What we all need now is some good news stories. Stories that remind us we are all doing our best despite everything. Stories that make us rejoice in humanity and our own tenacity. We need words about friendship, families and individuals who make the world around them better. Personally, I want old-fashioned storytelling about courage and resilience. I want to read novels that make me smile. I want to read about characters who become part of my own life.
I am delighted that Craig Silvey has come to the rescue with a children’s story that is really for all of us. Runt is a feel-good book about Annie Shearer and her dog. Annie is an optimistic sort of person, one of those people who can change the way she looks at things despite everything that suggests she should not. There’s a kindness to this type of Australian character, and a practical approach to circumstances. I do hope you will join me in listening to Silvey (how we love his writing so) chat with Christos Tsiolkas at Cinema Nova on 11 October. They will talk about the art and arc of narrative goodness, and why a book like Runt is so important now. It is the sort of conversation that you can take the whole family to, and at the end, you will appreciate, just a little more, everything that is good and kind in this world.
Have you ever heard Holly Ringland talk about her writing? She has that remarkable ability to convey hope, even when she talks to a crowd. She joins us at Readings Hawthorn on 12 October to discuss her eagerly anticipated second novel, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding. (Did you know her debut, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, has been translated into 31 languages?) Diana Reid also has a second book out. Her debut, Love and Virtue, saw her being named one of Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelists, and she will be chatting about her new novel, Seeing Other People, with fellow author Victoria Hannan (at Readings Carlton on 25 October). Centred on the relationship between sisters, both Holly and Diana’s books also explore how change is only possible if you begin owning who you are. That process is not always an easy road, and it is possible reading these novels will make you cry – but they will also give you a sense of happiness.
It has been a particularly tough winter for us all; how easy it is to lose confidence in the face of plagues, politics, war and long cold nights. But I promise the October events program is filled with joy. Authors in our program are showing us, through their characters, that it is possible to be optimistic about our surrounds. It is possible to be buoyed by other people’s stories. Most importantly, the themes in this month’s events show us a path forward: have courage, be kind.
Chris Gordon is the community engagement and programming manager for Readings.
