Post-war Australia didn't know what to make of promoter Lee Gordon. But one thing is undeniable: without Lee Gordon, there would be no billion-dollar entertainment industry in Australia today.

For the first time, here is his story, told by acclaimed music biographer Jeff Apter.

Lifeline’s Big Book Fair is back, with over 90,000 pre-loved books on sale over three days. Our next event is being held on 23 – 26 October 2025 at the Illawarra Sports Stadium, Berkeley.

Each event is a chance to spread our love of reading far and wide, save books from landfill and raise vital funds for Lifeline. What’s more, your second-hand book purchases help to deliver essential crisis support and suicide prevention services within the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and South Coast.

https://www.lifelinesouthcoast.org.au/book-fair/

Gardening connects us to the land, to our food, and to one another. This panel explores gardening across generations and families, communities and ecosystems. Anna Matilda (Everyday Permaculture: Sustainable Living for Every Space), Chloe Foster (The Rookie Gardener) and Judy Friedlander (The Bee Squad: Boosting Biodiversity in your Neighbourhood) will explore how gardening can be passed down, reimagined and shared. From beginners planting their first seedling, to building thriving pollinator-friendly biodiverse homes and balconies, to experienced growers designing with permaculture in mind. Join this interactive session full of heart and wonder for our natural world. Moderated by ABC Canberra TV News anchor, journalist and long-time garden lover, Adrienne Francis.

ABC Canberra Saturday Breakfast with Emma Bickley and gardening guru Graham ‘Willow’ Wilson will broadcast live from 8.30am before the panel and be on hand to answer your gardening questions.  Come on down!

Bookings required, tickets available here.

Chloe Foster is a lifelong horticulturist and gardener. Her career began working in wholesale and retail nurseries, before moving into high-profile horticultural positions with Melbourne Zoo and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, specialising in the cultivation of hard to grow species. Chloe loves creating engaging gardens and helping people select the ‘right plant for the right place.’ This philosophy spills over into her teaching Horticulture at Melbourne Polytechnic, where she spends her days getting students excited about plants and gardening. She co-hosts the successful 3CR Gardening Show, and loves using her knowledge to educate people through writing and broadcasting.

Judy Friedlander is a journalist, writer and environmental advocate. She has worn many hats - writing for and editing major newspapers, producing television current affairs, and working as an academic. Judy started and heads up the environmental organisation, PlantingSeeds, which runs the multi-state urban pollinator wildlife corridor, the B&B Highway. She also works with the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney. Educating and working with children, teenagers and adults with PlantingSeeds to plant, do citizen science, and build habitats inspired her book, The Bee Squad: Boosting Biodiversity in your Neighbourhood. The Bee Squad is all about the information and activities that make a difference, to help transform our cities and suburbs into havens for pollinators -  and people.

Anna Matilda, often referred to as ‘Nanna’ Anna, is a permaculture educator and founder of The Urban Nanna, an educational business which specialises in teaching people about traditional skills, crafts and methods of living. ‘Nanna’ Anna is a former primary teacher with training in horticulture, psychology and fine arts. Through TV, radio, events, and print media, she shares traditional knowledge and skills with people around the world, much like grandmas used to do with their children and grandchildren. As well as reviving traditional ways of cooking, preserving, and crafting, Anna’s focus lies heavily on permaculture and sustainable living, where gardening and zero-waste principles are part of everyday life. Her new internationally released book, Everyday Permaculture, has already been a huge success, with extracts featured in Women’s Weekly, ABC Organic Gardener, Good Food Guide, and Frankie Magazine. Anna was also included in Better Homes & Gardens’ inaugural Creator Awards.

Wherever you find entertainers performing in neon-lit pubs and clubs, chances are you will find a wannabe gangster or two hanging around.

Selling sex and drugs has always been a way to make a fast buck - and potential customers are more open to temptation in pubs, bars, dance halls and nightclubs. Abe Saffron figured all this out very quickly, says music industry legend Stuart Coupe.

