One Book, One Wagga is a brilliant initiative, of a kind much loved by writers. It operates like a giant book club. The local library bought more than a hundred copies of Scrublands and promoted it heavily through the library etc. Then I came down Wagga for a ‘gala dinner’ at the Rules Club – more than a hundred people having a tasty dinner with wine etc. Meanwhile, I was interviewed by the amazingly well-read Amy Heap, who quizzed me about Scrublands.
The best thing – there were no problems with spoilers. Typically, crime fiction authors talk about their books without being able to really talk about their books, because they are constantly mindful of spoilers. Not this time, because everyone had already read it!
The questions from the floor were very well-informed and challenging.
I can only recommend such events to any authors fortunate enough to be invited. And I’d encourage other libraries and councils, particularly in rural areas, to consider holding such events. It does so much to encourage reading and discussion of books, and helps build a sense of (literary) community.