Writing Blockbusters: Hornsby Arts Festival
Join us for a special author panel session featuring authors from ThrillerEdge supported by Hornsby Library and Novella Fine Books Wahroonga.
These best-selling Australian thriller authors are obsessed with action, adventure and thriller novels and are spreading the enjoyment of reading gripping thriller tales worldwide.
ThrillerEdge is serious about boosting literacy levels in young people, through engaging readers at schools and youth-focused support groups. Their event-based program aims to encourage Australia’s young adults to get in touch with their imaginations, get their hands on the latest, greatest action thrillers and rekindle their love of reading.
The topic for some robust discussion on the panel is:
Writing Blockbusters: what's the secret?
We all love a great blockbuster – a book that sells millions of copies, captures imaginations around the world and is made into a film. But how do you write one? Hear from novelists Scott Baker (The Rule of Knowledge), Tony Park (Far Horizon), and writers Chris Allen (Hunter) and Greg Barron (Savage Tide), all of whom have created world-famous blockbusters based on real-life adventure.
About the panel
Greg Barron
Australian writer and activist Greg Barron is the author of two acclaimed thrillers:Rotten Gods and Savage Tide. He has lived in North America, studied International Terrorism at Scotland’s St Andrew’s University and travelled to five of the world’s seven continents. He once canoed down a flooded tropical river and crossed Arnhem Land on foot. He lives on a small farm in Northern NSW with his family.
gregbarron.com
Scott Baker
Born in Yorkshire, England, Scott Baker moved with his parents and older brother to Australia at age three. He has built a career in the film and television industry which has seen him work on everything from Dawson’s Creek, to The Hobbit. He has also lectured at the Australian National University, and continues to be Apple's 'Master Instructor' for film and TV applications in Australia. The Rule of Knowledge is his first novel.
ruleofknowledge.com
Chris Allen
Chris Allen is a former Paratrooper, Government Security and Counter-Terrorism expert, and, most recently, the Sheriff of NSW. Chris Allen's series of thriller novels feature Interpol's ultra secret, black-ops sub-directorate Intrepid star agent, Alex Morgan. Chris's experience of the publishing revolution has been up close and personal, self-publishing before being signed to Pan Macmillan's digital-only imprint, Momentum Books. Defender and Hunter became instant eBook sensations with negotiations for a traditional print deal and a film franchise currently underway.
intrepidallen.com
Tony Park
Tony Park was born in 1964 and grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney. He has worked as a newspaper reporter in Australia and England, a government press secretary, a public relations consultant, and a freelance writer. He is also a major in the Australian Army Reserve and served six months in Afghanistan in 2002 as the public affairs officer for the Australian ground forces. He and his wife, Nicola, divide their time between their home in Sydney, and southern Africa, where they own a tent and a Series III Land Rover.
tonypark.net/