Well, Adelaide's newest writers' festival, WORD, has come and gone. It was a riotous event*, despite the best efforts of the weather, and a successful one, I think. Thanks to the participation of some truly stellar guests--including Anna Funder, Shaun Tan and Richard Flanagan--and helped in no small part by a large supporting cast of actors, comedians, techies and volunteers, the last three nights have covered everything from serious discussions of politics and death right through to the popular Read Dating and Prose Jam improv events in the Cane Corner-inspired bar. I really enjoyed it.

That last sentence needs some elaboration. Normally I find writers' festivals a bit dry. I yawn through panels--often purely because they're scheduled in the afternoon, when I'm always sleepy, but sometimes because of the content--and I begin to dread yet another round of speechifying, no matter who's on the bill. The demographic spread of the crowd is often limited, demonstrating that the event is appealing to only a narrow section of the community, to which I sometimes do not belong.

Science fiction conventions, on the other hand, enjoy a much blurrier line between panel and audience, an informal approach to author presentations, and a clear emphasis on entertainment, mingling at the bar, and late nights. For me, therefore, they have an unending appeal.

On the second night of WORD, it occurred to me that I had attended most of the programmed events and was actually looking forward to those that remained. And I realised that WORD had managed to combine the best elements of both sorts of event. It was a deeply literary festival, but it was also fun.

I'm honoured to have been part of it.**

No doubt those of us on the advisory committee will be debriefing over the next few weeks, in preparation for a repeat performance next year. There will be some bugs to iron out and many new ideas to pursue. I'm hopeful that 2008's WORD will be an even bigger and better experience than this year's. And I hope that many people who, like me, yearn for a literary experience that's a little out of the ordinary, will come along to see what all the fuss was about.

*For me, WORD ended very late last night in a tiny karaoke bar on Hindley Street. Thanks to a particularly enthusiastic rendition of "Doctor Doctor", I may never sing again. (The world cheers.)

**Heartfelt thanks to everyone who came to my sessions and the "Strange Bedfellows" masterclass I took yesterday. Thanks to Fiona McIntosh for being such a fun co-presenter. And thanks to Sandy Verschoor and Christie Anthoney for inviting me along for the ride. It's been wild!

... for interviews, apparently.

Steve Wilson of Space Archaeology fame has pinned me down on the issues of Geodesica, Saturn Returns and all manner of interesting subjects. His site is fantastic, too, combining as it does two of my personal favourite things (like Haighs dark chocolate almonds). You should check it out while you're there.

And:
While it's always nice to see newer books getting attention, it's wonderful too when old books keep on keeping on. HarperCollins' edition of The Prodigal Sun has just gone into its sixth reprint here in Australia, for which I am extremely grateful.

And and:
Today marks the launch (at which I'll be speaking, briefly) of Adelaide's newest literary festival: the Fringe WORD festival, which will be unleashed upon the world next March, to coincide with the Adelaide Fringe's first year as an annual event. This comes hot on the heels of several other relatively recent gathering points for writers and readers that I've also been involved in, including the Salisbury Writers' Festival, the SA Writers' Festival, and of course the increasingly national Big Book Club/Little Big Book Club events. Perhaps there really is something in the water down here.

(Update: I've now uploaded my speech as a comment to this post.)