A Buderim writer has achieved international recognition, with her screenplay Patterson’s Curse reaching the semi-finals in The Outstanding Screenplays competition in America.
Lesley Leadbetter says the story is set in 1900s Brisbane and the Carnarvon Ranges during the era of Cobb & Co coaches and the suffragette movement.
“I have been writing for a long time and have finally brought it to fruition,” she says.
Lesley says the idea for Patterson’s Curse was first sparked by a story her father told her about the Kennif brothers, who roamed the Carnarvon Ranges in the 1890s.
“I have always been fascinated by the Cobb & Co era. So, in 1994, I started writing as a relaxation from the stresses of nursing,” she says.
Lesley’s family history also shaped the screenplay, including links to a Cobb & Co hotel and changing station, Traveller’s Rest-Dulbydilla.
“When I started writing, there weren’t many stories told about women of the Outback, and now there are thousands, but not as screenplays,” she says.
Lesley says the screenplay was first drafted in 1994 and later redeveloped with help from a Sydney script mentor.
“To reach the quarter-finals in an American competition is mind-blowing, because competitions are fierce and hard to win,” she says.
“My computer is full of reject letters.
“It’s world-wide and places my script in front of movie producers, which saves a lot of pitching.
“I have entered several competitions in America and Australia which will be finalised in October.”
Lesley recently joined the Sunshine Coast Screen Collective hub in Nambour and enjoys the Queensland Writers Centre Writing Fridays group at Maroochydore library.
