UPDATE: Published this then realised my blog turned EIGHT yesterday!
I spent half the day in my pyjamas and wrote 1181 words which just tipped my WEIRD Scottish manuscript over 50,000 (rough) words. Last night I saw Jack Ladder & the Dreamlanders and it rocked; I danced with a whisky in my hands and Jen Squire, who wrote this overwhelmingly lovely and amazing profile of me, would be interested to know that I actually put ice in it, because it was cheap stuff and I wanted to hydrate since I didn’t plan on moving from the front of the stage where I could see Kirin J Callinan’s dance moves.
So, working in publishing has been a ride so far. Stimulating, satisfying and definitely challenging at times. Mainly, I’m grateful that I’ve finally found my place, in terms of a day job, in the world of books. My colleagues are intelligent, lovely and great fun as well. You can’t ask for more than that. Oh! So, if you are working on a manuscript, please do keep Echo in mind. I’ve already signed three debut Australian novels and two nonfiction books, as well as managing a bunch of other titles. Please also check out the forthcoming books on that page, and follow us on social media, as there may be something up your alley as far as reading goes.
What else is happening? I’ve been writing my contributions for the Dear Everybody collective. They’ll appear here, and if you’re in Melbourne do come along to the tie-in event at the Emerging Writers’ Festival. Next weekend I’ll be the official reporter, for the second year in a row, at the Australian Booksellers Association Conference. I’m looking forward to hearing about what’s happening in the industry, and to partying with the booksellers. The weekend after that is Sydney Writers Festival. I’m participating in Forest for the Trees: Writers and Publishing in 2015. I’ll stick around for a night so I can see some events as well. And soon I have some workshops coming up in the ACT, Queensland, and possibly at the new Coffs Harbour Writers Centre. There will be more info on my Events page soon.
As mentioned in Jen’s profile, I’ve also been planning a dream trip back to Scotland. I’ll be staying on Islay and Jura, and then I’ll finish the trip in London to see Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch at the Barbican. I can’t wait.
Since I’m not reviewing books professionally any more (and limiting the chairing I do), I’ve really been enjoying reading whatever the fuck I want this year. Finally getting to Elena Ferrante. Catching up on some Aus reads I missed. Finally just now picking up Knausgaard. Reading John Bayley’s bio of Iris Murdoch (the mess, the swims, the lovers – it’s amazing). Dipping into books of poetry and short stories. I still add the odd short review on Goodreads and sometimes even on Instagram or my Facebook page. But mainly, now, I read for pleasure, for research, and I read manuscripts for work. I got so much out of reviewing, but I’m enjoying the shift.
I didn’t mean to write a blog post, but here it is. Unstable world, at times a chaotic storm in my head and my chest (‘hung velvet overtaken me’) but there is comfort in words, and art. My muse at the moment, Caravaggio’s John the Baptist c. 1600: 
