Tag: book festival

Riverina Readers Festival: A dream come true 💙

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It’s with a strong mixture of unexplainable joy, pride and exhaustion that I write this post. Our very first Riverina Readers Festival is complete and I felt it was really important to write down how I’m feeling and my experiences as something to look back on and also as way of sharing the feelings underneath the surface with those who read this little book blog and attended our festival.

I’ve learnt throughout this epic process of planning, managing and delivering such a large-scale event that it is quite difficult to put into words how you feel, as the mixture of emotions are still churning inside after 2 days from the Festivals completion.

There has been tidal waves of stress and nervous anticipation in hoping those in attendance feel the love and dedication gone into building this event; overwhelming joy when you’re in the thick of seeing the event run through its schedule effortlessly; buzzing excitement and a high of happiness and disbelief when you’re finished; pride and gratitude when you read feedback forms that pour with happiness and eagerness to see what’s next; awe when people stop you or chase after you on the day to tell you how much they feel like they’ve found a community and made new connections; passion when authors congratulate you and your team on the high quality of each and every aspect of the festival and go away recommending your festival to those near and far in their world; joy when you look back and see all the incredible people who made this happen and continue to be there for the future of this project.

This has been one of the biggest moments in my career/ life/ dreams. And my few tears at the end of this day came through to show people that. Building this vision, finding a supportive and valuable team with their own individual talents and passions, planning this festival and bringing it to our community has been unforgettable. I cannot wait to keep this going, say ‘yes’ to opportunities and watch it grow.

I hope you enjoy watching it grow too 💫

If you’d like to find more information on the Riverina Readers Festival, head over here www.riverinareadersfestival.org.au

What organising a Book Festival feels like 2 months out 💙📖

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I cannot fathom that this little idea I thought up around 2 years ago is now a ACTUAL REAL THING!

Like legit, it is real – it’s happening in less than 2 months and I think I’m still on the high of excitement and not in the pits of nervousness.

I cannot predict what emotions I’ll be feeling in a months time, or even in 2 weeks out from the event but what I can say is that right now – things are on track and somehow, I don’t know why, but I feel settled in this feeling that people will turn up and it will all be okay. A bit like when we were in the thick of applying for grants and I just had this gut feeling, we’d be okay.

I think one of the main things keeping me feeling centred and focused is that I’ve had such a positive experience working within a team of strong, intelligent and generous women. For these women to surround me, encourage me and propel me forward has been hands down, one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. And they’re all volunteering their time to do this! I get emotional thinking about it – the weight of that encompassing belief of “you can do it” and “we believe in you”.

It feels like we’re just putting the finishing touches on now and creating a run-sheet of what our team has had running over and over in our minds for the past 6 months.

So two months out and my day-to-day looks like – planning our social media content, trying to post 3 times per week with paid promotions behind some posts. Myself and the team are distributing promotional posters, bookmark and bits and bobs around the region. We’re organising media interviews and I’m getting calls from newspapers.

The sense of community excitement is creeping in and it’s a wonderful feeling that is hard to describe. Maybe on the day of the festival, I’ll find the words.

How things change over time 🕰

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Hi book friends!

It’s been little while since I dedicated some personal time to writing on my blog … and I’ve missed it SO MUCH!

I think a big part of me not making the time to write, debrief and escape is because this is a place where a big portion of my life hasn’t been shared before. And in turn, I haven’t really made space for it before on here either.

So that’s about to change!

I wanted to give you an update of where things are up to at the moment in the life of Mel Reviews Her Books and what you can expect to see going forward. Here goes:

🤓 I have been reading so many books – I think I’m at a total of 20 already this year – but I’ve been debriefing them in a Reading Journal. I’ve really enjoyed this process and would like to maybe share bits and pieces of that more on here. I think I’d also like to run a local and/or regional workshops for this as well sometime soon! I find the downtime, away from a screen and listening to F.R.I.E.N.D.S on the tv in the background, incredibly relaxing.

