Was lovely to be a part of the “Pushing the Boundaries” panel talk with moderator Nina Cullen, and authors Cadence Bell and Yumna Kassab.

Was my first opportunity to discuss my new book Guardian.

Thanks to @newwritersfest.bsky.social for having me.

#NWF2026 #Books #Author #Writing #Fiction

That's a wrap on another fantastic edition of the @newwritersfest.bsky.social 💛

Thank you to Rosemarie Milsom and her team for delivering an outstanding program, and Macleans Books for locking in our reading habits for the next few months! 📸

#writerfestival #author #NWF2026

Then went to a stellar afternoon session on censorship and consequences featuring @antoinettelattouf.bsky.social @joshbornstein.bsky.social and AC Grayling hosted by Peter Greste. Actually walked out feeling hopeful, but jeez folks, we need to arc up more! #NWF2026

Volunteered in the morning and got to experience Bold Women with @taramoss.bsky.social @janecaro.bsky.social and Natasha Lester which was exhilarating #NWF2026

A picture of a box of programs. In the background is a couch, and through the windows, City Hall clock tower

On a screen: Bold Women with Natasha Lester, Tara Moss and Jane Caro. The three women sit on stage, engaged in conversation

City Hall Newcastle. Ornate, filled with crowds and with a panel on stage

So far so fab #NWF2026 engaging, engrossing and ever so entertaining @newwritersfest.bsky.social

Lucy: "it was my first book. Now I'm thinking so much more about how I discuss the issues regarding women and having our not having children.

It's part of a larger conversation."

Carol: "I feel a weight of responsibility not to add to the stereotypes of older women."

#NWF2026

Lee: "There's so much dialogue about how books shake culture. But it's slow."

Carol: "I'm considering a guerrilla campaign of putting stickers on those birthday cards with terrible jokes about getting old."

#NWF2026

Lucy: "I'm a strict self-editor. I make sure every sentence is load-bearing and serves a purpose, before it goes to the editor.

A good editor asks the right questions."

#NWF2026

Lee: "There's a lot of threads in this book. There's a huge acknowledgements section in this book. So many friends I got help from - to make it emotionally engaging."

Carol: "When editing I always read it aloud."

#NWF2026

Lee: "I do about 4 hours of hard work a day on a graphic novel."

Carol: "I keep the work in a Dropbox on my phone and it's always near me."

Lucy: "When I'm drafting I do a few hours each morning."

#NWF2026

Carol Lefevre:

"When something is true, it has this seed. And people just know."

#NWF2026

Lucy Nelson:

"At RMIT we had a writer visit. Her fiction book was about a divorce. She asked her father his review of it.

He said 'Your mother left me, not the other way around!'

And she had to say 'It's fiction!'...."

#NWF2026

Carol Lefevre:

"This book documented a year with big things happening to me. The side effect was ... the writing was hard. I still struggle to read some sections without getting upset, in public.

But now I'm having a sort of breather. I've taken up Tai Chi."

#NWF2026

Lee Lai:

"In terms of 'voice', it's like in illustration where so many students ask about developing their own 'individual style'.

It's a 'nothing' answer but you'll know it when you see it."

#NWF2026

Lucy Nelson:

"Everyone wants to ask about 'voice' but it's so hard to explain. Someone said to me that 'voice is simply a series of decisions you make'.

#NWF2026

Carol Lefevre:

"I went to a class. A woman told me 'Nobody wants to read a whole bunch of essays.'

So I went home a laid it all out and tried to find a thread to pass through it all."

#NWF2026

Carol Lefevre:

"I was going to turn 70 soon. Is it ever OK for a woman to be an old woman? I started writing essays about women in that space.

I was reading my mother's letters, and there was some grief in not recognising the girl she was writing about."

#NWF2026

Lee Lai:

"I usually start with a few central questions, and over 3 or 4 years I hopefully answer them.

And I start investigating them, via pictures."

#NWF2026

Last craft session on my list.

"The Way We Write"

Lee Lai, Carol Lefevre, and Lucy Nelson speak to Jackie Dent about how they shape stories for the page.

#NWF2026

Fantastic first full day of the Newcastle Writers Festival.

This session with @hannahkent.bsky.social, JP Pomare and Heather Rose was full of excellent insights. (and ballsy admissions).

If you missed it, I live-skeeted the highlights at #NWF2026.

So proud of my sister Alejandra Martinez, first in our family to attend high school and university, now a published author. #NWF2026 #WorkingClassWriters

Samuel: "I'm a terrible over-writer. My first draft was about 250k words.

Emma: "I don't look at my early drafts again. They're on a shelf. Maybe I'll burn them."

And that wraps up my skeeting of Date with a Debut, thanks to @nickwasiliev.bsky.social for MCing.

#NWF2026

Emma: "When I was young, I was sending to thousands of agents. But now I say, you need to be picky. I looked at 10 last time. Stalk them on their socials.

Samuel: "If you're looking for an agent, try literary speed dating with the ASA. Definitely check thst out."

#NWF2026

Samuel: "Show don't tell? Smash that shit."

Emma: "I'm a huge purple prose writer. If you want"no tell", buy another book."

#NWF2026

Samuel Elliott:

"I wrote about 10 novels in 20 years. None of it should see the light of day.

When I was writing Haze, I was as close as ever to just giving up. But then I got a new literary agent."

#NWF2026

Alejandra Martinez:

"I had to make my story authentic, but at the same time to keep it accessible for Australian audiences."

#NWF2026

Emma Pei Yin:

"It sucks. Rejection. You eat it for breakfast.

I submitted the YA novel to a number of agents. One agent said 'I already have an Asian author I'm representing next year.' I kept a printout of that one.

The next book, I got 5 agent offers in two weeks."

#NWF2026

Emma Pei Yin:

"I LOVE love stories.

My grandmother inspired the whole novel. In Hong Kong you have kids, but you have to work - so you have helpers. My grandmother inspired a character who's a helper."

#NWF2026

Emma Pei Yin:

"My dad is second-generation. Born in the UK. He cried when Princess Diana died. But I was like, 'who is she to us'.."

#NWF2026

Emma Pei Yin:

"This book took over 10 years to write. I was actually writing a YA novel that got rejected.

I go down rabbit holes on research. I researched a particular wheelchair for 3 days, and in the book I just mention the shape of the wheel."

#NWF2026