Day 1 - Friday 25 July
Dr Jacqueline Kent
Friday 25 July
10:30am – 11:30am
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Acclaimed biographer Dr Jacqueline Kent’s latest work, Inconvenient Women: Australian radical writers 1900-1970, traces the stories of trailblazing women writers who challenged the nation’s status quo.
Jacqueline will profile several writers including Ruth Park, Christina Stead and Oodgeroo Noonuuccal (Kath Walker) with extracts from diaries and private letters. Jacqueline’s other works include A Certain Style, the award-winning biography of book editor Beatrice Style and The Making of Julia Gillard, the only full biography of Australia's first woman prime minister. Jacqueline holds a Doctorate of Creative Arts from UTS, Sydney.
Helen Trinca
Friday 25 July
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
In Looking for Elizabeth, journalist Helen Trinca asks why Elizabeth Harrower – one of Australia’s most important authors – stopped writing at the height of her powers. After publishing four acclaimed books, Harrower faded from the literary landscape and was rediscovered decades later to international acclaim.
Helen unravels this mystery, bringing to life the literary circles of a fascinating era in Australian culture. Based on private interviews with Harrower and full access to her archive, Looking for Elizabeth is the first full biography of this significant figure in Australian letters.
Helen Trinca is an experienced reporter, commentator and editor who has held senior positions at The Australian, including deputy editor, managing editor, European correspondent and editor of The Weekend Australian Magazine. She has authored and co-authored three other books including Better than Sex: How a whole generation got hooked on work.
Dr Lauren Samuelsson
Friday 25 July
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Dr Lauren Samuelsson is a cultural historian whose award-winning work includes Australian cultural history, popular culture and gender history. In A Matter of Taste, Lauren examines the history of The Australian Women’s Weekly and its influence on our food and culture.
Drawing on recipes, food editorials and readers’ memories, this book is a celebration of the Weekly’s vital role in the development of Australian food culture, debunking the myth that Australian food was “bland” and “boring” prior to postwar migration and illuminating important relationships between food, culture and identity.
Lauren holds a PhD in history from the University of Wollongong, Australia, where she is an Honorary Fellow. Her work has been published in History Australia and Australian Historical Studies and The Conversation. She is a regular guest on Australian radio, where she shares her love of food history with people nationwide.
Nikki Gemmell
Friday 25 July
4:30pm – 5:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Nikki Gemmell is the best-selling author of thirteen novels and four works of non-fiction including the international sensation The Bride Stripped Bare. Now, two decades later, comes Wing, another incendiary novel about what it means to be a woman today.
The French literary magazine Lire included Nikki in a list of the fifty most important writers in the world – those it believes will have a significant influence on the literature of the 21st century.
Every Little Thing - Film Screening & Discussion
Friday 25 July
7:30pm – 9:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Every Little Thing, by Australian filmmaker Sally Aitken, is a compelling and uplifting documentary about the beauty of hummingbirds. This visually stunning film shows how rich a life can be when guided by compassion and care. Following the screening there will be a discussion with Sally Aitken, a twice Emmy®-nominated director and writer. Sally’s previous documentaries include, Playing With Sharks and A Cinematic Life, about film critic David Stratton. This film appeared in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 where Sally was also nominated for the Camera d’Or.
Ticket price includes a choc-top or popcorn.
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Day 2 - Saturday 26 July
Adam Courtenay
Saturday 26 July
10:30am – 11:30am
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Journalist Adam Courtenay’s new memoir My Father Bryce examines the life of one of Australia’s highest-selling authors, Bryce Courtenay. From his first book, The Power of One, Bryce captivated readers. With his third, April Fool's Day, he captured their hearts.
Several years after his death, Bryce still looms large in Adam's life. In seeking to understand his father, who made so many people happy with his books, Adam recounts his own 1960s and 1970s childhood, Bryce's career in advertising and his metamorphosis into a bestselling novelist.
Adam Courtenay is a Sydney-based writer and financial journalist, writing for the Financial Times, the Sunday Times, the SMH/Age, Forbes and Company Director. Adam has written six books, including The Ship That Never Was, The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter and Three Sheets to the Wind.
Dr Anita Heiss AM
Saturday 26 July
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Dr Anita Heiss AM is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors publishing across a range of genres including non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial fiction and children’s fiction. Her latest work, the groundbreaking historical novel Dirrayawadha (Rise Up), explores the love, resilience and resistance of the Wiradyuri people during the Frontier Wars.
Anita is a proud member of the Wiradyuri Nation, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the GO Foundation, and Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland. Anita is also the Publisher at Large of Bundyi, an imprint of Simon & Schuster cultivating First Nations talent.
Dr Hayley Scrivenor
Saturday 26 July
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Dr Hayley Scrivenor brings us Girl Falling, her compelling second novel after the #1 Australian bestseller Dirt Town. Bold, dramatic and utterly compelling, Girl Falling forces us to confront the stories we tell ourselves about the people we love. Displaying all of Hayley’s razor-sharp skills for character, landscape and narrative, Girl Falling is a breathtaking read.
Hayley is a former Director of Wollongong Writers’ Festival and holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wollongong.
Kat T. Masen, Elle Thorpe & Mila Young
Saturday 26 July
4:30pm – 5:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Romance is one of the fastest-growing genres, with sales surging. Three popular romance authors, Kat T Masen, Elle Thorpe and Mila Young explain how platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube (BookTok, Bookstagram, BookTube) have boosted popularity allowing new, diverse voices to gain prominence in the genre.
Romance novels are increasingly being adapted into films and television shows, further fuelling their popularity and attracting new audiences as seen when “Bridgerton came to Bowral” last year.
Audience members are encouraged to dress up in your best romance or fantasy costumes and prizes will be awarded for Best Dressed.
Kat is also the owner of romance bookshop, Books Ever After, in Bowral, where a complimentary glass of bubbles will be served after the session.
Day 3 - Sunday 27 July
Toby Walsh
Sunday 27 July
10:30am – 11:30am
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Toby Walsh is one of the world’s leading researchers in artificial intelligence (AI). In his latest book, The Shortest History of AI, Toby presents six ideas to help understand artificial intelligence today. From Ada Lovelace’s visionary work to IMB’s groundbreaking defeat of the chess world champion and the revolutionary emergence of ChatGPT, Toby explores AI’s cultural journey.
Toby is Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW and chief scientist at its AI institute, UNSW.ai.
Michael Visontay
Sunday 27 July
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Journalist Michael Visontay explores the maverick who broke up the world’s greatest book, the Gutenberg Bible. His latest work, Noble Fragments, is part detective story and part memoir, as Michael tracks down pages from the broken up and rare Bible.
Michael has worked as a journalist and senior editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian, and taught journalism at university. He is the author of Welcome to Wanderland, Who Gave You Permission? (with Manny Waks), and Undies to Equities: the remarkable life of Henri Aram.
Blanche D’Alpuget
Sunday 27 July
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Empire Cinemas, Bowral
Blanche D’Alpuget has written biographies, novels and essays. Her latest novel, The Bunny Club is a racy detective story partly set in the Southern Highlands. Blanche’s bestseller Robert J. Hawke: A Biography, remains one of the finest examples of political biographies in Australia.
Blanche’s novels including Monkeys in the Dark, Turtle Beach, Winter in Jerusalem and White Eye have won many literary prizes. Blanche is the author of the Birth of the Plantagenets series: The Young Lion, The Lion Rampant, The Lions’ Torment, The Lioness Wakes and The Cubs Roar.
Ticket price includes a glass of bubbles.