October 12 - 18, 2022
Going hammer and tilt at Mt Beauty By BELINDA HARRISON
◆ ON HIS WAY: Chris Hammer is ready to come to one of his favourite places - Mount Beauty and share his stories this weekend. PHOTO: Mike Bowers
AUTHOR Chris Hammer says that the North East region is one of his favourite parts of the world and his insistence to attend the Mt Beauty Writers Festival this Saturday is a testament to the statement. “I have been to Albury and Wodonga, Mt Beauty and Bright, the beautiful Ovens and Kiewa valleys, up to Mitta Mitta and Dartmouth, across to Beechworth, I have done wine stories at Rutherglen and been skiing at Mount Hotham,” Chris said. “So when I was invited to the writers festival at Mt Beauty, I begged the Allen & Unwin publicist to include it in the book tour for The Tilt.” Born in Tasmania, but brought up in Canberra, Chris went to university in Bathurst and has always felt an affinity with the bush and country towns, which is where most of his novels take place. “Growing up in Canberra in the ‘60s and ‘70s was like growing up in a large country town,” he said. “Cities tend to be anonymous; not so country towns. “The communities are close, everyone knows everyone else - including the killer! “I just love how a rural setting can add an entire new layer to a book.” Prior to becoming a full-time fiction author, Chris spent 30 years as a journalist covering federal politics and international affairs and was a roving foreign correspondent for SBS. “I always loved reporting on remote and regional areas when I was a journalist and I wrote two non-fiction books - The River: A Journey Through the Murray-Darling Basin (2010) and The Coast: A Journey Along Australia’s Eastern Shores (2012), but after those two I went back to journalism,” he said.
■
Continued page 6
YOUR GARDEN EN
GONE FISHING
WINE TALK
YOUR HEALTH
MONEY & FINANCE
with HELEN
with ROB
with ANITA
with ELIZABETH
with WIN SECURITIES
Business Accounts Community-focused banking that supports your success Visit bankwaw.com.au for full terms and conditions. BankWAW is the registered business name held by WAW Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd.
bankwaw.com.au