Author to speak at Margaret River Library

Cowaramup local and award winning novelist Brendan Ritchie will share the creative process behind his work and his latest book, Eta Draconis, at a free event on Thursday.

Hosted by the Margaret River Library, the talk will focus on the recently released story of two sisters travelling through Western Australia as a meteor shower rains across the globe.

Ritchie won the Dorothy Hewett Award for the unpublished manuscript of Eta Draconis in 2022, a moment he says was the highlight of his writing career.

In 2015 he published his debut novel Carousel, and was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing.

The sequel, Beyond Carousel, was released in 2016.

“Having these novels (Carousel and Beyond Carousel) published marked a transition for me away from filmmaking and towards creative writing,” Ritchie said.

“Probably something I should have done as while ago, but I’m trying my best to make up for lost time.”

Looking forward, Brendan is planning to continue with his writing hopes to publish more novels in the future, while raising his young family in Cowaramup.

“I would like to read more and keep improving my writing craft.

“I feel like I made a late start in relation to writing and there’s still so much to learn and explore.

“There are novels I have in mind that I’d like to write and, I’m sure, others that are lurking somewhere in the subconscious.

“If I can find a way to be a good dad and husband, and still publish every so often, that would be perfect.”

Brendan Ritchie will speak at the Margaret River Library on Thursday July 27 from 6pm to 7.30pm.

To book, call 08 9780 5600 or visit www.amrshire.wa.gov.au/etadraconis

Light refreshments provided, entry is free, all are welcome.