So too did one of post-war Australia's most influential rock’n’roll promoters - Lee Gordon. He brought us Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr, Johnny O’Keefe and the Roller Derby. To some he was a typical yank: crass, loud, outspoken and focused on one thing – making money. But one thing is undeniable - without Lee Gordon, there would be no billion-dollar entertainment industry in Australia today, says author Jeff Apter.

Friends of Kiama Library are thrilled to have both these authors together to talk about how these two Kings of the Cross influenced music and the mafia.

Drinks and finger food will be served after the talk, and books will be available for purchase and signing.

$15 Friends members | $20 Guests (includes drinks and finger food)

Everyone welcome.

Book online here.

A tongue in cheek social history of our obsession with breasts.

For most of her life, unconcernedly flat-chested author and academic Dr Lisa Portolan had never really thought about her breasts, or boobs in general. But then she met Amanda Goff – aka former escort Samantha X – fellow author, journalist and owner of a huge pair of breasts. A friendship formed, then a working relationship … and as the two women embarked on business dealings together, the monolithic power of mammary glands became glaringly apparent. All too often, men would ogle Amanda’s chest in meetings, text her romantic/perverse messages, and try to get into her pants. The same men would focus their attention on Lisa’s face, send her professional emails, and otherwise ignore her. Lisa was left pondering whether she should have her breasts augmented in order to become more visible, while Amanda wondered whether she should have hers reduced. But they both found themselves asking the same question: why all the fuss about boobs?

Lisa and Amanda don’t pretend to have all the answers – they’re not even sure how they feel about them most of the time. But that’s precisely the point. Boobs is a smart, irreverent, wide-ranging and often hilarious conversation about the human and social-historical journey of breasts, richly illustrated with personal anecdotes and perspectives from coauthors at opposite ends of the bust spectrum. With its eclectic mix of chest-related topics – from our fixation with symmetry to the judgy debates about breastfeeding – Boobs celebrates our messy, often ridiculous and always complex relationship with these culturally charged appendages.

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL: https://gleebooks.com.au/event/dr-lisa-portolan-amanda-goff-boobs/

Broadcasters Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh step back in time with authors Nilima Rao, Michael Burge and Lainie Anderson to investigate century-old mystery and murder. What are the pitfalls and advantages of writing crime set in pre-WWI Fiji; a colonial Methodist outpost at Jenolan Caves, and the early 20th century Adelaide police force?

Bookings required here.

Horticulture teacher and radio garden show host, Chloe Foster, has a clear and easy new book that will help novice plant parents nail the absolute basics of gardening. 'The Rookie Gardener' will take you from no idea to smug seed sower.

This event will be a chance to harvest tips and tricks for gardening at home.

Bring your gardening questions, yellow lemon leaves or photos of your nibbled pot plants, and Chloe will answer them on the night.

FREE event, bookings here.

For the first time, here is the story of Lee Gordon, trailblazer, told by acclaimed music biographer Jeff Apter.

Post-war Australia didn't know what to make of promoter Lee Gordon. To some he was a typical Yank: crass, loud and outspoken, focused on just one thing - making money. But to others, such as rocker Johnny O'Keefe, Lee Gordon was a mentor, a guru and a lifeline to the big time. One thing is undeniable: without Lee Gordon, there would be no billion-dollar entertainment industry in Australia today; and names like Michael Gudinski, Harry M. Miller and Michael Chugg would mean little. Gordon was a true original, who lived fast and hard, spent big - he had a private bank vault - and died far too young, just as he had predicted. 'Lee Gordon was the pioneer,' said Harry M. Miller. 'He created and invented for Australia large-scale entertainment in big arenas. He was very imaginative, way before his time.'

