Alice Campion talks - How a book club wrote a book or two
Published on 13 April 2023
Bellingen and Dorrigo Libraries will be hosting a very unusual author talk next month. It all began with idle speculation amongst a group of women friends in a Sydney book club and ended with a three-book publishing deal.
Writing under the collective pseudonym of Alice Campion, five members of the book club challenged themselves to write a modern-day version of the Australian classic novel ‘Thorn Birds’, Their first collaboration resulted in ‘The Painted Sky’ which is a captivating rural novel, brimming with romance, mystery, and suspense. This was the first group-written novel to be published in Australia, and one of only a handful in the world.
Four of the Alices went on to write their second novel, ‘The Shifting Light’ which is a riveting book of family intrigue, love and suspense. The collective writing idea has fascinated everyone in the many interviews and festivals, workshops and events at which we have spoken. ‘Alice’ has given talks about this incredible ride and run sessions on collaborative writing at Sydney Writers Festival, Writers Victoria, NSW Writers Centre, Japan Writers Conference to name a few.
One of the Alices, Jane St Vincent Welch now lives in Bellingen. ‘As evangelists for group fiction writing, we would like to share our process and experiences – the ups and downs, successes and failures and hilarious moments,’ said Jane.
Shire Librarian, Rowena Sierant said, ‘This event will fascinate readers, our book clubs and all the writers out there in our community. It will be a unique opportunity.’
These events are free, and bookings are encouraged. Firstly, the Alices will appear at Bellingen Library on May 1st 5:00-6:30pm. They will then travel on to Dorrigo Library on May 3rd 3:00 -4:30pm.
You can book your place online at www.crl.nsw.gov.au or by calling your local library. Bellingen: 66551744 or Dorrigo: 66572234
For further information contact Rowena Sierant (Shire Librarian) on 02 6655 1744.