I am very much looking forward to the 23rd of January, when Alistair McCartney will be reading his work at the wonderful, welcoming, and wacky Hares and Hyenas bookstore in Fitzroy. I will be reading as well, along with Rochelle D'Silva and Shane McGrath. This event is part of the Word is Out series, and is part of the Midsumma festival. I am very excited to meet Alistair for the first time. I met his wonderful husband Tim Miller last year here in Melbourne. I was thrilled to then follow the news later that year of the Defence of Marriage Act being overturned. This meant that Alistair and Tim could marry and have their marriage recognised for immigration purposes, which is important because while Tim is American, Alistair is originally from Perth. For Alistair and Tim, as for Heather and me, everything changed last year. I think we are all heaving sighs of relief.