When Lee Gordon arrived in Sydney in September 1953, the only place Australians could see international stars like Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope was on the big screen. But over the next 10 years, Gordon would promote tours for almost 500 international acts, everyone from Sinatra (a close friend) to Sammy Davis Jr, Liberace to Bill Haley, Buddy Holly to shock comic Lenny Bruce. Thanks to Gordon, Aussies grew accustomed to seeing showbiz legends up close, in person, rather than simply staring at them on a cinema screen. Gordon also opened Australia's first drive-in restaurant, introduced local audiences to the Roller Derby and ran discotheques and strip clubs.

By the time Gordon died in mysterious circumstances, alone in London, in 1963 - aged just 40 - he'd not only established the entertainment industry in Australia, but also changed the country's culture forever.

Books will be available for purchase, or bring your copy from home to be signed. Presented as part of the Lord Mayor’s Writers in Residence series.

FREE event, register here.

Ipswich Libraries in partnership with Studio 188 present… 

Discover the stories behind the music with bestselling biographer, Jeff Apter.

Hear Jeff reflect on his remarkable career, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from over 30 books chronicling the lives of icons such as Keith Urban, the Bee Gees and AC/DC.

Jeff’s latest release, Lee Gordon Presents, explores the life of the trailblazing promoter who transformed Australian entertainment.

FREE event, RSVP required here.

Discover the life of entertainment industry trailblazer Lee Gordon, in the latest book by bestselling music biographer, Jeff Apter.

Jeff Apter is the author of more than 30 biographies about the world of music and musicians, his subjects including Keith Urban, the Bee Gees and AC/DC.

Lee Gordon is remembered as the man responsible for the billion-dollar entertainment industry in Australia today, after confounding Post-War Australia with his crass, loud and outspoken focus on making money.

You can find out more about his life and legacy with music biographer Jeff Apter live in conversation at our Broadbeach Library, as he shares the history behind the man in his new book Lee Gordon Presents.

Arriving in Sydney in September 1953, the only place Australians could see international stars like Frank Sinatra was on the big screen. Over the next 10 years, Lee Gordon promoted tours for almost 500 international acts from Sinatra, Buddy Holly to shock comic Lenny Bruce. Thanks to Gordon, Australians got used to seeing showbiz legends up close in person, helping establish Australian’s entertainment industry and changing Australia’s culture forever.

Don’t miss this opportunity to discover more about the life of the man ‘way before his time’ and his lasting legacy in helping define Australia’s entertainment industry.

FREE event, registration required here.

News cowboys - it was the nickname the reporters and camerapeople at Seven Network's Los Angeles bureau jokingly gave themselves as they headed off on assignments as a way of coping.

Mike, who won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Network Award in 2011, recounts these experiences with honesty, compassion and humour, but also takes on the big questions: Why do foreign correspondents do this job? Why do they, sometimes recklessly, expose themselves to danger when they have family at home?

About the author

Mike Amor is one of Australia's most experienced broadcast journalists. In a career spanning more than 35 years, he has covered some of the biggest news stories in the world, from September 11 terrorist attacks to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His work has been honoured with almost 40 international journalism awards.

Organised in partnership with Constant Reader Bookshop.

Accessibility

This event will be held on Level 1 and is accessible for people using mobility aids via lift. A hearing loop is also installed.

Free event, registration required here.

Hear what it's like behind the scenes of international breaking news, through the eyes of a leading Foreign Correspondent.

The off-camera world of a foreign correspondent.

News cowboys – it was the nickname the reporters and camerapeople at Seven Network's Los Angeles bureau jokingly gave themselves as they headed off on assignments, not knowing what to expect and often unprepared for what they found. It was a way of coping, of not taking too seriously what was often deadly serious, as they witnessed some of the worst moments in recent world history.

For 18 years Mike Amor was one of those journalists. He was on the ground during 9/11 and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He reported on mass shootings from Port Arthur to Sandy Hook, covered the earthquake in Haiti and the astonishing rescue of a little girl named Winnie, investigated Mexican drug cartels, came under fire in Gaza – and much more. There were good times, too – following the Olympics or Chloë McCardel's record-breaking Cuban swim – but the mental and physical toll was incalculable, on him and on his wife and son.

Mike, who won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Network Award in 2011, recounts these experiences with honesty, compassion and humour, but also takes on the big questions: Why do foreign correspondents do this job? Why do they, sometimes recklessly, expose themselves to danger when they have family at home?

News Cowboys is a brave, moving and thought-provoking book. To read it is to see the world differently and to understand the high price paid by those who will stop at nothing to tell the truth.

Free ticketed event, book here.

Post-war Australia didn't know what to make of promoter Lee Gordon. But one thing is undeniable: without Lee Gordon, there would be no billion-dollar entertainment industry in Australia today.

For the first time, here is his story, told by acclaimed music biographer Jeff Apter.

Books available for purchase and signing.

FREE event, bookings essential. Register online or call 02 4233 1133.

From science and mathematics to understandings of space and time, memory, kinship systems, languages and linguistics, celebrate Indigenous knowledge and culture with Debra Dank (Terraglossia), JM Field (The Eagle and the Crow) and Delta Kay. With Bebe Oliver.

Book tickets to Byron Writers’ Festival here.

From oceans to rivers, in flood and drought, for drinking, agriculture and industry, water is essential to life. Join Debra Dank (Terraglossia), Joëlle Gergis (Highway to Hell), Chris Hammer (The River) and James Sippo for an essential discussion on water and climate. With Erik Jensen.

Book tickets to Byron Writers’ Festival here.

Join Northern Rivers locals Kayte Nunn (The Palazzo) and PA Thomas (The Sunbaker) in discussion about their delicious new murder mysteries – set in destination locations from the foothills of the Italian Alps to right here in Byron Shire. With Hilarie Dunn.

Book tickets here.

From non-verbal expression, the music of poetry, and cultural knowledge systems, communication shapes our understanding of the world. Join poet Maxine Beneba Clarke (Stuff I’m (Not) Sorry For), Gudanji/Wakaja academic Debra Dank (Terraglossia) and philosopher Damon Young (Immortal Gestures) for a beautiful discussion of how we communicate.

With ABC Radio National Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell.

Book tickets to Byron Writers’ Festival here.

News Cowboys is Mike's new brave and moving book about being a foreign correspondent and the impact it had on his life and family.

For 18 years Mike Amor was foreign correspondent for Channel 7's Los Angeles bureau. He was on the ground during 9/11 and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He reported on mass shootings from Port Arthur to Sandy Hook, covered the earthquake in Haiti and the astonishing rescue of a little girl named Winnie, investigated Mexican drug cartels, came under fire in Gaza – and much more. There were good times, too – following the Olympics or Chloë McCardel’s record-breaking Cuban swim – but the mental and physical toll was incalculable, on him and on his wife and son.

Join Mike Amor in coversation with Karen O'Sullivan for an intriguing evening of stories and a behind the scenes look at the life of a Foreign Correspondent.

Arrive before 6pm to book dinner that will be served after Mike's interview around 7pm.

Get tickets here.

Join Richard Glover in conversation with acclaimed music biographer, Jeff Apter, to reveal the story of 1950s trailblazer, Lee Gordon. During his time, Gordon was the first to bring international stars to Australia to perform in his Big Shows, mostly staged at the Sydney Stadium. Among the 500 artists Lee worked with were Frank Sinatra, Bill Haley, Aboott and Costello, and Sammy Davis Jr.

Includes books sales and author signing.

Bookings essential, tickets available here from 5 July.

Sergeant Akal Singh, an unwilling transplant to Fiji, is just starting to settle into his life in the capital city of Suva when he is sent to the neighboring island of Ovalau on a series of fool’s errands. First: investigate strange reports of Germans, thousands of miles from the front of World War I. Second: chaperone two strong-willed European ladies, Mary and Katherine, on a sight-seeing tour. And third: supervise the only police officer currently on Ovalau, an eighteen-year-old constable with a penchant for hysterics.

