Author Margaret Hickey will soon visit Temora as part of a book club event focusing on her new book, An Ill Wind. Photo: Supplied.
Award-winning crime novelist Margaret Hickey is set to visit Temora as part of a book club-style event to discuss her new book, An Ill Wind.
Hosted by the Temora Library, the One Book One Temora event encourages readers to read the same book before having a conversation with the author.
The 2025 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction winner will visit the Temora Library on 20 March, where she will discuss the book in detail.
An Ill Wind follows a murder investigation in a regional town subject to a new wind farm development.
When a body is seen hanging from one of the windmills, the secrets behind the farm and the reasons behind the murder are revealed.
Ms Hickey said the idea came to her when she was driving past some of the largest wind farms in Australia on her way to visit family in western Victoria.
“I am always struck by how much it affects me when I look at them, from a visceral sense. I get a shock,” she said.
“I’m in awe of them, and they also make me feel a little afraid, because they kind of look like aliens. They’re so stark and huge and massive in our landscapes.
“If I’m feeling this way about the wind farms, how would people feel if they’ve been living in these communities all their lives and seen landscapes so significantly changed? What does that do to a community?”
With just under a month left before the event, Ms Hickey said she was excited to be visiting Temora to discuss the novel.
“I think the idea of having a town-sized book club is such a wonderful idea and I’m really humbled to have been asked to do it this year,” Ms Hickey said.
“It’s really unique to have an event where everyone in the audience has read it. It means I can get into spoilers and discuss a lot of the themes of the book, which is not often the case.
“I won’t have to hide any of the clues or any of the cliff-hangers. So it’ll be really good to have an in-depth discussion about the book.”
Margaret Hickey’s new book. Photo: Supplied.
Ms Hickey said events like One Book One Temora were important for regional libraries and ensuring people from regional areas were involved with literature.
“I just love libraries; they are so important to regional and rural areas,” she said.
“I grew up in places where there was only the mobile library, and I’d wait to see the little bus come up the road so I could begin borrowing.
“It was a place of safety and adventure. Those little libraries opened up the world. So yes, libraries are so important to me.”
The Beechworth-based author said she enjoyed writing stories set in regional areas and hearing the responses from regional audiences.
“I start with the setting, and then I put a body there, and then I begin writing,” Ms Hickey said.
“There are so many great places to hide a body in our landscape. You know, looking out the window at the gorge now, I can imagine there are loads of places to hide a fictional body.
“You can put your characters under natural duress, and you can use the landscape to mirror high emotion. Our rural settings in Australia are terrific for writing crime novels. It’s a gift.”
One Book, One Temora with Margaret Hickey is being held at Temora Library on Friday 20 March at 6 pm. Ticket sales close on 12 March.
To book tickets, visit rrl.nsw.gov.au/events or phone Temora Library on 02 6977 1781.
