Coronavirus: Facebook friends attend a novel launch, complete with bubbly
Author Suzanne Leal with her new book The Deceptions at Malabar beach, Sydney.
Picture: Adam Yip / The Weekend Australian
This is how to launch a book in the coronavirus era. Instead of a room full of admirers, instead of a stack of books waiting for a signature, Suzanne Leal found herself on Facebook, delivering a speech from her bedroom.
Then, at the end, the Sydney author toasted the occasion with a glass of bubbly.
“I’d still really like to have that launch one day,” she says. “But that one would be more to say thank you, we’re through.”
Leal’s new book, a historical novel called The Deceptions, landed in shops earlier this month. Like any new release, it was the product of years of work, and she had been growing increasingly excited as all the various pieces fell into place.
Then came the shutdown. Leal pressed ahead, embracing the possibilities of the virtual world. She also created a virtual book club, a weekly Zoom chat that started on Thursday night, as part of an “online tour” that has been planned for April.
“It seems to me like we’ve almost stepped back into the 1950s, with everybody craving social contact,” she says.
“Telling stories has always been really important, but now it’s more important than ever, particularly through films and books.”
COVID-19 presents the publishing industry with unique challenges. Bookshops are open but foot traffic is way down. Public events are cancelled but readers are still hungry for books.
Many new releases are still hitting the market during the pandemic, but as in Hollywood, where blockbusters are being delayed while cinemas remain closed, publishers are pushing back some prominent titles to later this year and beyond.
The former prime minister has already signed a pile of books but will otherwise take part in a “virtual tour” nationwide.
A Hardie Grant spokesperson said: “The current climate has us approaching the launch differently, and more creatively.”
ARTS EDITOR - The Weekend Australian
Ashleigh Wilson has been arts editor since 2011. He has been at the paper for more than 15 years in various roles around the country, including several years as Darwin correspondent.