🎥 I still ADORE planning and filming Author Talks on here as a long-form written interview and also via Instagram Live. This is something I’ve dedicated to hosting once a month, with predominately debut Aussie Authors to help bring light to their wonderful work and celebrate this new exciting path they’re on. You’ll still find me doing this on the ‘Author Talks’ tab and on my Instagram –> here

💙 I have been creating, forming, planning and am now 2 months away from delivering a book festival, called the Riverina Readers Festival. This has been over a year in the making. Our Festival is set to take place in the Riverina, NSW on Saturday 13 July.

To say my life has been consumed by this epic endeavour is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s been an absolute dream come true to work on morphing this younger Mel idea into fruition. It’s real and it’s happening – I don’t think that has really sunk in yet.

I cannot believe the excitement already building and anticipation in the air. So in saying this, I want to share a little more about what the journey and experience has been like in creating a Book Festival. The hows, whens, oh no’s’, and ‘oh my god this is happening’ moments. Right now, you can find us at www.riverinareadersfestival.org.au

📧 I did have all good intentions of producing and delivering an email into your inbox once a month – it was a new years goal. But you know, sometimes new years goals don’t work out the way you expect and instead, I now create newsletters for the Riverina Readers Festival! So if you’d like to hear from me in newsletter form, click here –> sign up

📖 I also had good intentions of running an online bookclub, however that has now transitioned into planning and coordinating a book club for the Riverina Readers Festival following our one-day book festival! So if you’re interested in a book club that highlights Aussie talent and meets only a few times a year, click here –> sign up to book club news

So in essence, I’m well and run off my feet + filling with nervous excitement as time inches closer to the Riverina Readers Festival 💙 I can’t wait to start sharing some bits and pieces with you and changing up this webpage a little.

👀 Keep your eyes peeled!

Mel xx

A WAM of a Weekend 💥 DAY 2

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WAM Day 2 I was up bright and early ready to hear the first panel, chaired by the wonderful author and podcaster Kate Mildenhall, called The First Time: Publishing.

This panel held authors T.R. Napper, Irma Gold & Kathryn Heyman. It was very insightful and interesting to hear how each of these authors came to have a life full of books, writing and publishing. Each had such different experiences, especially when it came to book editing, selling rights, having a book agent and film contracts. Needless to say, many notes were taken on my phone from this panel!

Next up we heard from crime fiction writers, Shelley Burr & Margaret Hickey, both of whom were interviewd by the wonderful Jason Steger from The Age.

Shelley and Marg spoke about their tactics in plotting, what inspires them to write about murderous and conflicting characters in small town settings and what they’ve felt most rewarding about continuing to write in the fictional worlds they’ve created. I haven’t read either of their works but I sure will be now!

Then drumrolllll … meeting Kate Mildenhall was the absolute cherry on top of an already sunny weekend! 😊☀️

As I mentioned previously, I was bundled with excitement in meeting Kate as her book The Hummingbird Effect is surely going down as one of my favourite reads this year. Her interview with Paul Dalgarno was fascinating. Kate explained how a conversation over family dinner sparked her interest in a local well-known meat works that had burnt down in years past. This fire triggered a series of events, political movements and strikes for years to come. It affected not only the workers engaged in the meatworks, but their families, their suburb, their socials groups and more. Listening to Kate talk about her process of weaving her 5 connected stories together was inspiring and intricate. It was also unique and a once in a book lovers life time listening to this interview as Kate’s talent is like no other author I’ve listened to before.

And I might add – when I popped my hand up in the Q&A section of the interview to ask about the jaw dropping image in her book, without even having met me in person yet – but having seen my social media posts, Kate said before answering, “Is that Mel from Mel Reviews Her Books?”. I laughed and said “Yes!”. “I’m so excited to meet you!” she said – on stage, in front of a crowd of people! I couldn’t help but smile and giggle to myself 🤣

Finishing off this spectacular weekend, we listened to bestselling historical fiction author, Pip Williams. Wow! What a WAM way to go out with a bang.

