ONE-DAY LITERARY EVENT
Words at Pearls
Saturday 2 November 2024, 9:45 – 16:30
Pearl Beach Memorial Community Hall, 9 Diamond Road, Pearl Beach, NSW
DAY PASS $95 including GST + booking fee
Inspired by Life
Join us for a day of author panels, in-conversation sessions and all things literary when we launch Words at Pearls.
Created in partnership between Words on the Waves and the Pearl Beach Progress Association, Words at Pearls will be held on Saturday 2 November at the Pearl Beach Memorial Community Hall.
All the books you’ll hear about at Words at Pearls have something that ties them back to the author’s ‘real’ life. Hear from John Brogden as his discusses his new book in which he interviews 15 suicide survivors and discover why James O’Loghlin‘s crime thriller is set near his holiday house on the Central Coast. Join our debut author panel and learn about Jessica Kirkness‘ childhood as a GODA (grandchild of Deaf adults), listen to Lisa Kenway talk about how her psychological thriller was inspired by her work as an anaesthetist, Daniel Tamone talk about his book The Fists of the Father which is set in Western Sydney where Daniel grew up, and Deborah Pike on her funny and heart-warming debut, The Players. And what better way to end the day than with opera singer Katherine Wiles as she talks about life in the glorious chorus and shares hilarious stories of backstage antics.
The doors will open at 9.00am, and the event will start at 9:45am with Acknowledgement of Country and welcome notes. Your promptness is appreciated.
Program
9:45am – 10:00am
Introductions & Acknowledgement of Country
10:00am – 11:00am
Writing in My Backyard
James O’Loghlin. Moderated by Suzanne Leal.
Let James O’Loghlin introduce you to the sleepy coastal town of Bullford Point…
Handywoman Barb Young has lived in Bullford Point for over fifty years – and frankly, in that time, not much has happened, unless you count that business where a bush turkey managed to board the ferry a couple of years ago. When Joe Griffiths returns from Sydney after six years of drug addiction, jail and, eventually, rehab, Barb offers him a job, hoping to help him turn his life around. However, when another new resident of Bullford Point is murdered, Joe becomes the prime suspect. Barb thinks the police have got it wrong, but the more she tries to find the truth and clear Joe’s name, the more confusing things become.
Join James as he talks us through using real-world inspiration for fictional plots, how similar is ‘too’ similar and the point at which he let his imagination run wild.
11:00am – 11:30am
Book Signings with Umina Beach Book Nook
11:30am – 12:30pm
It Starts with an Idea
Jessica Kirkness, Daniel Tamone, Deborah Pike and Lisa Kenway. Moderated by Caroline Overington.
How do you even start writing your first book? Join debut authors Jessica Kirkness, Daniel Tamone, Deborah Pike and Lisa Kenway as, led by Caroline Overington, they discuss where their ideas come from, how real-life experiences can become part of fiction, what publishing their first book has taught them and so much more.
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Book Signings with Umina Beach Book Nook & Lunch Break
Please note: Lunch boxes can be ordered before the start of the event at the Hall. There will be a table at the Hall where you can order and pay (please bring cash). Lunch will be delivered to the hall for collection at the lunch break. The lunch box will cost $15 and will contain a sandwich & a slice of plain cake.
1:30pm – 2:30pm
The Day Everything Changed
John Brogden
Every day, nine Australians take their own lives. Nineteen years ago, John Brogden came very close to adding his name to these statistics. But John survived and, since his recovery, he has become a passionate voice for mental health and suicide prevention.
In Profiles in Hope, John has gathered some incredible Australians to tell their stories of suicide and survival. Join John as he discusses these deeply personal accounts of survival, recovery and lives of purpose.
2:30pm – 3:00pm
Book Signings with Umina Beach Book Nook
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Singing All the Way
Katherine Wiles
In all theatre, the spotlight follows the leads, making it easy for the audience to overlook the role of the singers, dancers and actors who bring a production to life. Katherine Wiles is used to being dismissed as ‘singing wallpaper’ by those who incorrectly assume she’s an opera chorister because she ‘didn’t quite make it’. But she and her proud and passionate chorus colleagues are exactly where they want to be.
Join Katherine as she offers a rare glimpse into a fascinating world that fans of opera – and the performing arts in general – know very little about.
4:00pm – 4:30pm
Book Signings with Umina Beach Book Nook
Speakers
John Brogden
John Brogden is an Australian businessman, former politician, former Chair of Lifeline Australia and the Honorary President of LifeLine International.
John’s career in politics started when he became a member of the Parliament of New South Wales in 1996. In 2002, he was elected Leader of the Opposition on his 33rd birthday – the youngest person ever to lead a major political party in Australia.
A global leader in suicide prevention and crisis helplines, John’s passion for mental illness recovery stems from his own suicide attempt which marked a turning point in his life and reframed the public discourse around depression and suicide.
