Knights in armour
and escaping the winter blues
It’s been a busy few months! I’ve talked at a bunch of schools, libraries and festivals, and written a bunch of words on many different projects. There are only a few things left on my to-do list before I head off with my family on a big adventure to England, Wales and Italy. I’m hoping to return with a very full cup of ideas and inspiration.
A particular highlight from the last couple of months was Melbourne Writers Festival, where I was on a panel with Tigest Girma and RF Kuang, moderated by Amie Kaufman. The gorgeous Athenaeum Theatre was jam-packed, and our signing line went around the block. We talked about Dark Academia, world-building and the instability of adolescent bodies, and I loved every minute.
On Lady Knights
Last night I chatted to Amie Kaufman at Dymocks Melbourne about her new book (with Meagan Spooner) One Knight Stand, sequel to Lady’s Knight. I’ve been deep in lady knights lately, as there is one in my forthcoming YA fantasy Lavender and Hemlock, and I also just finished reading Alix Harrow’s The Everlasting, which I adored.
As a preteen, I was obsessed with Tamora Pierce’s Alanna series. The way that those books balanced swords, magic, friendship, romance and girlhood was revelatory to me, and hugely influential on my development as a writer.
It’s easy to see the appeal of a lady knight in our current era where women’s bodies (including trans bodies) are treated like political battlegrounds. The idea of encasing ourselves in armour and then whacking our enemies into submission is appealing. But there’s one thing that all lady knights must learn, and that’s knowing when to take off the armour and be vulnerable. To accept help, and to learn to love and be loved. Or else, what are we even fighting for?
Read
As well as One Knight Stand and The Everlasting, as mentioned above, I also read and loved T Kingfisher’s Snake Eater, and Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore.
Watch
Lots of new things! Loved Widow’s Bay, Margo’s Got Money Troubles and The Boroughs. And the finale of Hacks was perfect.
Plan
I love planning the holiday almost as much as (maybe more than?) the holiday itself. I have been immersing myself in my planning spreadsheet, making lists of neolithic monuments, waterfalls, ancient towns and quaint inns to visit. I’ll be posting lots of photos to my stories on Insta!
Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of more than twenty books for young people, including A Hunger of Thorns, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and was a CBCA Honour Book. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it. Her latest books are Unhallowed Halls and the Bravepaw series.