Join us at The Hare & Tortoise Books for a Q&A and signing with these two amazing authors!

We’re heading to Far North Queensland (without leaving the room!) to celebrate the newest Sugarcane Kids adventure.

Author Charlie Archbold is stopping by Propsect Library to help us crack the Mystery at Angel Bay with a session that’s more about doing than just sitting and listening. If your kids are into animals, adventures, or just like making things, they’ll fit right in.

What’s happening: Charlie will be leading a mix of creative writing and craft activities based on the wild animals and characters from her books. It’s a great chance for kids to get to hear about Charlie's new story, get creative and walk away with something they’ve made themselves.

All materials are included. This program is suitable for children 5+. Please note that children under the age of 12 will need an adult guardian present in the library during the program. 

Victoria Brownlee, Garry Disher and Anne Olle with Francesca Carter 

Our three writers plus host Tracee Hutchison all live on the Mornington Peninsula. Each day they are inspired by the natural world around them, and each day they write. Join this discussion about the importance of where we work and its impact on how we work.

Sarah Bailey, Michael Brissenden and Garry Disher with Nicky Bisogni

From Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson to Dalziel and Pascoe, crime fiction is littered with memorable investigative pairings. Our panel discusses why in some cases, two are better than one.

You followed the trial, you’ve read the book, now meet the authors. Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein are coming to Sorrento, and we look forward to their discussion about the 2025 trial of Erin Patterson, the Leongatha woman convicted of murdering three relatives and attempting to kill a fourth. In the hosting chair: Celia Hirsh.

Join us to hear Michael Winkler in conversation with Donata Carrazza about his new novel Griefdogg, set in Mildura.

This novel is full of local details, from the Merbein IGA mural to the beautiful Murray River. It's a book about grief, water, and the hidden currents that move beneath us, and the conversation will be warm and enlightening.

Come from 6:30pm for a 7pm start. Wine provided. Thank you to Mallee Arts coLab for the use of their space.

Toni Jordan and Michael Winkler: Animal Instincts
What can animals teach us? Two beloved novelists discuss their new books that explore our relationship to our canine companions.

Readings and conversation from Michael Winkler, Wayne Marshall and Rhett Davis

Hear from three authors pushing boundaries in contemporary Australian fiction: Michael Winkler, Wayne Marshall, and Rhett Davis. The evening will including readings and conversation, wine and nibbles, book sales and signings. Attendees will also enjoy 10% off any other titles they wish to purchase on the night. 

Michael Winkler, Griefdogg (Text Publishing): When Jeffrey Watson-Johnson inherits a small fortune from an obscure aunt, he decides to change everything... and live as the family pet. The second novel from the Miles Franklin-shortlisted author of Grimmish, Griefdogg is a funny, sad, entrancing story about identiy, love, family and forgiveness.

Wayne Marshall, Henry Goes Bush (Picador): In 1892, New South Wales' most promising writer and least promising teetotaller, Henry Lawson, is banished to Bourke to 'find the real bush'. The goal: sober up, gather fresh material, and stop being such a disappointment. But what Australia's favourite literary son discovers in the river town is less a glorious national frontier than a collective nervous breakdown.

Rhett Davis, Arborescence (Hachette): An imaginative and deeply-felt answer to the question: how much would you sacrifice to save the world? From the award-winning writer of Hovering, Arborescence is a compelling novel about connection and disconnection, ambition and apathy, loss and hope, and how we don't always know what we have until the damage is done.

Michael Winkler is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. His latest novel is Griefdogg. His previous novel, Grimmish, shortlisted for the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award, was published in the UK, North America and Spain (in translation). Michael won the Calibre Prize for his essay ‘The Great Red Whale’. His journalism, reviews, short fiction and essays have been widely published and anthologised. 

Amanda Lohrey has over many years abandoned three tenured academic positions in order to do a lot of scribbling. She has published eight novels, a collection of short stories, two Quarterly Essays and a book on why singing is good for you. Her ninth novel is Capture (28 April 2026).