The Slightest Hint of Magic: Kate Forsyth

As many of you will know (probably all too well as I keep cracking on about it), I'll be 'in-conversation' with Kate Forsyth next Saturday at the Newcastle Writers Festival. Kate is an amazing writer whose work seems to bridge every genre gap. She's written some 26 books, some for children, some for adults, and some that work perfectly for both children and adult.  A number of her books are true fantasy, rich with magic and myth, adventure and quests. Others are historical fiction, love stories, fairy tale re-tellings, picture books.  Kate also writes, and has had published, a number of essays and articles, and even poetry. 

Whatever she writes seems to have a touch of magic in it - sometimes just the magic of epiphany and character transformation, and sometimes overt magic of the sort that comes with high fantasy.  No matter how much magic Kate has in her work, it's always natural, subtly handled, and integral to and integrated with the plot.  Her latest novel is The Wild Girl, which I've reviewed here: http://www.compulsivereader.com/2014/03/10/a-review-of-the-wild-girl-by-kate-forsyth/. The Wild Girl is set during the Napoleonic Wars and tells the story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild, the young woman who told Wilhelm most of the fairy tales that made him famous.

Next weekend, Kate and I will talk about a wide range of things, including her 'creative journey', how she manages the balance between publishing and research, about what draws her to fairy tales, about the "silent" but fascinating women in history, about storytelling and what it means to be a professional storyteller, the conjunction between reading and writing, and many other things.  There will be plenty of time for the audience to ask Kate their questions and interact with us.  To get hold of tickets, either drop by here: http://www.newcastlewritersfestival.org.au/saturday-program/2014/2/13/kate-forsyth-in-conversation or you can spend a little more and chance a sell-out, by getting them at the door.  Either way, I expect this to be a fascinating and enjoyable session with just the slightest hint of magic.