Tomorrow I’m doing a reading at the last session of the Advanced Year of the Novel. This is a year long course, presented by Andrea Goldsmith, and run by the Victorian Writer’s Centre. I am a tremendous fan of Andrea’s writing. She has published six novels, and has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Her most recent novel, Reunion, was published by Harper Collins 4th Estate in 2009 to wide acclaim. The Advanced Year of the Novel is tailored for those who have covered the initial ground of novel writing. It provides a supportive and critical forum in which participants can vent problems and explore techniques that will move their latest novel closer to completion. Andrea is a passionate and experienced teacher, who has mentored many new novelists. She expects each reading to be something of a performance, and anticipates that we will thoroughly practise our piece. My sons are not the most enthusiastic literary audience, so I’ve been reduced to reading aloud to my dogs. Until today that is, when my brother Rod kindly listened to me read. (He’s responsible for the gorgeous photos on this site, by the way.) So, I’m now all practised and ready, and eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s celebration of our writing year.