Katherine Wiles
Australian–New Zealand opera singer Katherine Wiles has been a permanent member of the Opera Australia Chorus since 2007. She has performed and understudied several principal roles with Opera Australia, State Opera South Australia, New Zealand Opera and several companies throughout the United Kingdom. Her career highlights include performing at the Edinburgh Festival; guest soloist onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, Scotland; touring Australia with the 60th-anniversary production of My Fair Lady, directed by Dame Julie Andrews; and performing in the Concert Hall at Sydney Opera House.
Katherine holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the University of Auckland; FTCL Voice from Trinity College, London; and a Master of Music (Advanced Opera) from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is the Australian Ambassadorial Advisor for the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, New Zealand, and continues to perform full-time with Opera Australia.
Suzanne Leal (moderator)
Suzanne Leal is the author of novels The Watchful Wife, The Teacher’s Secret and The Deceptions, winner of the Nib Literary Award People’s Choice Prize. A lawyer working in criminal law and child protection, Suzanne is an experienced facilitator at community, corporate and literary events. She is a board member of the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival and founder of Thursday Book Club, a relaxed book club connecting readers online.
James O’Loghlin
James O’Loghlin is a comedian, television and radio host, and author of thirteen books. He began his career as a corporate lawyer, realised it wasn’t for him, and became a criminal lawyer and a comedian. He has hosted four television shows – including The New Inventors on ABC-TV for eight years – and presented programs on ABC Local Radio for fifteen years.
In 2021 his first play, Television, was shortlisted for the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award and was Highly Commended by the judges of the Silver Gull Play Award. James co-hosts the mental health podcast ‘Minding Your Mind’ with Professor Ian Hickie.
Liars is James’ thirteenth book, and second novel for adults. His first novel, Criminals, was published by Echo Publishing in 2022.
James lives in Sydney with his wife and three daughters and has a weekender on the Central Coast.
Caroline Overington (moderator)
Caroline Overington is a travel writer, documentary maker, and the literary editor for The Weekend Australian. She is a two-time winner of the Walkley Award for Investigative Journalism, and a winner of the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Excellence in Journalism. She is the author of fifteen books, including Kickback: Inside the AWB Scandal, which won the $30,000 Blake Dawson Prize for Business Literature; and Last Woman Hanged, which won the 2016 Davitt Prize. She has been a judge of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards in fiction; and a judge of the Vogel Prize for emerging writers; and she is currently a judge for The Australian Fiction Prize. She lives with her husband, John, in Bondi; they have five glorious kids.
Daniel Tamone
Daniel Tamone grew up in Sydney. He now lives on the NSW Central Coast with his wife Lisa and three children, Arielle, Levi and Benji. He played several seasons with the Parramatta Two Blues as part of the Shute Shield rugby competition before ‘retiring’ from the sport.
Daniel works in financial services and has contributed to financial news provider Livewire Markets.
The Fists of the Father is his debut novel.
Jessica Kirkness
Jessica is the author of The House With All The Lights On, a memoir about growing up with two Deaf grandparents. She has a PhD in the fields of Life Writing and Disability Studies, and teaches nonfiction writing at Macquarie University. Her writing has been shotflisted for various prizes such as The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers, The Peter Blazey Fellowship, and the Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship. Jessica’s work has been published in Meanjin, The Guardian, Women’s Agenda, and The Conversation as well as academic journals.
Lisa Kenway
Lisa Kenway is an emerging Australian writer. Her debut psychological thriller, All You Took From Me, was released in August 2024 by Transit Lounge Publishing. Longlisted for the 2020 Richell Prize, this novel was inspired by her work as an anaesthetist and a longstanding fascination with memory and consciousness.
Deborah Pike
Deborah is a writer and academic based in Sydney. She grew up in Northam and Perth, Western Australia. She has an Honours degree in English from the University of Western Australia, and a PhD from the University of Sydney. She is an associate professor of English Literature at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, and is a winner of an Australian Government Award for University Teaching. Deborah has travelled widely and lived in Paris for several years, where she held positions at Shakespeare & Company Bookstore, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the University of Paris VII and the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). She is the author of The Subversive Art of Zelda Fitzgerald, which was shortlisted for the AUHE award in literary criticism. The Players is her first novel.
Event Partners
The Pearl Beach Progress Association was formed in 1929 by some of the original residents of Pearl Beach. The Association now works to promote the best interests of the ratepayers and residents of Pearl Beach, protect and enhance the environment and encourage nature conservation within the village of Pearl Beach, and to maintain the Association’s Memorial Community Hall.
The Umina Beach Book Nook is friendly spot for book lovers at beautiful Umina Beach on the Central Coast. Although we’re small we’re packed with the latest new releases, classic reads, a comprehensive kids selection and oodles of lovely gifts and cards. Whether you’re a serious bibliophile or just want an easy holiday read, we can help.
