I never can say goodbye…

The combined demands of a busy (but highly satisfying) day job and supporting my daughter through Year 12 meant I started 2023 with the intention of temporarily winding back my involvement at writers festivals and events.

So far, I rate my performance as an epic fail!

In my defense, I’ve only said yes to gigs that fall in the eight weeks between the 11-12 May conference I am organising for Public Libraries Victoria, and the start of my daughter’s third semester at high school mid-July. Here are the upcoming events that are public so far.

First up is the Queenscliffe Literary Festival, a great-looking program over three weekends in May. I’ll be attending on the middle weekend, 20-21 May, with two appearances on Sunday 21 May.

Sunday 21 May 2023, 11.30AM
Queenscliff Town Hall
Hear Rebecca Giblin, co-author of Chokepoint Capitalism, Angela Savage and Jock Serong discuss how the creative sector can take back the power and profit from giant corporations. Chair: Paul Barclay

Sunday 21 May 2023, 3.30PM
Reckoning with Australia’s Troubled History
Queenscliff Town Hall
Acclaimed author Jock Serong evokes the endurance and dignity of Aboriginal resistance to God and guns in The Settlement, his third novel to grapple with the complexity of our colonial past. Jock Serong in conversation with Angela Savage

Tickets here.

The following week I have the privilege and pleasure of launching Dennis Altman’s first crime novel, Death in the Sauna at Readings Carlton. Death in the Sauna is set during an international AIDS Conference in London, 2003, with the conference chair found dead in suspicious circumstances. In real life, Dennis and I often crossed paths at international AIDS conferences. I’d studied his groundbreaking book, AIDS and the New Puritanism, at university in the late-1980s, which was one of the things that influenced my decision to work on HIV/AIDS projects for more than ten years.

Here’s the blurb and booking link from Readings:

Join Angela Savage to celebrate the launch of Dennis Altman’s brilliant crime novel, Death in the Sauna.

You will already know Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, Professor Dennis Altman from his extensive collection of work exploring sexuality, politics and their inter-relationship in Australia, the United States and now globally. He now turns his piercing gaze to fiction and creating the perfect ‘who did it’ novel.

Free, but bookings are essential. Please book here.

Finally (for now!) on Sunday 4 June, I will be giving two workshops on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula for the Peninsula Writers Club as follows:

Never Just Description: Using Setting to Enhance Your Story (morning) , and Pathways to Publication (afternoon)

This workshop is ideal for writers who are focusing on writing setting and a sense of place in their works. A strong sense of place helps transport readers into the world created by a novel. Without it, readers can feel lost, frustrated, and the pleasure of reading is diminished. Angela will focus on how to bring a place to life and create an evocative sense of place without sacrificing plot or pace. Writers of all abilities welcome.

See here for more information and bookings.

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