I am very sad to have to tell you I won’t be coming to Poland in May. But I will, if all goes well, be attending in 2021.

Yep, Covid19 is the reason. Even if I could get travel insurance that would cover my travels during a pandemic, borders are closed, self-quarantine required for anyone returning to Australia from overseas, and I need to be available to help family if they get sick.

Please take care of yourselves and others during this difficult time. Follow the guidelines for slowing the spread of the virus, and please don’t hoard – or if you’ve already been caught up in the stockpiling fever, work out how much you really need then donate the excess to a charity. Be kind and generous to health workers, shop keepers and people whose income has dried up due to all the cancellations and closures.

Buy books. Most writers need second jobs in order to pay the bills and afford time to write, and many will have lost that income. (Not me, thankfully, so this is not a request that you buy my books in particular, just to support authors in general.) Publishing companies employ many talented people and buying books supports them, too.

After all, if you can’t travel in the real world then why not go on an adventure of the mind?