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Above: the current Leading Edge bestseller list. Huge thanks to the indie bookshops who put THE GLASS HOUSE there. And it’s prominent on a bunch of other lists.
For VIC BEACH PEOPLE:
We hit the Mornington Peninsula Anzac Day and Surf Coast on 30/4. See itinerary.
FOR ADELAIDE PEOPLE
May 1. One night only: A Books In Bars event at the Howling Owl. It’ll be a hoot…..See itinerary
FOR WA PEOPLE
Our first WA event is May 6 in Kalgoorlie. Then Esperance, Albany, Perth, Margaret River. Broome in August.
And a shout out to Fullers Bookshop, Hobart who matched our ‘royalties go to mental health’ donation at their event.
We are:
Graeme Simsion (https://graemesimsion.com/), author of the Rosie Project series – six million copies sold in forty languages – and other international bestsellers, including Two Steps Forward, co-authored with…
… Anne Buist (https://annebuist.com/), professor of psychiatry, Chair of Women’s Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and author of five psychological thrillers including the Natalie King series.
Our latest joint novel (published by Hachette, April 2024) is The Glass House, set in an acute psychiatric ward. It’s the first of a planned series, following trainee psychiatrist Hannah Wright through the sub-specialties as she learns on the job.
We’re involving local writers, mental-health workers, musicians, winemakers… And we want to catch up with old, current and perhaps emerging friends.
From March to July, 2024, we aim to visit every bookshop (excluding second-hand and specialist) in Australia to meet booksellers and customers, sign books, give talks and run writing seminars.
We want to particularly invite mental health workers along, and, where it’s allowed, buy them a drink. Celebrate a book that celebrates them.
We’re working with HStudios to make a documentary of the tour, focusing on the contributions and challenges of bricks-and-mortar bookshops.
We want to:
We’ll be visiting all the big cities – of course – but we also want to get to places that authors don’t visit so often. Anywhere there’s a bookshop…The program is really full – but there’s always room to squeeze another visit in – particularly if we missed a bookshop. Latest version here.
Roll up to an event in your town. Encourage your friends who live in or near towns with a bookshop to check the itinerary. If you’d like to host an event, contact Graeme. We love to hear from and work with libraries – and other organisations – but we’ll want to involve a bookshop too.
Royalties from books sold at the events will go to a mental-health organisation in that state or territory. If an organisation participates in a particular event, we’ll donate to them, but otherwise… (confirmed so far)
Victoria: Schizy Inc
Tasmania: Speak Up Stay ChatTY
Queensland: Micah Projects
Northern Territory: Sabrina’s Reach 4 Life
Western Australia: Ruah Community Services
South Australia: Villagehood
NSW & ACT: OzHelp here
Check the diary… No problems filling the calendar – fantastic support from bookshops and libraries.
A genuinely warm feeling at events. There seems to be a hunger for real books, real people, real connection.
And check the numbers. The average number at events is skewed by Graeme’s informal writing tutorials which can be quite small. But good.