People shouldn’t be surprised then to see the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre director wearing “tinsel earrings and themed shirts in the lead-up to the big day”.
“I’m not particularly religious but I love Christmas and the happiness it brings,” she said.
With the Greenmount writers’ centre closed from December 19 to January 4, its longest-serving office manager will get a chance to be with her partner Phil and their three boys, Jayden, Jackson and Joshua.
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READ NOWThey will start Christmas Day with presents under the tree, croissants and fruit, and some cooked ham.
“Then it’s off to lunch with my family,” Shannon said.
“I have a Croatian background so there will be lots of food. There is always too much but that’s how we like it.
“I’ll look forward to some prsuta; they’re like little doughnut balls with spiced fruit inside.
“On Boxing Day we will head to Harvey to Phil’s family.”
The break will give Shannon time to “relax and read and “polish” a few of her own short stories.
A twice-published short story writer – with Indigo journal and in her writers’ centre publication, Anthology D’Amor – Shannon’s recommended reading over Christmas is:
“I’ve just finished a fantastic local writer Rachael Johns’ novel The Patterson Girls,” she said.
“It would be an excellent read over Chrissy.
“And there is A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara; that book will stay with me for many years. It was amazing.”
Writer Shannon Coyle’s book recommendations: The Patterson Girls by Racheal Johns A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara