In mid-October 2024, Australian author Tess Woods and her incredible team pulled off an extraordinary day of panel discussion panels with authors of genre fiction. This included speculative fiction, crime, romance, children’s books and historical fiction. It was such an inspiring day, both as a reader and a writer. Word is that next year the Festival of Fiction will return, with double the scope.
Although I am currently reading and writing a lot of memoir and personal essay due to its relevance to my current work-in-progress and PhD project, the Festival of Fiction reminded me how much I love what I call a “good read” – a story I can escape into, immersing myself into the characters and their world.
So, despite my best intentions, I couldn’t resist adding a few books to my TBR pile!
The Girls from Fitzroy by Jennie Jones
(romance, historical fiction)
Set in 1945, Maggie Johnson and Lil Kelly come from opposite ends of Fitzroy to form an unlikely friendship when they meet during the VP Day celebrations. Maggie grew up in the wealthy north of the suburb, and Lil lives in the slums to the south.
I was immediately drawn to this latest novel by Jennie Jones because it is set in the same area of Melbourne that my ancestors settled in when they immigrated from the UK and Ireland. I had no idea that there was such disparity of wealth in a single suburb, and I now want to dig deeper into the location and circumstances in which my family lived.
On a side note, I would also highly recommend Shadowboxing, the first book by Tony Birch I ever read (a number of years ago now). It’s a set of ten interlinked stories, set in Fitzroy (as well as Carlton and Richmond), albeit a little later than The Girls from Fitzroy in the 1960s and offering a First Nations perspective. Time that went back on my TBR pile for a re-read.
Outback Reunion by Rachael Johns
(romance)
Outback Reunion is a rural romance set in the mid-west coastal town of Bunyip Bay, the setting of other titles in Rachael Johns’ “Outback” series. Although linked through the setting and recurring characters (the protagonists in one novel show up as secondary characters in the others) each one stands alone, so it doesn’t matter whether or not you have read any of the others.
In Outback Reunion, ex- AFL player, Mark Morgan, returns home to his parents’ farm outside of Bunyip Bay after he is injured, and his wife betrays him. When the circus arrives in town, the last thing he expects to see is the girl he had a magical one-night stand with years earlier.
As Rachael said on her panel at the Festival of Fiction, a happy ending is what’s expected of the romance genre. But the fun comes in the twists and turns the story takes to get there. Outback Reunion is no exception. A great way to escape for a weekend!
Best, First and Last by Amy T. Matthews
(romance)
Amy T. Matthews was unable to attend the inaugural Festival of Fiction, but several advanced copies of her new novel Best, First and Last were scattered under seats throughout the auditorium, and I was lucky to find one under mine.
Bonnie, Sandy and Heather are three generations of one family who end up in Peru together, with the aim of hiking the Machu Picchu trail. Each one is dealing with the end of a relationship (a break-up, a betrayal and a death), but their relationships with each other is not exactly harmonious or straight forward. Expect bickering and banter, the spilling of long-held family secrets and a love triangle. All set against the incredible vista of Peru, which will have you wanting to book flights for your own trip there.
Worth looking out for when it is published in March 2025. I can also imagine it being adapted as a romantic comedy for the screen.
The War Nurses by Anthea Hodgson
(historical fiction)
I met Anthea Hodgson at a book event a number of years ago, where she was telling the story of discovering details about her great aunt Minnie, who served as a nurse in Singapore during the Second World War. When the Japanese attack, Minnie and her fellow nurses were forced to flee aboard the Vyner Brooke. But the ship was bombed before they reach freedom.
Some nurses ended up as prisoners of war, but others were washed ashore on Bangka Island. Some may have heard of heard of Vivien Bulwinkle, the sole survivor of the Bangka Island Massacre who miraculously made it back to Australia. The War Nurses honours the women who didn’t make it off that island.
Although The War Nurses is a work of fiction, Anthea undertook extensive research, and many of the anecdotes and details contained in the book are real.
I’ve wanted to read it ever since I heard Anthea’s story about her family history research (because I love family history, especially when it connects to bigger historical events), but I have also resisted it because I know enough about the real chain of events to realise it won’t be an easy read. But I also know it will be totally worth it. It’s one of those stories that needs to be told – and it’s next on my TBR pile.
Thankfully, I also had books by some of the other authors at the Festival of Fiction, or my bank balance would have suffered even more! Here are a few honorable mentions (I have only included their latest release, but their back list is also worth checking out):
- No Trace by Michael Trant (crime) (not pictured, on loan)
- Cutler by David Whish-Wilson (crime)
- The Venice Hotel by Tess Woods (romance, contemporary fiction)
- The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester (historical fiction) (not pictured, on loan)
Over to You
Did you attend the Festival of Fiction, or have you been to another writers festival or book event recently?
If so, what books did you add to your TBR pile?
If not, what’s on your bedside table right now?
