The Year the Maps Changed is set in a year of a child’s life, in 1999 when a group of Kosovo-Albanian refugees was brought to a ‘safe haven’ at the old Quarantine Station at Point Nepean. What prompted me to buy the book was that it was about a topic dear to my heart, Australia’s treatment of refugees. But in retirement I put that aside and devoted myself to reading adult novels - so I would probably never have come across The Year the Maps Changed if I hadn’t gone to the Port Fairy festival and heard Danielle Binks talk about it in a session about historical fiction for children. I liked them, especially when they respected the intelligence of their audience and tackled complex issues. I used to read heaps of middle-grade novels when I was a teacher-librarian… Knowing your stock is an essential element in enticing the reluctant reader and over the last ten years of my career, I made a point of reading 2-3 children’s novels each week.
The Importance of festivals and author talks is that a personable author talking about her book can be the catalyst for the decision to read it or not. (Though I am at the moment working my way through the virtual offerings at the Edinburgh Festival and the Mildura Literary Festival and enjoying them a great deal.* It was too good to last, and the Yarra Valley festival quickly pivoted online when the restrictions were back, so the brief luxury of the face-to-face Port Fairy LitFest will have to sustain me for a while to come.
That was back in June when Melburnians were tentatively venturing forth after months of Covid restrictions, and we also had plans to go to the Yarra Valley Writers Festival in July. Some readers will remember my unrestrained excitement when I posted about being able to attend a ‘real’ literary event, the Port Fairy Literary Weekend.
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