CandyThis session attracted a bit of a younger audience, not surprising I guess since it delved into drug lit. Stephanie Johnson was the chair introducing us to “moral corrupters” Aussie author Luke Davies (famous for his novel Candy and he’s just released God of speed about Howard Hughes) and Heather O’Neill, a Canadian author Philip talked about earlier. NZ author and movie maker Duncan Sarkies was stuck at Wellington Airport due to Auckland fog.

As is usual with these session, we got a reading by the authors. Luke did a nice piece where Howard Hughes recalls the delectable naughty blonde Jean Harlow. Either Luke’s books are all really sexy, or he likes to choose the sexy bits to read out. At the session “History and the novel” he got hot and heavy about ginger goddess Katherine Hepburn and her “Pink-osity”.

Heather O’Neill was sparkling, she read a bit near the end of the book when the main character Baby describes being stoned, hanging round in the cold, and meeting up with a client. Heather clearly demonstrated that her book, which really could be utterly depressing, is “almost about light … Baby is in a crazy world but finds light in it all the time”. She then talked about her own youth, she was raised by her Dad after the age of 8, and people were scared of him. He’d go to the shops in underpants and smoking a cigar, and apparently noone would say a thing.

The discussion came round to the idea that people with hard lives or childhoods need to find the humour in it, to “make their own narrative” of it in order to not be overwhelmed. People who survive can tell about their life like it was a story, and what’s more a comedy.

Luke was thoroughly smitten with Heather’s book and it was nice to see the writerly admiration flowing.

The session finished up with some good questions from the audience – Luke admitted that for him “poetry is the primal everything” and Scorcese’s take on Howard Hughes was a bit crap.