One of the greatest pleasures of my work is meeting readers around Australia. Although Sydney is home, I always enjoy the opportunity to travel and share my love of literature with audiences elsewhere. Each city has its own character, but everywhere I go I find the same enthusiasm for great books and lively literary conversation.
This month I’ll be spending a few days in Adelaide, where I have some talks planned. But one thing I’ve realised, however, is that many readers of this newsletter don’t know when I’ll be visiting their city. I’d hate for anyone to miss a talk simply because they hadn’t heard I was coming. Although you can always see my schedule on my Talks, Lectures & Events page and in each newsletter, I am often asked when I’ll be in Melbourne or Brisbane.
So, would you take a moment to update your subscription details to include your location? It only takes a minute, and it means I can let you know when I’m planning a visit. Please update your subscription on my Sign Up page, use the Update link at the foot of all my emails, or simply reply to my newsletter email. I won’t use your location for anything else – it simply helps me keep you informed about events that might be of interest.
Join me in Sydney to help the plight of homeless cats
Also this month, there is a very special Sydney event on 23 July. I am delighted to be joining the Cat Protection Society of NSW for a fundraising talk about my book Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them.
I’ll tell you about the novelist Alexandre Dumas, who formed a Feline Protection Society in 1845, one of the first such societies in the world. He persuaded several of his literary friends to become members – Guy de Maupassant and Anatole France both joined. Dumas believed in putting his love of cats into a practical and national way of helping our feline friends.
The Cat Protection Society does wonderful work caring for cats and helping them find safe, loving homes, so this promises to be an especially happy occasion. I hope many of my Sydney readers will come along, enjoy some literary feline stories, and support a very worthwhile cause.
One of the joys of literature is that it brings people together, and it is always a delight to meet fellow readers – and cat lovers – in person. What do you think? Please leave a comment.
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