Bone Memories longlisted for a 2023 Davitt Award

Sally Piper

18 July 2023

BONE MEMORIES has been longlisted for a Sisters in Crime 2023 Davitt Award in the Adult Novel category.

Now in its 23rd year, the Davitt Awards celebrate Australian female crime writers. The shortlist will be announced in late July. To see all those titles longlisted across the four categories of the awards visit the Sisters in Crime website.

Sally Piper on Instagram

What a whirlwind 24 hours back in Brisbane to celebrate the official opening of the first co-housing project by @sharingwithfriends_foundation. There was so much love, gratitude and community under the eaves today, with wonderful speeches by @susandavies9232, Anne and Adrienne of SWF who thanked the great many people who helped make today a reality. Lady Mayoress @ninaschrinner delivered an eloquent and heartfelt speech that demonstrated just how committed she is to the plight of older single women facing homelessness. Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives @miltondickmp was there in great support of the project and has added PEOPLE LIKE US to his summer reading list. The final speech was by Rue, one of the First Five women who will be moving into their forever homes over the next few weeks, reminded us just how easy it is to go from having a roof over your head and then not. To see the laughter and joy of these five women today was the most hopeful experience I’ve had for a while. Because real change happened today and I’m bursting with pride for the determination and tenacity of all those who brought it about. Brava! @uqpbooks #sharingwithdriends #cohousing #olderwomenhousing

Some snaps from my events in beautiful Yeppoon. 1. With the lovely Rachel, host extraordinaire 2. A gift from the library of a fabulous tote bag designed by a local artist that was immediately swapped for my masterclass book-carrying bag because I didn’t have to squeeze them in as I did with my other one 3. Me looking like the kid that wants to sit in the bus aisle and surrounded by the wonderful Yeppoon audience 4. The Happy Klappers Book Club 5. Masterclass participants working hard (and they really did!) and being watched over by sharp-eyed Bush Stone Curlews. Thank you Kristin from @lsclibraries for sending through these pics. Fond memories. @uqpbooks #peoplelikeusnovel #booktour #roadtrip

Tune in to the @abcnews_au on Monday 9 November at 7PM to hear about the phenomenal work of the not-for-profit organization @sharingwithfriends_foundation, see inside their first co-housing project completed last week in Darra, Brisbane, and hear from the First Five women who have courageously stayed the course over the past seven years as Sharing with Friends held onto their vision of providing an affordable, long term solution for older single women living in insecure housing. The official opening is on Tuesday 10 November, with Brisbane’s Lady Mayoress @ninaschrinner officiating over what will hopefully be the first of many similar projects in Brisbane and elsewhere around the country. #sharingwithfriends #insecurehousing #cohousing #olderwomenhousing #homesforall

We’ve spent two fabulous days in beautiful Yeppoon which @pipes001 and I agree wasn’t enough. I loved this friendly coastal town with its glorious views to the Keppel Island group, its long beaches and massive tidal rise and fall, its brooding stormy sunsets, great cafes, vibrant and quirky art trail and all the laid back tropical feels of the place. And what a fantastic library and library loving community! Enormous thanks to Kristin for her help and enthusiasm in organising my visit to @lsclibraries, to Rachel, Sheena and Kasey for being such fun and friendly hosts of my events and for putting on a FEAST of treats. And a big shout out to bookseller extraordinaire Dakota from @qbdbooks in Rockhampton for bundling boxes of PEOPLE LIKE US into her car and making the trip to Yeppoon for my event. And heartfelt thanks to all those who came out on a Friday evening for my talk, especially if the end-of-week mood was to stay in, and a double thumbs up to the writers who embraced all the tasks and readings of their first draft words in my nature writing masterclass yesterday. I’m leaving Yeppoon with a full heart and hopes of a return visit in the not too distant future. #peoplelikeusnovel #booktour #roadtrip

I had a fabulous couple of days in Gladstone visiting its thriving library and being so warmly welcomed by its community of readers and writers. Huge thanks to Katrina Lucas, owner of the wonderful @mabelandmacks bookshop in Tannum Sands, for the relaxed and fun interview. Special shoutout to Wendy Ibbotson of @gladlibraries for her excellent planning and care in helping to bring my two events to Gladstone. And to see so many teenagers participating in the nature writing masterclass was inspiring and filled me with hope that the next generation of passionate nature writers are determined to make a difference through their words. @uqpbooks #peoplelikeusnovel #booktour #roadtrip

