Kylie, Mandy, Gaile and I had a wonderful time at She Kilda and we’ve put together a little round up for you!
Mandy says:
For me, the SheKilda experience began months ago, when I found myself part of the planning committee, and the illustrator for some of the merchandise that was on sale at the convention. The months leading up to the big weekend were full of sleepless nights, constant sharing of tweets, blogs, Facebook posts and an overflowing inbox. Little did I know that the lack of sleep wasn’t going to end prior to the convention itself – oh, no – SheKilda was a weekend packed full of authors, panels, books, friends (old and new) and more than anything, laughs.
Officially, my weekend duties included playing contributing author and signing at the ‘Scarlet Stiletto: The Second Cut’ book launch with a gaggle of other writers, teaching a workshop on writing for the Scarlet Stiletto competition with fellow shoe winner and judge Jacqui Horwood, (hopefully we were able to impart some sort of good advice), and appearing on the panel ‘The Hand That Rocks The Cradle’ with Kylie Fox, Angela Savage, Leigh Redhead and Tara Moss. We’re all mums who write crime, with varying experience – both in the motherhood and writing areas. Not only was it a privilege to appear alongside such experienced authors, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, too. I also had the chance to play with a ‘dead’ body for the final scene of the convention – but I’ll let Kylie fill you in on that one!
Unofficially, SheKilda meant a weekend of way too much fun. And friends. And laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. Highlights included catching up with the fabulous Marianne Delacourt herself, spending too much time at the bar with South African Queen of Crime, Margie Orford (who had some great tales to tell about mixing motherhood and writing). But most of all, I came away with the feeling that the second SheKilda was just the beginning. The community of women crime writers in Australia is astoundingly talented and supportive of one another – and it can only get bigger and better from here.
Kylie says:
What a weekend SheKilda was! Over sixty women crime authors and experts, legions of fans and readers of the genre, a “dead” body on the pool deck, oh, and me!
I went along to SheKilda not really knowing what to expect and incredibly nervous because of that. I’ve been to plenty of Sisters in Crime events and seen many panels with these amazing authors and, often, had the opportunity to meet and chat to them. But this was to be my first time actually participating in panels – somehow without my noticing I’d become one of them!
By them, I mean those author-people that I have revered for so long. But need I have worried? In a word – no. SheKilda blended those author-people with readers and fans flawlessly, so that there was no differentiating between the two. Not sure what to say? It only took a simple, “what are you reading?” and the conversation flowed. How could it not?
I survived my panels – in fact I actually managed to enjoy myself – thanks to the marvellous co-panellists and chair-persons, who put me at my ease and enabled me to chat.
The weekend was a blur of key-note speeches, a book launch, incredibly funny, inspiring and informative panels, an awards night, too many drinks at the bar with a certain international guest and wonderful conversations.
But what will be my lasting impression of SheKilda? The camaraderie, that “sisterhood” if you’ll excuse the term, that I’ve never known to exist anywhere else. There was no hierarchy, or none that I was made to feel – the most successful writers mingled with the newbies like me but made us feel like their peers. Every single woman at the convention was inspiring in one way or another and every single one of them was encouraging and friendly.
We have some amazing talent in this country, as this convention showcased, but of equal importance, we have a support network that I think, is beyond compare.
Gaile says:
What is a ‘newbie writer’ doing at a crime convention where 66 panellists including published authors, reviewers, cops, publishers, forensic specialists and journalists were present – having a ball that’s what. The conference started with a bang on Friday evening with a cocktail party, and there was an excited happy buzz to the room. I have to say I had a few ‘Linda Blair’ moments as my head spun from side to side, to catch sight of one or the other of the abundance of celebrity authors.
However, these were not authors from on high. These were enthusiastic, joyous, incredibly warm women, who chatted with you, encouraged you, and even listened to your half-baked plots and uncertain ramblings about writing.
This wasn’t a conference where the authors congregated in their own little conclaves. That night I shared a chat and a drink with an international guest, the following day at lunch another author talked about her endeavours to get published. The workshops and panels were informal, enlightening and a huge success. And yes, those authors were still enthusiastic, still very ready to share and a sheer joy to listen to.
I think Lindy Cameron Co-convenor of the conference summed it up best – ‘Our modus operandi is fun – we’re a literary clan where a good crime is had by all.’ Amen to that!
Marianne says:
I’m on deadline, so my round up will be very brief. Simply, it was the best weekend I’ve had in a long time, full of inspiring women doing interesting important things. I came back totally recharged! Much kudos to Lindy Cameron, Carmel Shute and all the organisers for an amazing experience.
Marianne and Sister in Crime, Tara Moss
