Columnist writes on domestic bliss
Sunday Magazine columnist Leah McFall published her first book Karori Confidential in October 2018.
“If humour writing is a craft, then I am apprenticed to five dead women,” she says.
The women she pays tribute to are Jane Austen, Nancy Mitford, Sue Townsend, Erma Bombek and Nora Ephron. These women are described as “hilarious and brilliant”, which are terms that could well apply to Leah McFall herself. Her writing, based on personal experience, is always witty, insightful and candid.
Leah will be sharing her domestic and not-so-domestic experiences with patrons of the Whanganui Literary Festival. Based on her regular columns in Sunday Magazine, the book takes us through the whirlwind of motherhood and domesticity. She manages to segue from one unrelated topic to the next flawlessly.
In one column earlier this year, she meanders elegantly from Florence Nightingale, to the joys of an afternoon nap, to her son’s first day at school — and it all ties in beautifully. In A Love Letter to the Library she bemoans the fact that the Wellington City Library has had to close, but has the answer. It’s “the little guys, the branches” who have to “bear more weight”. In another column she talks about creating a menu fit for some very cool guests. Her husband suggests sausages. “SAUSAGES?” We move from recipe angst to the meal itself, which by all accounts turned out just fine. Fittingly, last year, Leah won a Voyager Media Award for best opinion writing.
“It’s going to be a complete thrill to come to my first Whanganui Literary Festival,” says Leah. “It’s such an intriguing city, with its deep appreciation for history, art and literature, and lively debate. I grew up in neighbouring Taranaki, so Whanganui always felt like the big smoke. On a side note, I used to flat with your mayor. See you in October!” ■ Event: Leah McFall — Confidentially Speaking, Whanganui Literary Festival Venue: Concert Chamber, War Memorial Centre Date and Time: Sunday, October 6, 1.30pm-2.30pm, admission: $15 Bookings: Royal Wanganui Opera House