‘Murder the only thing not planned’ at Tasmania’s newest literary festival

Singapore-based crime writer Shamini Flint is the international guest of honour at the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival at Cygnet. The new event offers panel sessions, workshops and masterclasses, and a free community and children’s program.

Malaysian-born lawyer-turned-author Shamini Flint is a guest speaker at Tasmania’s newest literary festival.

LEADING Australian and international crime writers will meet in Tasmania this month at the state’s newest biennial literary festival.

The Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival at Cygnet, founded by Huon Valley-based crime writer L.J.M. Owen (author of the Dr Pimms series), will run from October 31 until November 3.

The inaugural event is headlined by a who’s who of crime-writing luminaries, including Tara Moss, Tasmanian author David Owen and Singapore-based Shamini Flint, the festival’s international guest of honour.

“The festival organisers are doing things a little bit differently,” says Flint, author of the Inspector Singh Investigates series, which is currently being developed for television by the BBC.

“They’re having panels where people can submit their writing, and panels on how to get books to TV. It seems to have a more varied approach. There’s much more interaction and chatting than I’m used to at festivals. I think it’s going to be great fun.”

The event’s overarching theme is Murder She Wrote — A Criminally Good Time, a celebration of crime and mystery fiction written by women expressed through ticketed panel sessions, workshops and masterclasses, and events such as Noir at the Bar and a Murder Mystery Party involving guest panellists. During these, Flint and her peers will discuss their own journeys as crime writers, their favourite authors and the craft of crime-writing.

Flint, formerly a corporate lawyer, started writing about 15 years ago while a stay-at-home mum. Her latest book, published this year, is an international thriller, The Beijing Conspiracy.

“I started picture books with Asian content because, sadly, even 15 years ago there was hardly anything that reflected the lives of people growing up in this part of the world,” she says.

“I remember from my childhood that sense of alienation. Looking back, [there was] that sense of not belonging or not being important enough to feature in literature. You take that message on board young and it stays with you pretty much forever.”

The Malaysian author is best known for the Inspector Singh Investigates crime series. “Inspector Singh Investigates has recently been optioned for television, so I’m a little bit excited about the idea that he may make the screen in a year or two,” Flint says. “I have a right to consultation, but I certainly can’t say [to them] ‘This is completely wrong’. But if they turn Inspector Singh into a talking cat, I’ll probably go with it. I have no pride — although I’m assuming it won’t come to that.”

Flint is part of multiple sessions, including: Opportunity — how do a lawyer and a journalist become crime fiction writers, with Meg Keneally; The Mirror Crack’d — from the page to the screen, with Debi Marshall; and Scene of the Crime, with Angela Savage.

“It will be a weekend of full-on crime — possibly not the committing of one, but that depends on how resentful I feel about any of my fellow guests I suppose,’ Flint says.

“You never know. So far a murder is about the only thing that hasn’t been planned to make this as exciting as possible.”

For more information and to book tickets to the writers’ festival, visit terroraustralisfestival.com

Doing things by the book reaches fever pitch

PITCH to a Publisher is one of the headline events at the Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival at Cygnet.

The ticketed event on Friday, November 1 is for writers looking to progress their careers, and includes an opportunity to pitch to and receive feedback from three traditional publishers, as well as afternoon tea with authors Tara Moss and Shamini Flint.

“Pitch to the Publisher sessions are really valuable to writers because they’re getting feedback from people in the industry on the spot,” says commissioning editor and publisher at Bonnier/Echo, Angela Meyer (pictured), who is part of the session.

“Usually there’s a lot of barriers to getting through to editors and publishers. As a publisher you definitely go into these sessions thinking you might discover an author you might one day end up publishing.

“I have actually found manuscripts at pitching sessions before, and one was a crime novel.”

Meyer, author of A Superior Spectre, is a guest speaker at multiple panel sessions and masterclasses.

The festival, which runs from October 31 to November 3, offers professional development sessions for writers, with panel discussions, workshops and masterclasses led by Meyer, award-winning actress Marta Dusseldorp, Angela Savage (director of Writers Victoria), and authors L.J.M. Owen (who will launch her new book, The Great Divide), David Owen, Jack Heath, Tansy Rayner Roberts (Livia Day) and Meg Keneally among others.

There is also a free children’s program — not bound by the crime theme — and free entry to the all-genre Hall of Writers, which provides access to authors, publishers, book stalls, an Alley of Children’s Books and book launches.

The festival is followed by the Trail of Writers’ Tears (November 3-5), which begins with the First Dog on the Moon’s Words & Whisky event, and includes a range of cooking classes, bookbinding classes and feasts.

To book visit terroraustralisfestival.com