Bestselling author Maria Lewis is taking the stage at Gerringong Library in November for a free author talk, where she’s eager to connect with the community that’s become her home.

The award-winning screenwriter and author of 11 novels relocated to Gerroa at the end of last year, splitting her time between the South Coast and Brisbane for film projects.

Gerroa’s charm reminds her of the Gold Coast community she grew up in, and being a huge fan of the Gerringong Library adds to her love of the town.

“It feels like a coastal town in a snow globe in a way, it’s really preserved and special and peaceful,” said Maria.

Maria’s November talk, ‘Crafting Stories for Any Medium’, is part of a National Novel Writing Month program at the library that includes talks from three other authors. Maria says that these talks are a chance to encourage locals who might have stories worth telling.

“Great stories can be anywhere,” she said.

“Everybody can write a story. If you think there's an interesting story you've always wanted to write, maybe come along to one of these talks and there might be somebody that encourages you to do it.”

Maria’s career ranges from the Aurealis Award-winning Supernatural Sisters book series, to writing for Marvel (Mockingbird: Strike Out), Assassin’s Creed (Mirage: Daughter Of No One), and major networks including Netflix, DC Comics, Stan, AMC, and Nickelodeon. Her directorial debut, The House That Hungers, played at international film festivals from Adelaide to Berlin.

Maria is the screenwriter and producer of the upcoming horror/comedy feature, The Black Talons. She is also currently working on a surfing TV series that will be set on the Gold Coast with a Melbourne-based production company.

“There have been times when we have been doing Zooms about the TV series and I’m Zooming from the library, but I’m sitting outside in this beautiful courtyard,” Maria said.

“And they’re like 'where the hell are you?' as they’re sitting there in rainy, miserable, cold Melbourne.”

The Gerringong Library has become Maria’s office; she admires the “smart and savvy” staff who run programs such as the Sydney Writers Festival viewing event.

“I also love the people watching, of seeing the different people come in. It's a mix of people of all ages and like young people in their 20s going there to work,” she said.

“Community journalism, libraries, like all of that public accessible stuff that doesn't cost people money, especially right now when things are so expensive, I feel like they've become more important than ever.”

Maria describes her daily routine which sounds like a dream - head to Werri Beach in the morning, listen to what the “longboard boys” are saying about the surf in the car park, then decide whether to grab the wetsuit or head to the library.

“I finished my last two films, I wrote them while living in Gerroa,” she said.

“I would get up and I would go for a surf in the morning and then I would walk to the library and go work at the library for a few hours”.

As a former journalist for The Daily Telegraph and SBS, Maria appreciates local media and the community that rallies behind it.

She’s hoping the community rallies behind her at her library talk, whether that be aspiring writers or people who are simply curious about the process.