Perth Writers Festival

Day 2 of the festival started for me at a session called People Who Eat Darkness, which is also the name of Richard Lloyd Parry’s book which follows the story of a young British woman Lucie Blackman, who fell prey to unspeakable evil while working as a hostess in Japan. Richard’s insights into the world of the hostess were fascinating to say the least. Having an ex-hostess in the audience to shed further light, and the family of Carita Ridgeway, a Perth woman who also fell prey to the same man Joji Obara, made the discussion feel all the more vivid. After leading Richard Lloyd Parry to the signing table, it was off to the green room to meet Adam Ross and Miguel Syjuco for a session called Breaking the Mould, also with Rodney Hall. So, basically there was talent just flying off the stage, with all three authors wowing the audience with tales of taking a completely different and individual approach to writing their latest works. I always think a writers’ festival session is especially good when the authors really connect with each other on stage. Their enjoyment translates to the enjoyment of the audience and this was certainly the case in Breaking the Mould. Kate Mayor is a Publicist at Random House Australia