In 2011 I…
went on the longest and most incredible trip of my life (with the love of my life) to France, England, Scotland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Germany
failed to read 20 classics, but I read half of that and will continue the project in 2012
had fiction published in Seizure and on Capsule and Verity La
reviewed books for LiteraryMinded, Bookseller+Publisher, Australian Book Review, and Cordite. Also began reviewing for Australian newspapers & American website Bookslut
Wrote an article for Newswrite
left Crikey
hosted some guest posts (thank you, all, for your words)
commissioned some bite-sized book reviews
helped my darling boyfriend remove a spider from his ear
won a haiku competition
took a tour of the city I live in
got to know a good friend better through unfortunate circumstances
went ooh ahh over Chris Currie’s literary proposal
missed my parents
finished a second draft of my novel-in-progress and started a third draft (oh, and got longlisted for an international competition, but I don’t know how long the longlist is so let’s wait and see if I get on the shortlist to tell you more…)
attended the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards
exercised three to four times a week
boozed five to seven days a week
interviewed Jon Ronson, Meg Mundell, Christopher Currie, Mardi McConnochie, Bronwyn Mehan, Dominic Smith, Miles Vertigan and Carrie Tiffany (forthcoming). Gerard Elson interviewed Dave Graney, Kent MacCarter chatted to Dean Wareham, and Walter Mason introduced us to Jeremy Fernando
got a pit pooey over the Miles Franklin short shortlist
was a guest of Perth Writers Festival and the Williamstown Literary Festival (aka Willy Lit Fest) and was media at Sydney Writers Festival, Melbourne Writers Festival and the Emerging Writers’ Festival
saw my favourite American author Michael Cunningham in Sydney, Melbourne and London (coincidentally, I swear, though I didn’t ask any questions at the Guardian Book Club event in London as I was paranoid he might remember my face and think I was stalking him around the world)
made it to the half-way point in my DCA, and managed to stay on track
published three of my short stories (previously published in magazines/journals) as ebooks
was saddened by the deaths of Hazel Rowley and Diana Gribble
shared some thoughts on reviewing books
participated in a hashtag called #bowiejunk
bought my first real artwork, by Czech artist Yuriy Nozdrin (from a small gallery called Godot, where Terry Gilliam and Hillary Clinton shop)
was a judge in the Sydney Writers’ Centre’s Best Australian Blogs Competition (the winner of my category was Bothersome Words)
taught teenagers for the first time
saw films at the beautiful art deco theatre The Astor, and at one of my favourite institutions ACMI (where I also saw a real, live astronaut)
embraced the announcement of the Stella Prize and vowed to read more writing by women (and bring to other people’s attention great books by women)
developed mad crushes on Benedict Cumberbatch and Rob Brydon
went to Tasmania (twice) which means I’ve now visited every state and territory in Australia
started eating a lot more veges after signing up for weekly organic fruit + veg boxes, through Ceres
was a guest blogger for Southerly
celebrated LiteraryMinded‘s fourth birthday
attended a very romantic and fun wedding of two writer friends
learnt about single malt whisky
did not make it all the way through one literary journal, despite the pile of them I was given, bought and subscribed to
was interviewed by Alec Patric for Verity La
yearned to make friends with something four-legged
didn’t get to as many Wheeler Centre events as I’d have liked, but most recently enjoyed Tom Stoppard
had to turn down appearing at the Wheeler Centre twice for different reasons (do try me again in 2012 guys, if something suits)
was asked to be a Maid of Honour for my best friend in 2012
was Gil in Midnight in Paris
gave my first academic paper at an international conference
didn’t achieve my aim of writing and sending off a short story every two months
didn’t attend a single literary Christmas party (opted to catch up with friends one-on-one instead)
found out that reading fiction can be addictive and unhealthy, oh my
went to Grinderman (mmm, the Cave-man), The Flaming Lips, The Tallest Man on Earth, Dave Graney & the Lurid Yellow Mist, Noah Taylor & the Sloppy Boys, many of the @tweet_film evenings and Ben Pobjie’s comedy show
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Despite what it looks like, not actually as busy as 2010 and 2009! And it was a truly satisfying year for me. Nothing beats spending ten weeks overseas. What does 2012 hold? By the end of it I should almost be finished my doctorate. By mid-year I’ll probably be ready to float my novel out into the world. It’d be wonderful if 2012 or 2013 held a novel contract in them, but if not, I already have an idea for the next one! It’s all about enjoying what you’re doing, isn’t it? And in 2012 I’ll be starting to save my pennies again because we’re thinking about moving to Scotland for a year mid- to late-2013. And in 2012 there’ll be more festivals, reviews and hopefully plenty of good times with friends. My only resolution is to be more charitable and active in causes I believe in.
Thank you all so much for reading, and for sticking by me when I moved back to the quiet backwaters of the internet. I appreciate your likes, comments, follows, retweets etc. so much. Happy New Year. Hope yours is amazing.
