Fingers crossed… 

Just wanted to say that the SWF has barely acknowledged women’s fiction beyond one token panel every couple of years. The problem is that the broad genre – which includes romance – is treated as something separate, even something of a novelty. A publicist told me once that attitudes won’t change until authors of popular women’s fiction are included on random panels covering all aspects of writing – thereby treating them like the experienced writers they are, who have plenty of wisdom to impart about the craft of writing in general, not just about romance or chick lit or whatever.

I don’t know if it will ever happen; the biggest-selling authors in Australia, people like Matthew Reilly, Bryce Courtney, Di Morrissey, are rarely asked to appear at the major literary festivals. A publisher told me that literary authors get the festivals, and genre authors get the sales!