character sketches for work-in-progress

I am working on something:

Heading into Winter

It's so cold today and mizzy. I have just finished what feels like a huge cycle of writing-related work that is not writing. I realise I haven't posted for ages and this is why: much of my time has been taken up with Mapping (Me)lbourne. This is a projected that Lisa D'Onofrio and I facilitated through Signal Youth Arts and it's been a blast. The idea was that we would find a group of people, walk the city and then map it using text, art, memories, and stories. Cartographer Martin Von Wyss came and spoke to us about traditional cartography, and over the weeks we explored ways to present the 'data' we collected. We're thrilled with how the map turned out (graphics courtesy of Kelly & Rose). Last night we launched the map with a public walk in conjunction with the Emerging Writers Festival. We were booked out and had over 30 walkers taking part. Soon I'll be able to display the map here, but until then you can pick it up at Signal or at several information points in the city - or if you're interested we can send one out to you - just send an email with your address to simmonehowell (at) hotmail (dot) com.  We're looking to do more projects like this in the future. It's been fascinating and has given me a whole new way of 'reading' the city. In the photos we are holding the finished map. The city scene happened during a writing part of the public walk. Thanks to The City of Melbourne, Signal, EWF and our lovely participants. You can read an article I wrote about the project here.

The other thing that took quite a bit of attention was putting together a YA Pecha Kucha for the Un-Conference, part of the excellent Reading Matters Conference that's happening in Melbourne as I type this. I asked myself the question: why do I wrote and read YA? Is it psychological? Am I heading into Baby Jane territory? I talked about some of my more vivid memories of adolescence - how sometimes they end up in my fiction and maybe that's a way of my attempting to understand them. I decided that reading is either an escape from the world or a way to come to terms with it ... For my slides I selected some formative YA/teen texts. Paul Zindel, Judy Blume, Robin Klein, Bron Nicholls, Meg Rosoff, Melvin Burgess, Daniel Handler ... It ended up being a good thing for me to investigate the why behind what I do ... this year has been challenging in all sorts of ways and I haven't done nearly as much writing as I would have liked. But now we're heading into Winter so hopefully I'll be able to get back in the saddle. For me, it's always a weird writing year the year a book comes out.

Speaking of Girl Defective there was a review in the Australian on the weekend. You can read it here.

So you may not hear from me for a while. If you're in Castlemaine on June 22 be sure to check out the Village festival where among the merriment, stories, lanterns and roasted chestnuts, Lisa D'Onofrio and I will have an installation/happening called The Caravan of Found Poems.

Mapping (Melbourne) Course - Participants wanted!

Are you aged 15-21?

Interested in adventures in creative mapping?

Please join our workshop! Wednesdays 5-7 at Signal, opposite Flinders Street Station. 

Mapping (Me)lbourne with Lisa D’Onofrio & Simmone Howell

Most people are familiar with the idea of maps as representations of geographical information, but mapmaking can tell our personal stories, assist us to understand the world around us and our place within it.

In Mapping (Me)lbourne you will make maps that are not just for directions but are works of art and inspired imagination. Meet a cartographer, undertake urban wanderings, create a map using writing, photography and collage.

Your maps will be published and distributed as alternative city guides.

Dates:Wednesdays from 17 April to 15 May


Time: 5pm to 7pm


Cost: Free



Bookings essential: book online 

Out in the World

OK, Girl Defective has been out for about a month now. Big thanks to the people who have bought it, read it, stuck up stickers and in general helped put the word out. I thought I'd link to some interviews/reviews so that they're all in the one place.

There was an article by Jason Steger in the Age here
An interview with the Wheeler Centre here
An interview with Danielle Binks aka Alphareader here
Some love on the Ladies Of YA podcast here
and a review from Steph Bowe who digs on the nostalgia.

In other news: here's what I've been reading:

I'll Tell You Mine  - Pip Harry

Goth girl with big secret gets kicked out of home to board at her school. I loved the character of Kate who is dark, messy, troubled but getting there, getting to like herself and her life. Excellent realistic contemporary YA.

Shadows by Paula Weston
A so-fast-it-crackles ride featuring a great female protagonist and hot fallen angels, rooted in myth but firmly set in an urban environment. The second book in the series Haze is just about to pop so I'm looking forward to falling into Gabe's world again, this time I'll have my wits about me :)

Freia Lockhart's Summer of Awful - Aimee Said
Freia's voice funny, awkward and true. In this, the sequel to Finding Freia Lockhart she foibly family, not-always forthcoming friends, confusing boyfriend and irritating oldsters. Said is great on the little details and there were moments reading this where I smiled myself silly. NB: there is also a recipe for peanut butter-y brownies in the back of the book. Aces.

Everything Left Unsaid - Jessica Davidson
A book about first love and life. Moving and sad and lovely. Written in alternate boy/girl voices. I loved Jessica's first book, a verse novel called Blue ... I love how real her characters are and how in the telling you get the seriousness of teenage relationships and the sometimes gulf between child and parent. Anyway, Get tissues.

Fly - Ann Witherall
Set in Melbourne's punk scene - this is not YA but has a teen protagonist, a runaway. Fast, furious, visceral.  I am slowly collecting my books about Melbourne's subcultures and this sits alongside Michelle Moo's  Glory This and Sharpie and Top Fellas... all books published independently of course but deserving of a wider readership...


Willeford's reading Arkie Sparkle, The Nim Stories, Once upon a Slime and Tom Gates.

Girl Defective giveaway winners!

WINNERS OF GIRL DEFECTIVE GIVEAWAY

Thanks to all who entered! I wish I could send my book around willy-nilly - I will say that it is quite cheap on Bookworld if you're an e-reader ... costs the same as two fancy coffees and less than a trip to the movies to see a likely crap Hollywood movie!


AUSTRALIA

Georgia!

@GeorgiaHille

@Postteeen Elliot Smith's Needle In The Hay. It feels like spiders/ Crawling all over your arms/ But in a good way #girldefective

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Emily!

‏@gonnella93

@Postteen Sweet Child of Mine by Guns&Roses it was the first thing that brought Dad and I together as people not just family #girldefective

Exciting Book News!

I can now announce the following:

		Children's: Young Adult		Simmone Howell's GIRL DEFECTIVE, pitched as a teen noir "High Fidelity" featuring a 15-year-old girl, her older, wilder best friend, and her kid brother, who go to the dark heart of their Coney Island-esque suburb in search of startling truths by way of teenage raves, rock star spawn, violent fangirls, and strange, true love, to Namrata Tripathi at Atheneum, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Unconventional Women/Defective Girls

Reading Alannah Hill's My Secret Melbourne sent me into delicious reverie. I attach her to my memory of old St Kilda and I completely wish she would write a book about her coming-to-vision and early years. I have a dream project of writing about incredible/inspirational/odd women for young girls - and Alannah Hill is on my list. NB: Occasionally I wear a flower in my hair but I am not an Alannah Hill type - I wear jeans (in winter). I own, like, one bra. I read that AH is peeved by women-without-lipstick - and you know, all my glamour is in my head, but I remember her sitting in the Indigo store on Chapel Street around 1987 with her black bob and Kewpie-doll mouth and she was formidable. I love her story of arriving from Tassie with suitcases of clothes - and sleeping in her suitcase. It calls to mind Madonna arriving in New York with stretch tights and fifty bucks in her pocket - or even Carrie from Sex & the City sleeping on her fur coat which in turn makes me think of Loco in How to Marry a Millionaire conning men into buying her groceries... These were wily women with dreams! Making their own opportunities!

(Speaking of I just found this series version of HTMAM with Barbara Eden as Loco. Enjoy!)