Yesterday in Maleny

Yesterday, I was due to do a reading at the Outspoken festival in Maleny (thanks to Steven Lang for the invite and Kate Eltham for the recommendation!), so Significant Other and I jumped in the car mid-afternoon for the drive up the Bruce Highway. Coz we weren’t sure what the traffic would be like – or the roadworks! – we set out early, figuring we could while away time at Mapleton, Monteville and Maleny before the soundcheck at 5.30.

We stopped in at Nambour for a late lunch, then meandered up to Mapleton and sat by the lily ponds for a while – me practising my pieces for the night, SO listening and giving pointers. Then we wandered along to Monteville, where we looked at the shops and marvelled at how nice it is when not filled with tourists … and yes, we went to Fudgyboombahs coz you’d be crazy not to and we’re not that crazy. $15.00 worth of fudge later … yes, we felt a bit ill, but were happy. And then we trundled along to Maleny and checked out the main drag, counting 4 bookshops and 5 real estate agencies, among the other shops. We pressed our noses against the windows of the lovely Rosetta Books and then headed over to the community centre.

Insert montage here and flash forward to 6.30. I read two pieces,
“Skin” (from The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales) and then the beginning of the “The Shadow Tree” (from Sourdough and Other Stories), which everyone seemed to enjoy.

But the real reason we were there was American author Ann Patchett. She was delightful, funny, sharp, witty, gracious, unpretentious and very, very clever. It was great to listen to her talk about her writing process (no more than one draft because she works it all out in her head first), her friendship with the poet Lucy Grealy, the current state of the US, burnt rumaki, writing about shoes, and faking confidence in what you’ve done … and naming remote fictional Amazonian tribes after your favourite breakfast cereal. Anyone heading to the Brisbane Writers Festival to hear her is in for a treat.