Cover reveal | Public.Open.Space is 'one to watch' | 2022 book recs | Tips for a New Year creative reset
With hopes for a gentler, happ(ier) and more creative new year
Welcome to my initial words, thoughts and ponderings of 2023. This enews includes some Public. Open. Space. news, a summary of my 2022 reading and writing year, and tips for a creative reset to help you start the New Year strong.
Public. Open. Space. cover reveal
Beyond delighted to share the beautiful cover of my debut poetry collection, Public. Open. Space., coming soon from Fremantle Press.
Gobsmacked and grateful for the endorsement as ‘a poet to watch’ by Maxine Beneba Clarke, for Anna-Maley Fadgyas and Yuri Hoyda’s design, and the whole Fremantle Press team. SQUEEEEEEEEEE!
Launching mid-year. Register on the Fremantle Press website for updates.
2022 fave reads and book recs
I blew my personal reading record out of the water last year, topping out at 212 books in 2022.
My fave books of the year were: Living on Stolen Land by Ambelin Kwaymullina, an extraordinary poetic manifesto and practical guidebook to living on unceded First Nations land (that I think should be compulsory reading for every non-Indigenous Australian); and This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan – a funny, thoughtful and nurturing non-memoiry memoir about the importance (particularly for women) of resisting the loss of and/or re-finding the joy in the things we love.
I also read 52 books for the #AustralianWomenWriters challenge, 105 for #WeNeedDiverseBooks and 11 because I #LoveOzYA. Check out all my 2022 book recs on my website for more.
2022 in writing
My writing year began low and slow and went out on the highest of notes, with Public. Open. Space. going to print, and its inclusion as ‘one to watch out for’ in The Age / Sydney Morning Herald’s list of standout titles you’re going to read in 2023.
Others to watch out for are Omar Sakr’s Non-essential Work (UQP, April); and Kate Larsen’s Public.Open.Space (Fremantle, July), her debut after a decade working as an insta poet.
Jane Sullivan, The Age/SMH, 20 December 2022
I also wrote and spoke a lot about arts and non-profit governance, and my #LessIsNecessary campaign about ‘post’-pandemic and post-burnout workforces and what we can do to support them, as well as arts and cultural policy, managing a precarious freelance career, and The Relationship is the Project (which we made available as a free online ebook for the first time).
And I made my first awkward steps towards working less and writing more this year, with the launch of my first Patreon (where you can support my #RethinkingArtsGovernance research and other works in progress from just $2.50/month).
Tips for a New Year creative reset
Wellbeing, self-care and duty of care have been particularly heavy issues in the arts over the past few years [and everywhere else]. Like all for-purpose industries staffed by those who believe in it most, we’ve always been better at making sure the show can go on than we have been in taking care of ourselves – and that was during the good times, which feels like very long ago.
Ahead of our February webinar (below), creative coach Clare Travis and I shared our top tips for those in need of a creative reset with Artshub.
Starting the new year strong
Join Clare and I in February for an extended webinar on Starting the New Year Strong: coaching ourselves and our teams through ‘post’-pandemic exhaustion.
You'll come away with thought-provoking ideas to consider and practical strategies to navigate the challenges of the post-peak-COVID era. A number of free places are available for independent practitioners, unwaged or low-waged participants.
And another thing…
In December, I launched ‘and another thing’, a new vlog series on things that interest and/or infuriate me - exclusively for my amazing Patreon followers. The first one starts with a recent ArtsHub article about Theatre Network Australia's report that says 51% of independent artists are currently considering a career change or leaving the arts entirely. Here’s a sneak peek…
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Shout out to my patrons
Patreon is one of the strategies writers, artists and thinkers can employ to support our work. I am new to this awkward adventure, but already overwhelmed by the support and generosity of my amazing patrons, including: Laurie, Kate, Alex, Jade, Jenine, Rachel, Gareth, Emma, Cassie, Lucy, Leanne, Alysha, Jill and Shantel. Thank you, all.