Accompanied by his friend Taviti, who is visiting his uncle, the local chief, Akal sets off on these seemingly straightforward tasks. Instead, they become embroiled in a series of local issues: the gruesome death of an unpopular local and the imprisonment of a group of Norwegian sailors in Taviti’s uncle’s village. To add to Akal’s woes, Katherine, the charming aspiring journalist, harbors an agenda of her own. Will Akal be able to keep her—and himself—out of trouble before anybody else gets killed?

Nilima Rao’s debut, A Disappearance in Fiji, was a critical darling and award-winner, ending up on multiple best-of-year roundups. This next installment in the Sergeant Akal Singh series has all the charm and sparkle of the first book, with even more fascinating historical insight into the realities of life on Fiji at the start of the twentieth century.

Books will be available for purchase, or bring your copy from home to be signed. Presented as part of the Lord Mayor’s Writers in Residence series.

Free ticketed event, book here.

Join us for the launch of News Cowboys: the off-camera world of a foreign correspondent.

News cowboys - it was the nickname the reporters and camera people at Seven Network's Los Angeles bureau jokingly gave themselves as they headed off on assignments, not knowing what to expect and often unprepared for what they found. It was a way of coping, of not taking too seriously what was often deadly serious, as they witnessed some of the worst moments in recent world history.

Free event, book here.

Join us at Books@Stones on Thursday 17 July for crime fiction author P.A. Thomas in-conversation about his next beachside thriller, The Sunbaker. 

Free event, register here.

Byron Bay author P.A. Thomas joins us to chat about The Sunbaker, his new beachside page-turner, the follow-up mystery to The Beacon.

Book now and join P.A. Thomas live in conversation to talk about his latest murder mystery, why he chooses the local settings for his new novel The Sunbaker, and the inspiration behind his colourful characters.

Free ticketed event, book here.

When overworked forensic pathologist Nicola Fox arrives for a long-overdue break at her holiday house in Brunswick Heads, on the NSW north coast, she's shocked to discover someone sunbaking on one of the sun lounges in her backyard. And that the sunbaker has been dead for some time.

Rumours soon emerge that the sunbaker took more than a few dark secrets to his grave, secrets many people - and especially the police - were keen to bury. When the arse-covering and finger-pointing begin in earnest, Nicola finds herself a suspect.

New to town, she only knows one person who might be able to save her: Jack Harris, a journalist at the local newspaper, The Beacon. When he begins investigating, the police organised crime unit arrives, and soon they are threatening both him and Nicola, leaving Jack to wonder if it was the police themselves who had committed the crime.

Can Jack uncover who really killed the sunbaker, and why the body was left in the backyard of a forensic pathologist, before the escalating threats to his own wellbeing become more than just threats?

Bookings essential, on sale here.

Join Paul Thomas as he shares his latest novel The Sunbaker – a beachside murder mystery set in Brunswick Heads, bursting with local colour and humour.

When overworked forensic pathologist Nicola Fox arrives for a long-overdue break at her holiday house in Brunswick Heads, on the NSW north coast, she's shocked to discover someone sunbaking on one of the sun lounges in her backyard. And that the sunbaker has been dead for some time.

Rumours soon emerge that the sunbaker took more than a few dark secrets to his grave, secrets many people - and especially the police - were keen to bury. When the arse-covering and finger-pointing begin in earnest, Nicola finds herself a suspect.

New to town, she only knows one person who might be able to save her: Jack Harris, a journalist at the local newspaper, The Beacon. When he begins investigating, the police organised crime unit arrives, and soon they are threatening both him and Nicola, leaving Jack to wonder if it was the police themselves who had committed the crime.

Can Jack uncover who really killed the sunbaker, and why the body was left in the backyard of a forensic pathologist, before the escalating threats to his own wellbeing become more than just threats?

Books will be available for purchase, or bring your copy from home to be signed. Presented as part of the Lord Mayor’s Writers in Residence series.

Free ticketed event, book here.

