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.

Announcing the 2025 Stella Prize winner in a special event at Sydney Writers’ Festival.

Stella is a leading advocate for gender equity and cultural change in Australian literature. Since its inception in 2012, Stella has championed the work of Australian women and non-binary writers with its flagship program, the prestigious Stella Prize. This annual literary award celebrates writing that is original, excellent and engaging.

Join judges Debra Dank, Astrid Edwards, Leah Jing McIntosh and Rick Morton in honouring the incredible talent of this year’s longlisted, shortlisted and winning authors and celebrate the stories shaping Australian literature today.

Bookings essential.

The Bogong is a celebration of Blak voices, where master storytellers breathe life into words, honouring the past and shaping the future.

Inspired by the ancient gathering of Bogong moths, this event is a modern feast of poetry, performance and truth-telling. With the theme Now Is the Hour, the performers call forth the spirit of resistance, resilience and renewal through the power of spoken word. They elevate the silenced, reclaim their narratives and affirm their survival. This is more than an event, it is a movement, a fire and a heartbeat.

Join these Blak storytellers as they honour the stories that refuse to be forgotten.

Bookings essential.

Our panelists will reflect on their own experiences personally and professionally to explore the topic of mental health.

Writing with great humanity and humour, Australian psychiatrist Anne Buist and internationally bestselling author Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Project, welcome us into the world of mental health with compassion and insight. Craig Semple has written about his own mental health struggles and provides the audience with a roadmap for recovery in his latest title Getting Back Up Again.

Gold coin donation.

Books available for sale and signing.

Part of the Write Here Festival - Lake Mac Libraries. Full program details here.

Craig Semple was a career detective in the New South Wales Police force for twenty-five years. Now medically retired from law enforcement due to psychological injuries, Craig is a sought-after keynote speaker and mental health advocate. Craig is the founding director of Mentality Plus, through which he has developed and delivered mental health, wellbeing, and resilience education to thousands of people all over Australia. Craig is the author of The Cop Who Fell to Earth and Getting Back Up Again: A Plan to Get Your Head Back in the Game.

Graeme Simsion is the author of The Rosie Project series, which has sold over six million copies in forty-two languages, and other international bestsellers, including The Best of Adam Sharp and the Two Steps series, which he wrote with his partner, Anne Buist.

Anne Buist is a professor of psychiatry, Chair of Women’s Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and author of five psychological thrillers including the Natalie King series. Graeme and Anne’s joint novel The Glass House, the first in a planned series set in an acute psychiatric ward, was published in 2024.

Join author and mental health advocate Craig Semple (Getting Back Up Again, The Cop That Fell To Earth) for an open and interactive session in partnership with Mindful Margaret River. Craig will share his personal journey, offering insights into suicide, body image and the challenges men face in acknowledging personal struggles.

Facilitated by Colin Fox, this session includes a Q&A and discussion on help-seeking as a sign of strength, the importance of early intervention and breaking the stigma around mental health for men of all ages, including fathers and sons.

Hosted by Colin Fox from Mindful Margaret River

Mindful Margaret River support staff will be available throughout the session.

Registration required

Step into the past and craft compelling historical fiction! Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced writer, this immersive workshop will help you blend fact and fiction to create rich, authentic stories. Join historical fiction writer and literary journalist Jane Sullivan (Little People and Murder in Punch Lane) as she explores historical fiction’s diverse genres, research techniques, common pitfalls, crafting dialogue and weaving real events into your narrative. Expect interactive discussions, hands-on exercises and plenty of inspiration to ignite your storytelling!

Hosted by Jane Sullivan

Free, registration required

Join Craig Semple for an inspiring talk on his book Getting Back Up Again, a powerful account of overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder and rebuilding a life of hope and resilience. Drawing on his 25-year police career and personal journey, Craig shares hard-won strategies for navigating stress, trauma, and recovery, offering tools to help others find strength in adversity.

Hosted by Mike Rumble from Mindful Margaret River

In partnership with Mindful Margaret River

Free, registration required

Join us to celebrate the launch of Behind the Mask by Josh Piterman, Australian star of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

My book includes many of the lessons, learnings and wisdoms I found while trying to work out who I really am. Some I formulated, others I stumbled across while reading numerous philosophical, spiritual and self-help books over the years. Others are from the various coaches, teachers, gurus, guides, mentors, therapists and philosophers who have helped me grow through the ups and downs of life and self-discovery. Some have come through my podcast, Behind the Mask. My intention is not only to give you a backstage VIP tour of my musical theatre world, but also to provide you with some useful tools to help navigate life, find deeper meaning, explore a growth mindset, and ensure it's all done with a touch of humour

Free, but bookings are essential.

Please book here.

See Patricia Wolf, author of Opal, in conversation with James Dunbar, author of Mole Creek.

Tickets available here.

“The thing about friendships formed in childhood … is that they’re like an invisible tattoo. They mark you and mould you. They’re under your skin.”

When a last collection of songs by British musical icon, James Bennett, is discovered in an old Somerset house, rumours about his mysterious death during a wild midsummer party more than fifty years ago begin to swirl again. An accident? Suicide? Or murder?

The only person still alive who knows what happened is frail but indomitable Ruth Henderson. She now lives in a Sydney apartment, but back in 1972 she was staying in Somerset with her closest friend, Adela McMahon, who was married to James.

From very different backgrounds, Ruth and Adela became inseparable while growing up in an isolated New South Wales rural town. And they longed to escape. Adela fled first, to the bright lights and hectic whirl of swinging London, where she soon met James. But all was not as gilded as it seemed. Ruth was a witness to her beloved friend’s tempestuous and troubling relationship – and she was by Adela’s side the night James died.

Journalists are clamouring to hear Ruth’s story. Of them all, Ruth chooses young and ambitious Kate Griffin, who will do anything to boost her career. But as the past and the present begin to collide, an unexpected friendship grows between the two women and deciding what really matters proves life changing for them both.

A new local voice in the oh-so popular romance genre, Anna Maynard will be in conversation with Hannah Moloney (Good Life Permaculture, ABC’s Gardening Australia).

Can the path to true love ever flow as smoothly as honey?

Sunny Moritz needs a change. She’s thirty-three, single, weary of?tedious romances with the wrong kind of men?and, according to her disappointed parents, drifting about like a tumbleweed. Her former high school crush, orthopaedic surgeon Adam Harrison,?might be meeting all her physical demands (and requiring a subtotal of zero emotional headspace), but what about the rest of her life?

When Sunny decides to start beekeeping, the man with the information she needs is an?odd, enigmatic and indecently sexy Antarctic scientist. Surely, though, she’s way?too pragmatic to be affected by his magnetism … But as her hunger for meaning starts to bloom, Sunny begins to think that maybe it’s not too late to reconnect with her parents, maybe it’s time to start dancing again and maybe even?she?could have a lasting relationship.

Dancing with Bees is easy to read, but hard to put down. In the tradition of Emily Henry and Marian Keyes, this delightful novel bubbles with charm, warmth and humour, but also speaks of the important things in life – like love.

Anna Maynard’s experience as a writer had largely been restricted to referral letters and discharge summaries through her years of medical training. So after finishing her specialist exams she decided to turn her hand to romance. When she’s not dreaming up fictional heroines and swoony love interests, Anna can be found working in the emergency department, pottering in her garden or playing songs with her pop band. Anna lives in Tasmania with her husband and children.

Join Anna and Hannah at the Afterword Cafe. Tickets include a glass of wine or soft drink. Tickets cost $12 and are available here.

Studies show that music education helps improve cognitive function and literacy. Increasingly crowded curriculums and finite resources have seen schools cut back on music programs, resulting in thousands of children leaving primary with no formal music education. Many schools that try to retain some music in their curriculum often deliver it by a generalist teacher who has received 17 hours of music education in their four-year degree, compared with 350 hours for a generalist teacher in South Korea. How do we ensure policymakers and educators see the bigger picture of the value and importance of music education to every child’s development?

Panel: Max Holzner, Josh Piterman, Katherine Wiles, Gillian Wills

Host: Suzanne Leal

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

Katherine Wiles is not a household name, and that’s how she likes it, by choice. She has built a career by being part of the chorus of Opera Australia since 2007. And she writes about it in her memoir No Autographs, Please! balancing charming self-deprecation with professional style and confidence and in respectful homage to her chorus colleagues.

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

Two deeply personal journeys that explore episodic mental health breakdowns, the path to recovery, and achieving a new equilibrium.

Psychologist Ariane Beeston (Because I’m Not Myself, You See) provides an intimate look at her struggles with post-partum depression and hallucinations.

Craig Semple (Getting Back Up Again) shares his experience after dealing with post-traumatic stress and severe depression following 25 years as a detective.

Together, their memoirs illuminate what is needed to confront unexpected and unforeseen challenges and the courage to rebuild a fulfilling life.

Host: Tracey Kirkland

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

We discuss Australian historical stories from 18th century England to World War II with three authors.

Free by Meg Keneally blends storytelling with social critique in the story of Molly Thistle, who is
transported to the new penal colony after stealing a horse and defies convention to create a commercial empire.

All the Golden Light by Siobhan O’Brien sees the struggle that takes place at home after World War I, where everyone is affected: returned soldiers by post- traumatic stress and women wanting independence and purpose.

To Sing of War by Catherine McKinnon weaves together an Australian nurse and soldier in New Guinea, scientists in Los Alamos, and a mother in Japan, connected in a moment of history in a tale of friendship, love, and war.

Host: Victoria Haskins

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

Step into the evocative landscapes of Australian crime fiction with two rising stars of the genre. Hayley Scrivenor (Girl Falling) and Patricia Wolf (Opal) bring their richly atmospheric settings to life, where the land itself becomes a character shaping the stories of secrets, resilience, and survival. From the tightly woven community dynamics of a small town in Scrivenor’s first book, Dirt Town , to the vast, untamed outback of Wolf’s DS Lucas Walker series, this session explores how the sunburned country amplifies tension, deepens mysteries, and provides a canvas for gripping storytelling.

Host: Tim Ayliffe

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

Join TV and radio host James O’Loghlin in conversation with Suzanne Leal about James’s latest book, Liars, a murder mystery set in a sleepy coastal town where all is not as it seems. Both are former criminal lawyers turned writers, so expect a lively conversation about practising in crime and writing – and where the two may intersect.

Tickets are limited, so book early.

Amanda Goff (Misfit), a journalist, has written two previous memoirs, but this is the first as herself, Amanda. She was diagnosed with bipolar at age 48 after having spent the previous ten years as a high- profile escort.

Sarah Martin (Dear Psychosis) writes of her daughter suffering a psychotic episode while travelling in Turkey, a subsequent diagnosis of bipolar, and the confronting impact on her family.

Jacqui Louise Swallow (The Bipolar Runner) navigated school and university despite a troubled teenage and, as a young mum, realised that keeping active helped her manage bipolar better than anything and set herself a goal of running the Melbourne Marathon.

Host: Suzanne Leal

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

Heidi Coupland’s husband, Peter, a grief counsellor, was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Anthony Sobb’s wife, Kim, a solicitor with the DPP and a non-smoker, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.

Michelle Lesh’s husband, Mark Raphael Baker, Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, wrote his memoir while dealing with pancreatic cancer.

Their respective memoirs, A Single Lifeline, My Business Is Now North and A Season of Death, share the story of diagnosis, treatment, fight for survival, their relationships, looking after children, acceptance, and the most personal of experiences for which there is no textbook—the grieving process.

With host Michaela Kalowski.

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

Heather Morris hails from a somewhat familiar New Zealand upbringing in a small rural community, part of a large family surrounded by several generations, excelling in sports, doing okay at school, and devouring information and stories. Heather indulged in her passion for writing with a scriptwriting course while raising a family and working as a social worker at a medical centre in Melbourne. Then, in 2003, she was introduced to Lale Sokolov, and the rest is history! It is a meeting that resulted in a screenplay and, secondly, in a book on Lale’s story known as The Tattooist of Auschwitz (2018). She has since published three more Holocaust novels, and her latest book, Sisters Under the Rising Sun (2023), is set in a Japanese POW camp in Indonesia in World War II.

Heather is in conversation with Michael Brissenden.

Ticket cost $22. Book here.

See Patricia Wolf, author of Opal, in conversation with James Dunbar, author of Mole Creek.

Tickets available here.

A small mining community. A murderer at large. And a flood that has trapped them all.

DS Lucas Walker is off duty. His young half-sister Grace is visiting from Boston, and he’s supposed to be spending time with her at his home in Caloodie in outback Queensland. But instead they’ve driven 400 kilometres west to the tiny mining town of Kanpara to pick up Walker’s cousin Blair, who’s been digging for boulder opals and is suddenly very keen to get out. It’s not like Blair to quit so easily.

On their arrival, the atmosphere is already tense with rumours of a life-changing opal discovery. The following day, they awake to find that Kanpara has been completely cut off by a flood and the roads will be closed for days. Then Blair receives a shocking phone call. 

A man and a woman have been found brutally murdered. 

The murdered woman’s husband is an immediate suspect, but Walker isn’t convinced. Could the killings be connected to the rumoured opal find? When the police take Blair in for questioning, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Walker. Can he unravel the mystery quickly enough to save his cousin and keep Grace safe? 

The thrilling third instalment in the bestselling DS Lucas Walker series, Opal is full of breathtaking twists and dark turns.

In partnership with Sisters in Crime

Join us to hear Patricia Wolf in conversation to discuss her latest novel, Opal.

The thrilling third instalment in the bestselling DS Lucas Walker series, Opal is full of breathtaking twists and dark turns.

Free, but bookings are essential.

Please book here.