On its US release, Alison McCulloch reviewed The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt for the New York Times Book Review, Sunday 26 June 2016 (in print 26 June, online 24 June). What’s immediately intriguing about Lena Gaunt isn’t Lena Gaunt but the fact that she plays a theremin…And Lena Gaunt isn’t just any theremin player. She’s … Read more…
About Tracy Farr
Lena Gaunt by any other name
Names are funny things, important things, and they fascinate me; indeed, my second novel, The Hope Fault, is at least partly about names and naming. I spend a lot of (aka too much) time mulling over character names in my writing. I love to name my chapters, too, title them rather than just giving them numbers … Read more…
The merry month of May
O, the month of May, the merry month of May, So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green! ‘The Merry Month of May’ by Thomas Dekker (1599) The month just past (So frolic. Much gay. Many green. Wow.) would’ve warranted a celebratory skip around the maypole, if it hadn’t been a bit chilly … Read more…
Foreword reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
On its US release, Stephanie Bucklin reviewed The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt for the Summer 2016 issue of Foreword Reviews, a quarterly magazine featuring reviews of books from independent and university presses. From reflections on technology and art, to questions of addiction and control, the novel moves expertly from a portrait of Lena’s life to … Read more…
‘The Undercover Soundtrack – Tracy Farr’ guest post
Writer, editor and writing blogger and teacher Roz Morris hosts The Undercover Soundtrack series, where she invites writers who use music as part of their creative environment, ‘perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths’. In a post for The Undercover Soundtrack (27 April 2016), I write about some of the music that helped … Read more…
Writing workshops at 2016 Perth Writers Festival
I’ll be teaching two writing workshops (and taking part in a couple more sessions) at 2016 Perth Writers Festival (PWF), part of Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF). Teaching the monster to speak Writing believable characters Writing fiction is a licence to invent and transform. Tracy Farr‘s novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt, has been described as ‘a … Read more…
Purple Prose book launch and reading
Purple Prose is launching at 2016 Perth Writers Festival (PWF), part of Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF), and I’m one of the contributors to the collection who’ll be reading at the launch. Purple Prose book launch What do pigeon fanciers, Dockers fans and King George all have in common? In Purple Prose, Liz Byrski and Rachel Robertson introduce 15 new works by Australian … Read more…
‘A Reader’s Life’ at 2016 Perth Writers Festival
I’m delighted to be taking part in this session (and several more) at 2016 Perth Writers Festival (PWF), part of Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF). A Reader’s Life We can measure our life in books and the experiences we’ve had on the page. Three writers, Tracy Farr, Debra Adelaide and Peter Rose, share their reading lives with Sarah McNeill. When: Friday … Read more…
‘Literary Postcard from Wellington’ for BBC Radio4 Open Book
Prompted by the publication of my novel The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt in the UK this month, BBC Radio4’s Open Book programme asked me to deliver a Literary Postcard from New Zealand, as part of an occasional series they commission from writers based outside the UK. For my Literary Postcard, I decided to focus … Read more…
Lee Randall reviews The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt
Edinburgh-based writer and journalist Lee Randall wrote a lovely review of The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt on her Randall Writes / A History of my Life in 100 Objects blog early in the new year. Lena is the third of three novels Lee reviews in the post Book Reviews: Three for January. Farr’s exploring whether or not we can reproduce … Read more…