FESTIVAL TOP 10 TITLES
Book sales at Sydney Writers' festival reflected the diversity of topics covered by some of the most popular guests – and not just the obvious ones. Gleebooks' festival shops sold more than 500 copies of My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem, whose two sold-out events at Sydney Town Hall had an air of religious devotion. But – who'd have thought? – the next bestseller was The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks, a sheep farmer from England's Lake District, who tweets about a family way of life that has hardly changed in 600 years.
Also on the top 10: Super Good Skills (Almost), 10th in the Tom Gates series by children's author Liz Pichon, whose total sales made her the festival's bestselling author; Talking to My Country by Stan Grant, whose inspiring talk had a standing ovation; A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, driven by the provocative novel and her graceful appearances; The Bricks that Built the Houses, a novel by performance poet Kate Tempest, who blew audiences away; The Silk Roads by eloquent Oxford historian Peter Frankopan; And the Weak Suffer What They Must? by Yanis Varoufakis, the charismatic Greek economist and former finance minister; The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes, who visited Australia for the first time in 20 years to discuss his novel about Shostakovich; and three books in equal 10th place – The Unravelling by Emma Sky, a British expert on the Middle East, The Santiago Pilgrimage by Jean-Christophe Rufin, a French doctor and former ambassador, and The Odd Woman and the City, a memoir by New York writer Vivian Gornick.
David Gaunt, co-owner of Gleebooks, says book sales were 15 per cent higher than last year, which were 20 per cent higher than in 2014. When Gleebooks began as the festival bookseller 10 years ago the top 10 titles sold more than 100 copies, and now they sell at least 200. Sales were in line with the growing audience of almost 110,000, a stellar program, and healthy attendances at every venue.
VALE GILLIAN MEARS
The death of Australian novelist Gillian Mears last week cast a shadow over the festival but also made her a strong presence. Admired for her intense, sensual writing in novels including Foal's Bread, which won the 2012 Prime Minister's Literary Award for fiction among others, Mears died aged 51 on May 16, after suffering from multiple sclerosis for many years. Fairfax newspapers reported the news three days later, in time for the Australian Book Industry Awards to include Mears in a tribute to those who died in the past year, with a speech by her agent, Gaby Naher. Several writers honoured her in festival sessions.
I am grateful to have interviewed Mears in Sydney last October about her recently published picture book for children and adults, The Cat with the Coloured Tail. She was distressed about her failing health but full of joy about writing and cats. Soon after that I received a package containing a grey felt cat with a red-and-yellow tail, which a friend of Mears was making to sell at markets, and a card covered with generous thoughts in Mears' shaky handwriting. I wrote back with photos of my cat and received another card that said this was her last "missive" as writing was too difficult. Her cat sits beside my bed, reminding me of her every day. I am one of many who felt the glow from Mears' fiery and fey spirit and I recommend turning to her books, where that spirit lives on.
