Together with the Australian Consulate General, AWNY welcomed more than 80 guests to the Australian Consulate in New York for an engaging evening “In Conversation with Sally Hepworth,” celebrating the launch of her latest novel, Mad Mabel. The book is already making waves internationally and currently sits at number seven on the New York Times Bestseller list.
Guests were welcomed by Heather Ridout, who congratulated Sally on the international success of her writing. AWNY co-President, Emily Laurence then joined Sally Hepworth on stage for a 45-minute conversation that explored Sally’s journey as a novelist, from the beginning of her writing career through to the process behind crafting her domestic suspense novels.
The discussion gave guests rare insight into Sally’s creative process, including how she plans and plots her novels and the “flow state” she experiences while writing. Speaking about Mad Mabel, Sally reflected on the inspiration behind the central character. In a recent post, she wrote: “Mabel is the character of my heart. The character who walked me through some of the toughest times of my life. The character that took me ten years and ten books to find.” Sally also shared that Mabel arrived in her imagination as a fully formed character. As she put it, “Mabel came out talking”.
Following the conversation, Sally spent over an hour meeting guests and signing copies of Mad Mabel. The evening was beautifully coordinated by Stephanie Aloe and the Consulate team, with thoughtful details including themed cocktails and floral arrangements inspired by the striking cover of Mad Mabel.
