Community & Business
12 June, 2026
Authors visit Oakey Library
Authors Stella Quinn and Katherine Kennedy visited Oakey Library for a talk about their recent novels and their journey in writing. Ms Kennedy’s visit took place last Thursday morning, June 4th when books were sold by The Book Tree.
Ms Kennedy got into writing after 35 years in the public service which drove her to a point where she “never wanted to look at a computer again”.
She sat in a cupboard, writing seven hours a day for three months, after which she emerged from the closet.
After writing the book, Ms Kennedy sent manuscripts around to publishers who liked it but said, “We just don’t know you.”
“I didn’t know anyone in the industry and had no social media,” Ms Kennedy said.
But consistent prompting from her cousin kept the search going and she eventually found a UK publisher, Austin McCauley, who took on the book.
Ms Kennedy now has a social media account, and is carefully avoiding scam requests from fake book publishers and reviewers (more book reviews gives an author greater prominence on Amazon’s website).
Katherine Kennedy’s debut novel Solace is set in the beauty of the Tasmanian bush and rugged landscapes of Western Australia.
The plot centres around a tragic circumstance and how members of one family respond to the same event in different ways.
The image on the front cover of Solace is the Australian bluegum flower - representing strength and resilience.
None of the characters are based on any of Ms Kennedy’s family or friends, but she was able to draw on her own life experiences when writing the book.
“Just because its fiction doesn’t mean it’s not authentic,” she said.
Ms Kennedy’s talk followed a visit to Oakey Library from fellow author Stella Quinn the previous week on Friday, May 29th.
Ms Quinn describes her writing style as “messy life, drama, comedy and romance all wrapped up into warm-hearted books”.
The best-selling author came to Oakey after a talk at the Crows Nest Library earlier that day.
Ms Quinn’s visit between the two towns that day was a misty, murky drive, and not without incident.
“Stella had an adrenaline spike when a black cow the size of a brontosaurus loomed up through the mist on the side of the road, so the warm and welcoming interior of Oakey Library was a wonderful sight!” her promoter said.
A crowd of local readers attended both talks and asked questions about the writing process.
