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Need a break from bin night or getting your tax ready?

This Thursday eve, join me at the lovely Shepparton Library for a relaxed evening of storytelling and writing, part of Library Victoria's Libraries After Dark program 2026.

Through RAW workshops across Australia and overseas and my writing segment on ABC Radio's Overnights, I've met office workers, year 12 students, nurses, new parents, truck drivers, retirees, travellers, circus performers, mountaim climbers, musicians, tradies and plenty of others. The common thread is: 'I don't know where to start.' But everyone has a story โค๏ธ

If you've ever stayed up late turning pages, you already know more about writing than you realise. 

We'll explore where ideas come from, try simple activities and discover how everyday moments can become stories. As Chekhov said, find the 'extraordinary in the ordinary'. 

There'll also be refreshments, good company and opportunities to chat with people from your community. Listen in or share if you dare.

A few spots still available! ๐Ÿ˜Š

To book: contact Shepparton Library on 1300 374765, email shepparton@gvlibraries.com.au or visit the GV Libraries Facebook page.

#Shepparton #GVLibraries #GreaterShepparton #ReadersAreWriters #RAWWriting #WritingWorkshop #CreativeWriting #Storytelling #RegionalVictoria #LibrariesChangeLives #WritersCommunity #BookLovers #WritingLife #SheppartonEvents #GoulburnValley
Greater Shepparton City Council Shepparton News The Adviser ABC Radio Melbourne ABC Radio Australia Society of Women Writers Victoria
Don't miss the magnificent Justine Sless, comedy that strips back the chaos and infuses with wit and pathos..โค๏ธ

#MelbourneComedyFestival #MICF #MelbourneEvents #ComedyMelbourne #LiveComedy StandUpAustralia JustineSless MCShowroom WhatsOnMelbourne MelbourneNights ThingsToDoMelbourne ComedyNight LaughOutLoud SupportLiveComedy AussieComedy WomenInComedy FunnyWomen FestivalSeason MelbourneLife NightOutMelbourne CheapTickets BravoShow YorkshireTeaVibes
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this post contains the name and images of a deceased person.

In my home town of Shepparton, this statue commemorates Uncle William Cooper (1860 to 1941), a Yorta Yorta man who, despite having no legal rights in his own country, led a march to the German Consulate in Melbourne to deliver a letter protesting the Nazi persecution of Jewish people, who he said were fellow citizens of the world. When I stand and look at the beautiful bronzed form of a remarkable human, it is hard to believe the void that was our high school lessons in 'Australian history' โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ–ค
Thanks to @womensagenda for giving space to this conversation...
CW: This article contains references to sexual violence.

#womeninsports #breakthesilence #authorslife #changethegame #womensissues
We met Priscilla at the Coachman Inn tonight, Parkes. Great to see women in Elvis suits, an alternative Elvis and lots of rockabilly. Then the treat of a burnt orange sky on the way back to Victoria, sending love to friends in country areas, stay safe โค๏ธ
Finally. All students in Victoria will learn the real history of our state. 
๐Ÿ’›โค๏ธ๐Ÿ–ค
#Treaty #TrueHistory #Victoria #Education #MovingForward
็ด ๆ•ต Suteki: Beautiful Japan (and the big buddha HK) โค๏ธ
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#beautifulspaces #royalcaribbeancruise #travelwriting #japantravels #storytellingphotography #royalcaribbeaninternational #cruisetime #cruisetravel #cruisevacation #japanlove #japanoninsta #culturaljourney #momentsintime #travelwithpurpose #travelmood @royalcaribbean @royalcaribbeanasia @royalcaribbeanhk #traveloften #goexplorewander #adventureanywhere #havingagoodtime #authorslife #storiesoftheeveryday #bucketlisttravel #fictionwriter #australianauthor #australianauthors #aussieauthor #actionadventure #traveldiary #japangram
๐’๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ญ ๐’๐ž๐š: ๐‰๐š๐ฉ๐š๐ง ๐€๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ง/๐–๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿšขโœจ
In the past few years, Iโ€™ve had the privilege of hosting writing workshops across Australia, Nepal and Finland - but this ship journey from Hong Kong to Japan was unique!

Sailing through late Autumn into Winter, on sea days we explored themes like sacred places and sensory stories through craft, history and food. What a privilege to hear pieces created by our global audience (from Finland, Alabama, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Hong Kong, Philippines, to Chile!). The audience also experienced Japanese poetry, origami and an impromptu Sumba dance performance (alongside my Mumโ€™s art works from Country Vic on the big screen).

Off the ship we enjoyed the reds and golds of Japan in late Autumn (Fukuoka, Saiki Minato, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Sasebo).

๐˜ผ ๐™จ๐™–๐™ข๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™š ๐™›๐™ง๐™ค๐™ข ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™–๐™ช๐™™๐™ž๐™š๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™š:
Whiteness, the sound of winter, walking in the rain on cold, frosty days, Hong Kong skies, sombreness, Northern Lights, low-laying sun, soft snow falling like a blanket, plum pudding, prawns and sunshine, mother: warm towels, soup and dumplings, crisp air, a mountain walk to grandparents, the joys of model trains, Freddy the dogโ€™s obsessions, whiskey in Scottish snow and kilt surprises, riding a horse in elbow-deep whiteness, Christmas with Grandma, city blocks at first-snowโ€ฆ

A thank you to Pastor Paul from San Francisco for his incredible bilingual reading, (performed in English and fluent Cantonese in front of his very proud husband).

My favourite lines:
๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ
๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต
๐˜ˆ ๐˜ง๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ.
๐˜ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ, โ€œ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฌ!โ€- ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ข ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ 

Grateful to the superb Roma (Events Management) and sound tech master Miguel, the wonderful audience and Spectrum of the Seas crew, representing 41 countries! And to James as always, IT and green-tea expert, photography and comic relief โค๏ธ
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#royalcaribbeancruise #japantravels #writingworkshop #travelwriting #authorslife
Meet Erwin from the Philippines, a dining manager with lightning skills and great humour, grabbing a few hours of sunshine between shifts in Sasebo (a port city in Japan with US influences post WW2). After months at sea, he can't wait to see his family in Jan. Erwin swears by ginger for seasickness (we've had a a few rough passages). Pressure-point wristbands worked for me. Placebo?
The best part of running seminars on a ship is the people. Crew and passengers from 41 countries. More soon. The ocean internet has also been a wild ride. 
ๆ–ฐใ—ใ„ๅ‹้” Atarashฤซ tomodachi (new friends) โค๏ธ
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#beautifulspaces #royalcaribbeancruise #travelwriting #japantravels #storytellingphotography #royalcaribbeaninternational #cruisetime #cruisetravel #cruisevacation #japanlove #japanoninsta #culturaljourney #momentsintime #travelwithpurpose #travelmood @royalcaribbean @royalcaribbeanasia @royalcaribbeanhk #traveloften #goexplorewander #adventureanywhere #havingagoodtime #authorslife #storiesoftheeveryday #bucketlisttravel #fictionwriter #australianauthor #australianauthors #aussieauthor #actionadventure #traveldiary #japangram
Rachel Mathews - Author

Dr Rachel Matthews is a Melbourne author, lecturer and teacher. Her debut novel Vinyl Inside received strong press reviews and was highly commended by the Australian Vogel Award judges.

Discover Rachel's Books