You won't find 'terraglossia' on Google, or in a dictionary. It's a word coined by acclaimed academic and award-winning author Dr Debra Dank in response to the first Europeans' description of Australia as 'terra nullius' – no one's land. These new arrivals, with their language born far away, silenced and made invisible the more-than-ancient civilisations that have lived in and with this place for many thousands of years.

The First Peoples became 'other', spoken for and about in another language, through another culture, not permitted to articulate their essential being and their complex relationships with Country and its entities, unable to participate in the development of a truly Australian dialogue. It is time for the depth of this linguistic colonisation to be recognised, for the deep intellectual traditions of First Nations Australians to be acknowledged and included, for their multiple living communicative practices and expressions to be heard.

Terraglossia is a powerful and moving reply to a false claiming, to the need for understanding that only through responsible living with the earth, not just what can be articulated in a language that arrived 250 years ago, will all the voices of Australia truly be heard.

Free ticketed event, book here.

Both Dr Debra Dank and Darren Rix are the holders of First Nations knowledges that predate colonisation, from the living languages and deep intellectual traditions of First Nations Australians to the vivid stories of the arrival of Cook. They talk about storytelling before colonisation with Lillian Rodrigues-Pang.

Book your tickets here.

Nardi Simpson, Yuwaalaraay storyteller and performer, and Dr Debra Dank, Gudanji/Wakaja academic and author, are both recent recipients of the ALS Gold Medal. Debra and Nardi sit down with Gamilaroi writer Judi Morison to yarn about their new books, Terraglossia and the belburd, and about the importance of listening to the voices of this place. 

Book your tickets here.

Online Author Talk - via Zoom

In Conversation with Patricia Wolf

Thursday 26 June 2025 6.30pm via Zoom

Hosted by Latrobe City Libraries - partnering with Myli Community Libraries and East Gipplsand Libraries.

This event will be held via Zoom. Please register your details to receive the Zoom link before the event. Please read below for important information regarding our Zoom events. If you require assistance with registration or require more information, please phone Myli Support on 1800 44 6954 or contact your local branch.

Event Partners - This online event is hosted by Latrobe City Libraries, partnering with Myli Community Libraries and East Gipplsand Libraries.

Booking link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/online-author-talk-patricia-wolf-tickets-1354272297899

Pilu at Freshwater’s In Conversation Series

This series explores the writing of Australian authors through conversations on their recent works, life experience, and expertise.

Amanda Goff aka Samantha X
12th June – Thursday – 6pm
Hosted in the Pilu Pavilion

Amanda Goff was a successful journalist in London and Sydney before ditching her nine to five job at the age of 38 to become Samantha X, Australia’s most famous escort.  A bipolar diagnosis changed everything:  she retired from sex work, walked away from Samantha X, and went in search of Amanda.

‘Misfit’ is her third memoir – but the first written as ‘herself’.  Raw, honest, provocative, wise and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is an unflinching record of her journey along the bumpy path to healing and self-acceptance.  Beyond confronting her bipolar disorder and addiction issues, Amanda must also contend with prejucide and judgement, lingering trauma from her earlier life, and her own crushing self-doubt.  As she struggles with the realities of so-called normality, the persistent voice of Samantha X is there to remind her of a former life that offered power, money, fame – and protection from the challenges that Amanda has courageously chosen to tackle head-on.

$85 per person.

Event seating is communal, requests to be seated with other ticket holders not guaranteed.  We are able to accommodate vegetarian and gluten free dietaries, however we are unable to accommodate other dietaries.  Ticket sales are non-refundable.

For more information or to book your spot click here.

With Terraglossia, the name of her latest release and a term coined by Debra Dank in response to the first Europeans’ description of Australia as ‘terra nullius’ – no one’s land, Debra takes action to reclaim a stolen voice. Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts shares her incredible story in Long Yarn Short to drive positive change for First Nations youth. Both are fighting for change through their writing.

Join award-winning writer Debra Dank and debut memoirist Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts as they discuss the past, present and future of writing as activism.

Event is free but bookings are essential.