stage with David Carlin and we talked about our absent parents: my mother whom I watched as she was swallowed alive by Alzheimer's, his father who killed himself when David was six months old. I couldn't help thinking how proud David's father would be of him, and what a good job his mother did.

Both our books contain sadness but both also joy and hope I think. We'll be discussing them again this Saturday at the New Voices 2010 Festival. This festival is run by the folks at the Eltham Bookshop and will take place at St Margaret's Anglican Church Hall, Pitt Street, Eltham, from 9.30.

Our session, at 3.30, is called Whispered Imagining, and we'll be talking about the art of memoir, guided by Catherine Cole.

The program is varied and I'm looking forward to it. Recently I read Glenys Osborne's remarkable novel, Come Inside, so I'm particularly excited to have the opportunity to hear her discuss her writing process. That session is on at 11.15.

So, if you're free on Saturday and are not too far away, come to Eltham. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Author! Author!

I'm always nervous before an appearance. Will anyone come? How will it go? Yesterday's event at Petrarch's Book Shop in Launceston went very well indeed. Peter and his staff had set the shop up beautifully, and friends travelled long distances from all over the state to be there with us.

As usual at these events I heard sad and remarkable stories. One man bought a copy for the widow of his heart donor as her mother has Alzheimer's. Someone brought along a well- thumbed copy for a friend who couldn't get away as she was caring for her mother who has Alzheimer's. And my blogging friend kittykatmandoo's mother came along on her behalf.

With my Launceston book signing behind me, my next appearance will be in Cooroy, Queensland at the Reality Bites Festival.

Here is what the organisers have to say about the festival:

Discover your reality in the words of some of Australia’s sharpest minds and gifted storytellers. Experience the diversity of issues and ideas currently shaping our world. Enjoy a feast of food for thought during two consecutive weekends of literary events; book readings, panel discussions, in-conversation interviews and workshops, presented by a range of authors, journalists and film-makers.

I'm really excited for this one. I will be on two panels, both taking place during the festival's first weekend. The first one will be:

SATURDAY 24 JULY

2:00pm – 3:00 pm PANEL: Grief, Loss and Recovery

Speakers: Dr Paul Valent, Vivienne Ulman Chair: Annette Hughes Venue: Butter Factory Arts Centre

Paul Valent is a psychiatrist who has specialised in treating victims of trauma. His book, In Two Minds, draws on his almost four decades of working with patients, as well as his own experience as a child survivor of the Holocaust. It's a remarkable book, easy to read and full of fascinating stories, but also thought provoking. What impressed me most about it was the author's humility, and his preparedness to expose his uncertainties and his personal trauma, as well as his undoubted successes. I'm thrilled to be sharing the stage with Dr Valent. I think this should be a fascinating discussion.

My second panel will be:

SUNDAY 25 JULY

10:30 am – 11:30 am

In Conversation: Absent Parents

Speakers: Vivienne Ulman with David Carlin. Chair: Steven Lang

Venue: Butter Factory Arts Centre

I've never read anything quite like David Carlin's Our Father Who Wasn't There. The book, which follows the author's search for details of the father who killed himself when David was a baby, is memoir, detective story, family history and fantasy, all woven together in a beautifully written package. I shared a session with David at the Sydney Writers' Festival and enjoyed it immensely, as did the audience. This is a session that I know will be moving, stimulating and entertaining.

I'll only be in Queensland for a little over 24 hours but I'm so looking forward to being part of this festival and also to the brief respite from the cold.