Three Deloraine writers have been published as part of The People’s Library project, and are bringing their works back to the region early.
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Heather Ewings, Isabel Shapcott and Pearl Maya are all featured in the project, along with Avery McDougall, Freya Su, and Rachel Edwards.
Launched in Hobart on Friday, September 7, The People’s Library is a collection of 113 manuscripts donated by 150 Tasmanian writers from across the state.
The collected stories come in a range of lengths and genre across fiction and non-fiction.
This Sunday, the Deloraine Write In will host an event at the Empire Hotel to celebrate the People’s Library writers from the state’s north – giving the writers an opportunity to read from their books and share their stories with those back home.
Under the People’s Library rules, the books are not available for sale but are displayed at the Long Gallery in Salamanca throughout September, before becoming available to local libraries.
With over 180 submissions made, the Library organisers Justy Phillips and Margaret Woodward had to extend the original proposal of 100 books to 113 to ensure none of the best missed out.
The writers had only a few months to finish writing and editing before submissions were due.
“The pressure became part of the fun,” said Heather Ewings.
Ms Ewings has had short stories published before, but What The Tide Brings is her first novel.
“Meeting deadlines goes without saying when you are looking to have work published and it is just a case of rising to the challenge,” she said.
“I have a passion for history as well as myths and folklore, and this book combines those to create a story featuring selkies.”
Isabel Shapcott’s book reworks popular fairy tales from the perspective of the older woman often portrayed as the villain.
“So often these stories were originally told in ways that minimised and undercut the role of women in society and I’m hoping that Reweaving the World goes some way to redressing the balance, or at least giving readers the opportunity to think about the importance of who is telling the story in the first place,” she said.
“It has been a labour of love and I’m so pleased that it is now out in the world.”
Pearl Maya wrote a collection of short stories about people at crossroads in their life.
“The Red Beanie and Other Stories looks at a range of circumstances including a teenage carer, the role of families, alcoholism, the challenges of farming and more,” Ms Maya said.
“None of the instances are big, they are normal situations with normal people who have choices, and not always easy ones.”
The Deloraine Write In meets at the Empire Hotel every Friday from 10.30am.
Writers of all levels are welcome to bring their projects and join the group.
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