It was such a great chat I had this evening with Hayley @bundabergregionallibraries, so many thoughtful questions and such a warm and welcoming audience who clearly don’t think Monday nights are a night to stay home. Thanks so much to Peta who pulled all the levers to get this event and tomorrow’s nature writing masterclass in the Bundaberg Library diary. And a very special shout out to the lovely Phil from @dymocksbundaberg for coming along to sell copies of PEOPLE LIKE US, and for stocking her three siblings as well! Libraries and booksellers rock! @uqpbooks #peoplelikeusnovel #booktour #roadtrip #authorevents

On the road again this morning with @pipes001, Bundy bound first up, home to Bundaberg Rum 😖 and Bundaberg Ginger Beer 😋, to chat about PEOPLE LIKE US at several Central Qld Coast libraries and finishing at the Lines in the Sand Literary Festival in Hervey Bay. I’ll also be teaching my Nature Writing Masterclass at each stop. All the events are free, except for the Masterclass in Yeppoon, but you will need to register your attendance which you can do through the link in my bio. I’m very excited to be touring in my home state, meeting new readers and writers, feeling even more love for our libraries and librarians than I already do for everything they do to build and bring communities together. And a lighter pack than for NSW - not boots, jackets or jumpers - as it’s guaranteed to be hot. @uqpbooks @bundabergregionallibraries @gladlibraries @lsclibraries @frasercoastlibraries #peoplelikeusnovel #booktour #roadtrip

I’m so proud and in awe of what @sharingwithfriends_foundation has achieved for older single women struggling to keep a safe and affordable roof over their heads. Pictured (left) is Susan Davies (President of SWF) and (right) Adrienne Irvine (Secretary of SWF) signing the 50-year tenure agreements for their First Five women following completion yesterday of their first co-housing project in Brisbane. It has taken SWF seven long years to reach this day with many setbacks and challenges along the way, but with the completion of this project they have initiated real and meaningful change for vulnerable older women living in insecure housing. It’s this kind of innovative thinking about how people want and can be housed that needs to be supported and expedited by local, state and federal governments right around the country. The remarkable work undertaken by this not-for-profit organization has provided not just the foundation stone to what can be done on the ground structurally, they have also provided a longterm workable solution that could assist a number of the 400,000 older single women who are just one unexpected bill or one rent hike away from homelessness every day in Australia. Safe, secure and affordable housing is a human right. Thank you Sharing with Friends for never losing sight of that.🏘️ #affordablehousingcrisis #housingisahumanright #insecurehousingtakesatoll

I picked up THE HIDING PLACE by @kmildenhall from @the_bright_bookshop while visiting there in preparation for a panel I’ll be sharing with Kate at the Lines in the Sand Literary Festival hosted by @frasercoastlibraries on 24 November. It’s a cracking read, a propulsive literary thriller with a cast of unique characters who pool funds to buy a rural smallholding where they can escape to from their city lives and bring more nature into theirs and their children’s lives, but things go quickly awry on the first weekend. I can’t wait to sit down with you Kate to talk about this and your other books and all things writing and craft! Here’s the blurb for our panel: ‘Drawing on their experiences as novelists, Kate and Sally will discuss the inspiration behind their books, their approaches to crafting memorable characters and compelling narratives, and the themes that shape their work. Hear about the realities of the writing life, the creative process behind bringing stories to the page, and the power of fiction to help us better understand ourselves and the world around us.’ It’s a free event but bookings are required, which you can do through the link in my bio. @uqpbooks #linesinthesandliteraryfestival #peoplelikeusnovel

Arrived in Mudgee to a town prettily pinked up for Cancer Awareness Month to help raise funds for the McGrath Foundation who place cancer care nurses in communities throughout Australia. I also made a visit to the very welcoming @booknestmudgee and had the best chat with Emma about books by local authors and those from further afield, plus The Book Nest’s involvement with the Mudgee Readers’ Festival held in August each year. I also made a list of Emma’s recs for the best pubs and wineries to visit in the area - an equally worthy public service on top of selling books to suit the interests of all readers! I love our indie bookshops and I’ve loved having the opportunity to visit so many of them on this road trip. Chapter 1 of the book tour ends very soon, but Chapter 2 will start on 2 November. More info about that soon. @uqpbooks #peoplelikeusnovel #booktour #roadtrip