Pip’s insight into the world of bookbinding, the rippling effects of WWI and how she created such emotive and heartfelt characters representative of this time is truely amazing. Pip explored with interviewer Jason Steger, how her previous career background in analysing human behaviour and patterns of human characteristics really enforced her passion for writing fiction characters, that we as the readers, ultimately believe to be real.

This was my second time hearing Pip’s experiences, as previous I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting her at a bookseller’s conference hosted by her publisher, Affirm Press. However, I can say with certainty, her story never ceases to captivate an audience (including me).

And that my book friends, was a wrap of my WAM of a weekend 💫 Again, I honestly cannot thank the WAM committee enough for curating, hosting and encouraging such a wonderful event filled with bookish passion, connection and the essence of community!

Sign me up already for 2024! Are you booking your ticket?

A WAM of a Weekend 💥 DAY 1

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Write Around the Murray (WAM) started on Saturday the 16th of September for me. I jumped in my car for a road trip, grabbed a coffee from my local and switched on an episode of the Life Uncut Podcast. Travelling to Albury was so lovely and having the time to duck into GreenStreat was a highlight! If you haven’t been there, it’s one of the best salad bars and the choices are endless!

In the lead-up to WAM, I’d been reading Kate Mildenhall’s latest novel called The Hummingbird Effect. This book was incredibly hard to put down, to the point that I had to take my delicious salad and perch myself in the city’s park to read for a bit before heading in to listen to Debra Dank and Kathryn Heyman.

Debra and Kathryn discussed their works on nonfiction and how the heavy experiences they’d had in their lives, lead them being where they are now.

Following this discussion, I went for a wander around Albury’s LibraryMuseum, which is where the WAM Festival is annually held. The space was incredibly inviting and it was clear that all of those within the space were there to have a great time and connect over books.

Albury’s LibraryMuseum held the space of a festival bookshop (of which I attended 😉), a preloved bookshop, selling good quality library books, a fantastic coffee van, workshops spaces for little ones and an awesome podcasting section. This is where you could verbally share your feedback and engage with the creative team of WAM. Such a fantastic idea!

That afternoon, we also heard from Paul Delegano discussing his book Prudish Nation. In this interview we heard about Paul’s experience of reaching out to a large and diverse demographic of authors to interview them on their thoughts around unconventional relationships. Openly, Paul discussed his journey of holding preconceived thoughts around marriage, unity and social norms. And then, how he fell a non-monogamous marriage himself. This discussion was so interesting and clever. I must admit, it wasn’t expecting to walk away with so many thoughts, feelings and preconceived ideas of my own washing away.

After Paul’s interview, we all parted ways to book into motels, grab a drink and refresh before coming back for Stereo Stories.

I must kindly thank WAM for generously gifting me a ticket to Stereo Stories for the evening, with Ann-Marie (WAM’s Director) excitedly telling it is an event NOT to miss – how could I say no!

Upon entering Albury’s LibraryMuseum for Stereo Stories, I bumped into the lovely roaming Poet of WAM, Joel McKerrow, who read me a poem from one of his books and my gosh, did it resonate with me! It was about change, outgrowing environments & experiences, and looking to keep growing as an individual. Joel’s talent for words and expression is extraordinary. He also performed inside as we all gathered for a social drink, nibble and network before heading into what was set to be a sold out show!

Stereo Stories was up there as a highlight of my WAM experience 🎹🥁🎷🎸🎻 🎤 Stereo Stories is where a talented band comes together to combine their love and performance of music, with personal stories and a memory that connects with the particular song played. So for example, Paul Delegano took to the stage to discuss a memory and experience he had with his young child and a Nina Simone song that was playing at the time of that experience taking place. The band then brings the two creative streams together – storytelling and music. Here is a link to Stereo Stories youtube channel for you to discover them for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe6YSHP5piA

On this evening, I made new bookish friends, connected with many talented people and networked with WAM’s awesome team. It was a joy ⭐️