What do you do when you want to hang out with Australia’s best crime writers?
You invite them to your home town and organise a festival so everyone gets to enjoy their company!
And what everyone discovered was that crime writers are funny!
Sisters in Crime festival, Sapphire Coast style.
I attended a 2016 Sisters in Crime Convention in Cobargo and loved it so much I just had to get them back!
The idea started with a conversation on Twitter after devastating bushfires impacted Cobargo. Plans were stalled for a couple of years, but we were determined to make it happen in 2022!
Candice Fox, Vikki Petraitis, Sulari Gentill, Fleur Ferris, Ilsa Evans, Professor Caroline de Costa, and Dorothy Johnston were part of the weekend, organised by myself with support from South East Arts, Well Thumbed Books, and Sisters in Crime Australia.
Sadly one of our authors, Kay Schubach, had to cancel her attendance at the last minute, and we send our sincere condolences for the loss of her father on the weekend.
We really missed her but I am planning the next festival and she will be there will bells on!
The festival included a full day of panels and in-conversations at the Cobargo School of Arts and writing workshops in Merimbula.
People came from all over to attend including one aspiring writer who flew from Sydney for a half an hour speed date with Candice!
Around 100 people packed the Cobargo Hall, and we also live-streamed this around the world.
The lively panel discussions thrilled the audience because the simple fact is, crime writers are funny!
Candice Fox offered 30-minute speed dates on Saturday and Sunday, with Sydney writer Erica Adamson flying to Merimbula for the weekend to attend.
Thank you Candice, you inspired so many writers with these sessions! Bestselling YA author and screenwriter Fleur Ferris also ran a sold-out workshop on Sunday which again, inspired so many writers (including me!).
The hall in Cobargo has something very special about it, from the beautifully catered curry lunch by the hall committee and Well Thumbed Books (including their famous egg sandwiches), to the enthusiastic audience which included people who attended the first Sisters in Crime event in 2016.
The Sisters want to make this an annual event and there is keen interest from South East Arts to bring more crime writers to the region as part of the Headland Writers Festival.
I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who was part of the weekend, especially these incredible women who have such depth and experience in crime storytelling.
LIVESTREAM
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