I arrived in Melbourne this afternoon, and made sure I turned up to register with plenty of time for the Romance Writers of Australia 20th Annual Conference, which is on this weekend. The theme this year is ‘From Here to Eternity’, and is already looking like it will be a brilliant weekend. I have been to this conference before, but only when it is held in Sydney so the travelling aspect makes it a bit different
Earlier this evening I attended the fancy dress cocktail reception, which was 1920s themed. I didn’t know anyone, but I meet some new people which was nice. I left a bit before the end as I was meeting my friend Lisa for dinner, but I still had a great time and the costumes were fantastic.
Tomorrow my sessions are:
- 8.30am – 10.30am – Plenary session, ‘Once Upon A Time’
- 11am – 12.30pm – Breakout session 1 ‘The Art of Layering your story’
- 1.30pm – 2.30pm – Breakout session 2 ‘The life of a Trade Fiction book’ (have to admit I’m not really interested in this, but it was the only one not booked out by the time I registered. It should still be ok I guess.
- 2.40pm – 3.40pm – Breakout session 3 (Panel Discussion) – The Learning Curve
- 4.10pm – 5pm- Plenary session, ‘Why We love Romance’
While the conference is obviously geared towards romance writers, there is a lot that can be learned by those who are interested in other genres. For example, I am working on a fantasy setting, having started with something historical. Not that I have finished, but at least I have some guidelines, the chance of meeting critiquing partners, and eventually (if I ever finish), the chance of booking into a pitch session with editors and publishers.
I may have a long way to go before I finish, but I love attending these conferences. It is going to be a GREAT weekend!