EXCLUSIVE: An extract from 'Rapture' by Emily Maguire + Giveaway
An update from Sri Lanka, and what I bought and brought for the trip
Dear Readers,
Hello from Kandy! We have passed five elephants on our roadtrips and saw over a hundred in Minneriya National Park. We watched the sun rise over Sigirya.
We have eaten the most phenomenal Sri Lankan feasts, and have had a couple of cooking demonstrations and will do a full lesson in a Sinhalese home tonight.
But of course, as always, the best thing about the trip are these legends:
All killer no filler. The bookclub sessions are brilliant. We’re laughing all the time. Kind to each other. Much learning. Many pinch-me moments.
Our required readings for the trip were Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan and This Divided Island by Sumanth Subramanian. I highly recommend both to anyone heading over to Sri Lanka or who is interested in the history of the country. I’ll put together a longer list with more recommendations when I return—sorry—I have to go down to meet everyone for our morning pages session now. :) :)
In the meantime, follow me on Instagram for the stories as we go along!
Best wishes and happy reading!
Bri
PS: Woke up to the news that Charlotte Wood made the Booker shortlist. We need a new word for ‘proud’ that doesn’t have a proprietorial subtext. Chuffed that so many thousands more people will now read her.
An extract from Rapture by Emily Maguire
Thanks to our friends at Allen & Unwin, you dear News & Reviews readers get a super juicy exclusive excerpt from Emily Maguire’s new novel, Rapture.
Read the excerpt here and pre-order your copy of Rapture from your local indie bookstore here, and check out when Emily might be coming to your city here. (Speak of the devil ((HA!)) Wood is doing the Sydney event and I’ve got my tickets; have you got yours??)
Also, I know a lot of publishers and publicists read News & Reviews. Get in touch if you’d ever like to share an excerpt of an upcoming book with 10,000 nerds.
What I Bought and Brought with Me
I broke my three-month no-spending spree on some things for this trip.
Looking back through my records of OOTD photos from the last couple of years I realised just how much Verner I wear. And then I remembered how great her last runway shows were. Then I went on her website and saw she’s having a massive sale. And I know from experience that matching separates are excellent for travel. So I bought the ‘Bow Tank’ ($150) and ‘Tie Up Skirt’ ($150) which I knew I’d be able to style alternatingly with the ‘Palm Tee’ ($150) and ‘Palm Pants’ ($150). And I’ve gotta note here that Verner’s service is impeccable. Speedy replies to my questions about sizing and express shipping the next morning. Unreservedly recommend.
I also bought the now-iconic E Nolan ‘I Love Lunch’ t-shirt ($105) because it’s better late than sold-out, and while I was there splurged on this ludicrously divine ‘Large Silk Scrunchie’ ($95) they made from offcuts.
Also, to be honest, two pieces of Australian fashion and beauty industry news hit this month: Dion Lee is closing because they couldn’t find anyone to buy the company; meanwhile Dries Van Noten’s beauty line is now being stocked exclusively at Mecca and they had a big expensive launch meal and event to celebrate it. As regular readers would know, Dries is my splurge. When I mark a big milestone I do it with Dries. But our local ecosystem is struggling. Supporting local designers and companies doesn’t have to mean compromise on style and expression, though.
I thought to myself: I’ve spent all my money but I want a couple of silky, slinky, nice-ey things to wear, not just the Verner and E Nolan cottons. Who is Australian and makes really great shit for when I want to feel like an actual grown woman? Lee Mathews is who. I loved wearing their stuff when I was on book tour, so I just emailed them, and they said ‘yes!’ to letting me choose some gifts and loans. Of their recent collections I picked the ‘Ashton Cami Dress’ ($629) and two matching sets: the ‘Eden Cami’ ($329) and ‘Eden Pant’ ($549), and the ‘Nichhia Shirt’ ($599) and ‘Nichhia Pant’ ($599).
Giveaway and Upcoming Editions
The winner of last week’s giveaway, the copy of Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran, is #45. I’ve emailed you, Sophie Markey!
And of course, this week’s giveaway is a copy of Rapture by Emily Maguire. Enter with your name and email address here. The winner will be drawn when I’m back in October.
Giveaways are for those on the paid subscribers list, as a way to show my gratitude for them funding this space. If you’ve got high enthusiasm and low funds, just ‘reply’ to this email and I’ll comp you for 6 months no questions no worries.
I’ll be away on holidays for the coming two weeks, but don’t fret! I’ve scheduled some fun and juicy posts to go out on the two Wednesdays I’m gone. :)
So easy to take photos of beautiful people 💛
Elsieeeeeeeee the most FANTASTIC photographer honestly!!! Weapon with the camera.