Join one of Australia's most trusted voices as Waleed Aly sits down with Amy Sambrooke to discuss Reasoning with Chaos, his guide to finding sense in uncertain times.

Drawing on years of columns and commentary, the collection chronicles a period of profound upheaval, revealing threads he didn't see at the time. Twelve new essays tie the collection together, tackling our shifting relationship with technology, what's genuinely revolutionary about this moment, and what really matters in life, despite the overwhelm and confusion so many of us feel. The result is a real-time record of a chaotic age, recast with hindsight and clarity, from a writer and broadcaster renowned for making the incomprehensible make sense.

Vulnerable and fierce, hilarious and heartbreaking, Queerstories celebrates the culture and creativity of the LGBTQI+ community, one true story at a time. Hosted by Festival director Maeve Marsden, who has curated this national storytelling project for more than ten years, listen to unexpected stories from some of our greatest LGBTQI+ authors: tales of pride, prejudice, resilience and resistance.

Queerstories is a beloved favourite of the Festival circuit, and has brought more than 700 writers to the stage, from Brisbane to Byron Bay, Mudgee to Murwillumba, Adelaide to Albury, the Blue Mountains and beyond.

Hosted by Maeve Marsden with Bob Brown, George Kemp, Zoe Terakes, Bobuq Sayed, and Chloe Mills.

What powers of perception, reflection and remembering are needed to craft a truly great memoir? And what tools can life writers use to extend memoir beyond memory to create literature that challenges, inspires and speaks to our times?

Drawing on 50 years at the front line of the environmental movement, Bob Brown’s Defiance gathers stories of nature's defenders, shares reflections on the people and places that have shaped him, and makes the case that courage, persistence and community can still win. 

Author Debra Dank has penned two illuminating and at times devastating memoirs about family, culture and the Gudanji Country to which she belongs: Ankami and the multi-award-winning We Come with This Place. 

In Mother Shadow, journalist Cynthia Banham uncovers a family secret — that her great-grandmother was not an orphan but a foundling, abandoned by an unwed mother; she follows the trail across continents and generations to reckon with what it means to mother, and be mothered, on your own terms.

Together, these acclaimed writers reflect on how the craft of memoir can illuminate both oneself and the society in which we live.

While Australia has a reputation for a larrikin spirit of rebellion, there are core beliefs underpinning Australian society about the institutions we can trust, and what they stand for. We are, by and large, a relatively centrist, conformist society. However, in this particular stage of capitalism, where money trumps most societal values, are the structures we’ve adhered to still serving us? Are Australia’s public institutions even worth salvaging or should we start from scratch?

With countless books, articles, essays and speeches between them, challenging our long-held ideas about religion, public education, the media, politics and more, expect fierce debate, dissent and discussion as Bob Carr, Jane Caro, Waleed Aly and Amy Remeikis share the stage in a powerful meeting of the minds.

In a world of well-stocked supermarkets and florists, why do we garden, even when we don’t have to? This was the question that fascinated Hannah Moloney, a familiar face from the ABC’s much-loved Gardening Australia. 

So she went out and asked. She spoke to politicians, artists, community leaders, activists and thousands of ordinary gardeners. Join Hannah  in conversation with avid gardener Amy Sambrooke, to discuss the book that explores the surprising, insightful and often philosophical answers Hannah received. Much more than a gardening book, Why We Garden is a joyful, life-affirming exploration of nature, humanity and community, featuring interviews with Tim Winton, Bruce Pascoe, Laura Tingle, Clare Bowditch, Bob Brown, Costa Georgiadis and many more.

The Mick Dark Talk for the Future is an annual keynote address on the environment that honours the legacy of Mick Dark, who in 1989 gifted Varuna, the National Writers’ House to the writers of Australia. Mick was an ardent and committed environmentalist, and this year, in collaboration with the Blue Mountains Conservation Society, the Festival is honoured to welcome Bob Brown, an indomitable leader of Australia’s environmental movement to deliver this prestigious address.

Margaret Simons in conversation with Tony Jones

How Australia's public broadcaster reinvented itself for the digital age

Today, the ABC offers things that were unimaginable twenty years ago: twenty-four-hour news coverage, an entire app of kids' content, countless podcasts and on-demand TV shows. Before smartphones, broadband and Bluey, all this would have sounded impossible. Going Digital tells the tumultuous story of how the ABC transformed itself for the digital age, revealing the key players and controversial decisions along the way.

These were the years of The Chaser and Q+A, endless political interference, and heated debates about what a public broadcaster should be. The ABC's transformation has been remarkable – but unanswered questions remain. Has broader coverage come at the expense of depth? Have politicians learnt anything from their attempts to intervene? Who really pulls the strings in our public broadcasters?

Drawing on candid interviews with key players and Simons's deep understanding of Australian media, Going Digital is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at one of our most beloved public institutions.

6pm for 6.30pm start 

Discover the tumultuous story behind the ABC's radical digitisation with award-winning journalist Margaret Simons, author of Going Digital.

Through candid interviews and a deep understanding of Australian media, Margaret Simons charts the tumultuous transformation of one of our most beloved public institutions for the digital age. Join her as she peels back the curtain to ask: who really pulls the strings in our public broadcasters?
 

Multi award-winning author Kate Grenville joins journalist and Sorrento Writers Festival Director Corrie Perkin for a discussion about The Country School Master: A Mystery in 88 Letters.

Kate’s new book came about while she was browsing through old family archives and discovered a pile of letters relating to 19th Century New South Wales schoolmaster Joseph Connor. The letters promoted further research and set fire to Kate’s curiosity: was Connor an abusive teacher or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? The result is a brilliant piecing together of a colonial cold case by one of Australia’s finest writers.

This event is brought to you by Sorrento Writers Festival, Gasworks and Avenue Bookstore. We hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a fascinating discussion.

An evening with Author Kate Mildenhall & Dr Rose Searby

After visiting Greenpatch camping ground in 2014, Kate Mildenhall became fascinated with the story of the shooting at Cape St George in 1887 and went on to write her debut novel – Skylarking – based on those events. Ten years on, Kate returns to the region to discuss Kate and Harriet’s story, the real-life epilogue she found and the enduring impact of the book on readers. With Dr Rose Searby.

A brave, beautiful and richly textured book that delicately explores the fault lines in love and friendship – Lucy Treloar

Friends of the ABC annual dinner at William Angliss Restaurant.
The evening will include Margaret Simons, author of Going Digital and Raf Epstein in conversation, and a celebration of ABC Friends 50^th birthday.

Going Digital

How Australia's public broadcaster reinvented itself for the digital age

Today, the ABC offers things that were unimaginable twenty years ago: twenty-four-hour news coverage, an entire app of kids' content, countless podcasts and on-demand TV shows. Before smartphones, broadband and Bluey, all this would have sounded impossible. Going Digital tells the tumultuous story of how the ABC transformed itself for the digital age, revealing the key players and controversial decisions along the way.

Drawing on candid interviews with key players and Simons's deep understanding of Australian media, Going Digital is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at one of our most beloved public institutions.
 

Paperback Bookshop Salon Series
Join us for a conversation between author Kate Holden and The Paperback's Anna MacDonald. Kate will be speaking about her recent book of essays, The Ruin of Magic.

In The Ruin of Magic, award-winning writer Kate Holden follows in the footsteps of Katherine May, Maggie Nelson and André Aciman, crafting essays of intimate personal experience and sharply informed rumination on life in strange times.
Holden writes with humour and sorrow of all the ways life today warps us under its glare – and how to find a haven in the subtle shadows.

Margaret Simons' latest book, Going Digital: The Transformation of the ABC is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at one of our most beloved public institutions.

Simons tells the tumultuous story of how the ABC transformed itself for the digital age, revealing the key players and controversial decisions along the way – but unanswered questions remain. Has broader coverage come at the expense of depth? Have politicians learnt anything from their attempts to intervene? Who really pulls the strings in our public broadcasters?

Join award-winning journalist Margaret Simons and veteran ABC broadcaster Jon Faine for a deep dive into the events, personalities and policies that have shaped today's ABC.

An ABC Friends 50th anniversary event hosted by ABC Friends Geelong.

The former leader of the Greens takes the stage in Bendigo to share stories from his decades-long career standing up to powerful interest groups that have put profit before planet.

In this special edition of The Fifth Estate in the heart of Bendigo, Bob Brown sits down to reflect on the people and places that have shaped him and shares what motivates him to keep fighting. He considers the challenges facing those who are dedicated to safeguarding life on Earth – from dealing with hostile corporate lobbyists, to press propaganda, to the powerful pull of consumerism – and shows how courage, persistence and community can defeat them all.

Drawing on decades of experience and told with his trademark warmth and humour, these stories will galvanise, uplift and inspire a new wave of individual and collective action. With host Sally Warhaft.

The Explainer Series is about exploring the questions we’re all asking.

Australia is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Our food, neighbourhoods, workplaces, languages and traditions reflect generations of people and cultures coming together – but what does it really mean to be a multicultural nation? The Explainer Series: Multiculturalism explores how cultural diversity has shaped modern Australia and our evolving ideas of identity and belonging. How did we become the multicultural society we are today? What makes multiculturalism work? And as Australia continues to change, how do we create a shared sense of belonging while celebrating the many cultures, experiences and identities that make up our communities? Join us for a thoughtful conversation about where Australian multiculturalism has come from, where we are today and what our increasingly diverse future might look like.

Meet the Speakers

Aleem Ali is CEO of Welcoming Australia, leading the country's largest network advancing social cohesion, working with councils, universities, workplaces and sporting clubs to build communities where everyone belongs. His first and last names are Arabic, but his middle name is Shaun, Anglo-Celtic, like the sheep. At our upcoming Explainer Series event, he's most excited to explore the systems and stories that shape who we think we are as a nation and who gets to be part of that story.

Mark Cully is the author of Waves of Plenty, a newly-released history of immigration to Australia. He was the inaugural chief economist for the immigration department and chaired the OECD’s working party on migration. He was born a dual national, but his heart beats for the third one he acquired, aged ten (Australia). For the Explainer event on multiculturalism, he is most interested in exploring what obligations we owe to one another to solidify the “most successful multicultural nation in the world.”

The Explainer Series

The Explainer Series is a space for thoughtful conversations with people who really know their stuff, sharing insights and context so we can better navigate the big and small questions in our lives

Footscray Library and JAM! have great pleasure hosting a book-talk and Q&A by James Boyce about his latest book, Origins, facilitated by Assoc Prof (History) Joanna Cruickshank.

Origins is James’s 6th book and explores early colonial ‘settlement’ 1788-1825 of ‘Australia’. Join us for some fascinating insights into this significant time in Australia’s foundation.
Book sales and signing will be available at the event.

What can we learn from the more than human world, and what might a wilder world look like? Hear original reflections and performances from a lineup of exceptional festival guests, and enjoy a glass of local wine with our popup bar.

Featuring environmental and social justice campaigner Bob Brown, award-winning author and educator Debra Dank, author, poet, rapper, and visual artist, and winner of the 2026 Miles Franklin Award and Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction Omar Musa, poet, essayist and creative writing teacher Andy Jackson and acclaimed author of  author of over fifteen books for adults and children Maxine Beneba Clarke. Plus, a special musical performance by American cellist widely recognized not just for her virtuosic performances, but as a “fearless explorer” in her field (Chicago Reader), Mariel Roberts Musa. Hosted by beloved broadcaster and writer Jacinta Parsons.

With Tom Griffiths and Mirandi Riwoe, Hosted by Michelle Scott Tucker.

History can be moving, intimate and unexpected - particularly when narratives new to us emerge from its pages. Writer and historian Tom Griffiths, Michelle Scott Tucker Australian author whose work explores history, identity, and social justice, and award-winning, bestselling author Mirandi Riwoe have both drawn from the true stories of two little-known and deeply compelling historical figures in their latest books.

Join us at Readings' A Day in Carlton, 24 hours celebrating books, culture and community

Readings are delighted to have former host of ABC Radio National Big Ideas Paul Barclay joining investigative journalist and author Margaret Simons to discuss her new book, Going Digital.

Going Digital tells the tumultuous story of how the ABC transformed itself for the digital age, revealing the key players and controversial decisions along the way. 

Join us at Readings' A Day in Carlton, 24 hours celebrating books, culture and community

Readings are thrilled to host Alice Pung in conversation with Jason Steger the impact of sharing her story in Unpolished Gem, and the significance of this seminal memoir even now, 20 years on.

In a wonderland called Footscray, a girl named Alice and her Chinese-Cambodian family pursue the Australian Dream – Asian style. Armed with an ocker accent, Alice dives head-first into schooling, romance and the getting of wisdom. Her mother becomes an Aussie battler – an outworker, that is. Her father embraces the miracle of franchising and opens an electrical-appliance store. And every day her grandmother blesses Father Government for giving old people money.

Join us at Readings' A Day in Carlton, 24 hours celebrating books, culture and community

Readings are thrilled to invite you to hear two incredible authors and historical investigators, Kate Grenville and James Boyce, discuss writing history and the expectations it brings. Hosted by Natasha Mitchell from the ABC Radio National Big Ideas podcast. 

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers of fiction and nonfiction. In 2017, she was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. Her latest book is The Country Schoolmaster.

James Boyce is a multi-award winning writer and historian based in Hobart. His new book, Origins, published in November.

Bob Brown in conversation with Sophie Cunningham.

For half a century, Bob Brown has been standing up to the powerful interests who would put profit before planet. In his newest book, Defiance, he draws on this experience to inspire a new generation of individual and collective action.

Readings Hawthorn is delighted to host the launch of John Birmingham's Quarterley Essay, Another Country: On One Nation and the Rising Right.

The rise of the new right in Australia isn't a sudden eruption. In this brilliant essay, John Birmingham gives us the deep history and the present moment. Using personal stories, insights from political insiders and overarching analysis, he shows how the right has found a story to explain everything. Simple, visceral, wrong in all sorts of ways, but coherent.

Birmingham charts the political earthquake as One Nation shatters the Liberal Party, and examines where Australian politics goes from here.

Free, but bookings are essential.

James Boyce in conversation with Rachel Perkins

This fascinating book sets aside the clichés of Australian history and asks us to look again.

What really happened when exiled criminals made a home in an occupied and defended country? How were they changed by this new world? What can the first years of settlement tell us about Australia today?

In Origins, James Boyce brings this formative period to life. The protagonists include convicts, Aboriginal people, soldiers, governors, and the country itself. The picture that emerges will change how you think about Australia's origins.

Uncover a remarkable new account of Australia's colonial beginnings with author James Boyce as he challenges long-held beliefs.

What really happened when exiled criminals made a home in an occupied and defended country? How were they changed by this new world? Follow convicts, Aboriginal people, soldiers, governors and the country itself through the first thirty-five years after the arrival of the First Fleet.

John Birmingham will be in conversation with Mark Kenny on his new Quarterly Essay, Another Country: The rise and rise of One Nation.

The rise of One Nation isn’t a sudden eruption. In this intimate, perceptive and funny essay, John Birmingham gives us the deep history and the present moment. Using personal stories, insights from political insiders and overarching analysis, he shows who is thinking about voting One Nation and why. This is an essay about nostalgia, rage and the efforts to build an unstoppable movement to change Australia. In Another Country, John Birmingham maps One Nation’s Australia and explores where our politics goes from here. 

“When a person who has been told their whole life that they are an autonomous economic actor, responsible for their own success, suddenly discovers that they cannot afford a home, they need two jobs to cover the grocery bill, they can’t get ahead, can’t afford childcare, can’t retire, they don’t necessarily conclude: ‘The political economy of labour has shifted in favour of capital.’ 

Instead, they tend to think, ‘Something has gone terribly wrong.’ And then somebody like a Hanson, or a Farage or a Trump, comes along and says, ‘No. It’s not you. It’s them. The migrants. The trans kids. The Others.’” —John Birmingham, Another Country

John Birmingham’s books include the cult memoir He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, which was filmed, with the stage adaptation became the longest running non musical production in Australian history and Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney, which won the National Award for Nonfiction. He is the author of two Quarterly Essays, Appeasing Jakarta: Australia’s Complicity in the East Timor Tragedy and A Time for War: Australia as a Military Power. He is a regular contributor to The Monthly.

Professor Mark Kenny is Director of the Australian Studies Institute at ANU, where he hosts the popular podcast series 'Democracy Sausage'. Mark is The Canberra Times political analyst and a regular on the ABC's Insiders and numerous broadcast programs across the country.

The vote of thanks will be given by award-winning Canberra author Dr Patrick Mullins. 

Books will be available for signing from 5.30pm and again after the event. 

Additional information:

Registration is required for this event.

Accessible parking spaces are available around campus should you require them.

By registering for this event, you are accepting our privacy policy.

A podcast will be made available after the event.

Join Stanton Library and author John Birmingham to discuss his newest Quarterly Essay on the surge of One Nation and the right in Australia.

Using personal stories, insights from political insiders and overarching analysis, Birmingham shows how the right has found a story to explain everything. Simple, visceral, wrong in all sorts of ways, but coherent.

Follow along as he charts the political earthquake as One Nation shatters the Liberal Party, and examines where Australian politics goes from here.

About the author

John Birmingham’s books include the cult memoir He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney and the fiction series Weapons of Choice. He is the author of two Quarterly Essays, and is a regular contributor to The Monthly.

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.

Join us at Paperchain Bookstore Manuka to hear James Boyce, author of Origins: The Making of Australia 1788-1825, in conversation with Mark McKenna.

This fascinating book sets aside the clichés of Australian history and asks us to look again.

What really happened when exiled criminals made a home in an occupied and defended country? How were they changed by this new world? What can the first years of settlement tell us about Australia today?

The First Fleet left Britain at the height of the enclosure movement, when traditional rights to communal land were being rapidly extinguished. Many convicts brought those older ideas about land with them, and the first years of the colony saw a distinctive new society develop. Later, it was supplanted by a system favouring free settlers, large land grants and a creed of unstoppable progress. But the first thirty-five years of the colony tell a different story.

In Origins, James Boyce brings this formative period to life. The protagonists include convicts, Aboriginal people, soldiers, governors, and the country itself. The picture that emerges will change how you think about Australia's origins.

What's behind One Nation’s surge?

The rise of the new right in Australia isn’t a sudden eruption. In this brilliant essay, John Birmingham gives us the deep history and the present moment. Using personal stories, insights from political insiders and overarching analysis, he shows how the right has found a story to explain everything. Simple, visceral, wrong in all sorts of ways, but coherent.

Birmingham charts the political earthquake as One Nation shatters the Liberal Party, and examines where Australian politics goes from here.

Join us for an important conversation with Professor Toby Walsh and Dr Simon Longstaff about the ethics and impacts of our most dangerous invention, AI.

Our fears about artificial general intelligence go deep. They touch on our very identity as thinking, feeling creatures, and on our place in the universe. Are we creating our own successor? And might this creation be a god?

In this vital contribution, leading researcher and author Professor Toby Walsh explores the existential risks posed by our accelerating efforts to realise an AI-powered future. While AI models are leading to the development of wondrous technologies such as potentially life-saving drugs, they are also disrupting the lives of millions across the globe by rapidly reshaping our relationships with work and with one another. But there are also clear risks that powerful AI threatens our very existence as a species.

In an increasingly fractured world, what happens when AI hits the singularity and gains the ability to recursively self-improve? Could we so fully outsource our own thinking to AI that we make ourselves obsolete? Could machines become so intelligent that it is game over for humanity?

With his typical lucidity and humour, Walsh explores the issues, evaluates the dangers and considers what we can do to prevent AI harms before it is too late.

Join us for James Boyce in conversation at The Wondering Mind, to hear James speak on his new nook Origins: The Making of Australia, 1788–1825.

A remarkable new account of Australia's colonial beginnings

This fascinating book sets aside the clichés of Australian history and asks us to look again. What really happened when exiled criminals made a home in an occupied and defended country? How were they changed by this new world? What can the first years of settlement tell us about Australia today?

John Birmingham joins Riverbend Books at 6.30pm on Friday 20th November to discuss his new Quarterly Essay, Another Country: The Rise and Rise of One Nation.

The rise of One Nation isn't a sudden eruption. In this intimate, perceptive and funny essay, John Birmingham gives us the deep history and the present moment. Using personal stories, insights from political insiders and overarching analysis, he shows who is thinking about voting One Nation and why. This is an essay about nostalgia, rage and the efforts to build an unstoppable movement to change Australia.

In Another Country, John Birmingham maps One Nation's Australia and explores where our politics goes from here.

"When a person who has been told their whole life that they are an autonomous economic actor, responsible for their own success, suddenly discovers that they cannot afford a home, they need two jobs to cover the grocery bill, they can't get ahead, can't afford childcare, can't retire, they don't necessarily conclude: 'The political economy of labour has shifted in favour of capital.' Instead, they tend to think, 'Something has gone terribly wrong.' And then somebody like a Hanson, or a Farage or a Trump, comes along and says, 'No. It's not you. It's them. The migrants. The trans kids. The Others.'" —John Birmingham, Another Country

Discover the captivating world of the echidna

There are few animals more unusual than the echidna – a spiky, egg-laying mammal that eats ants. But some of the most striking things about echidnas are things most of us don't know. That they use their snout like a snorkel when they swim, that they can sense electromagnetic fields, that they have intriguingly complex brains, startling physical strength and 'backwards' back feet. That they go into torpor when conditions are poor and can survive fires by sheltering underground. And that during the mating season, male echidnas will line up behind a female, making cooing noises and forming an orderly echidna train, waiting for their chance to impress her with some very strange reproductive equipment!

In The Enigmatic Echidna, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode follows the echidna on its eclectic path through the Australian landscape. Equal parts surprising, amusing and enlightening, it is an irresistible journey into their unique and beautiful world.

A literary mystery. A century-old archive. A story waiting to be uncovered.

Join the Mudgee Readers’ Festival for a special satellite event with acclaimed Australian author Kate Grenville, discussing her new book, The Country Schoolmaster: A Mystery in 88 Letters.

When Grenville discovers a file of old letters about a country schoolteacher in colonial New South Wales, she finds herself drawn into a mystery of alleged cruelty, small-town rivalries and a troubled family relationship. But as the evidence unfolds, one question remains: was Joseph Connor a villain, or a victim?

Blending historical investigation with a novelist’s imagination, The Country Schoolmaster is a compelling exploration of storytelling, truth and the tantalising gaps in our understanding of the past.

Fresh Takes is a seasonal showcase of some of the best new pieces of publishing. Hear from established and emerging writers as they read from their new works and reflect on the writers and creators who have shaped them.  

The summer line-up features Hossein Asgari (Afraid of the Dark), Richard Cooke (The Last Best Place on the Internet: A human history of Wikipedia), Hannah Goldstein (Dream Girls), Kitty Hauser (Art Mania: Geoffrey Bardon and the painting men of Papunya), Joshua Hortinela (Hate You to Love You) and Eleanor Limprecht (Cul-de-Sac).  

ABOUT THE EVENT:

On Tuesday 1st December at the Red Mill Distillery, Balmain, join John Birmingham in conversation with Simon Thomsen.

In Another Country, John Birmingham maps One Nation’s Australia and explores where our politics goes from here.  

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ABOUT THE BOOK

The rise of One Nation isn’t a sudden eruption. In this intimate, perceptive and funny essay, John Birmingham gives us the deep history and the present moment. Using personal stories, insights from political insiders and overarching analysis, he shows who is thinking about voting One Nation and why. This is an essay about nostalgia, rage and the efforts to build an unstoppable movement to change Australia.

“When a person who has been told their whole life that they are an autonomous economic actor, responsible for their own success, suddenly discovers that they cannot afford a home, they need two jobs to cover the grocery bill, they can’t get ahead, can’t afford childcare, can’t retire, they don’t necessarily conclude: ‘The political economy of labour has shifted in favour of capital.’ 

Instead, they tend to think, ‘Something has gone terribly wrong.’ And then somebody like a Hanson, or a Farage or a Trump, comes along and says, ‘No. It’s not you. It’s them. The migrants. The trans kids. The Others.’” —John Birmingham, Another Country

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ABOUT JOHN BIRMINGHAM

John Birmingham’s books include He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Leviathan: The Unauthorised Biography of Sydney, On Father and many works of fiction, including the Axis of Time and Cruel Stars series. He is the author of two previous Quarterly Essays, Appeasing Jakarta and A Time for War. 

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ABOUT SIMON THOMSEN

Simon has been editor of Startup Daily since 2019. He hosted the Startup Daily show on streaming service ausbiz.com.au from 2020 to 2023, and now, the weekly podcast Startup 360. He was previously associate editor of Business Insider Australia, a national restaurant critic, editor of The Good Food Guide, and newspaper proprietor during a 30-plus-years career in journalism and publishing. He’s also an investor in early stage startups.

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ABOUT THE VENUE

Address: 176 Mullens Street, Rozelle NSW 2039

Red Mill is based in the historic White Bay Steelworks, just across from the inner-west icon, the White Bay Power Station. Red Mill makes small batches of high-quality Rum to age in a special barrel program, blended and bottled in their wonderful, industrial home. Visiting Red Mill is a chance to see the workings of an artisanal distillery, in the historic surrounds of this remarkable building. Refreshments available to purchase include wine, beer and a signature Red Mill cocktail. We look forward to welcoming you to this unique venue.

Attendees are asked to arrive at 6.30pm to secure an optimal spot as seating is unallocated.

Please note that the event will only commence at 7pm, as stated on your ticket.

Why did equal rights fail to deliver equal lives? When did freedom start to feel so unfree? And how did we get so polarised? 

Join us as Walkley Award-winning journalist Waleed Aly discusses his Quarterly Essay 103, Time of Monsters: What Future for Liberalism? with journalist Tory Shepherd. 

For centuries, liberal ideas ruled Western economies and set the parameters for political debate. In his wonderfully clarifying essay, Aly delves into what happened to liberalism. As a set of ideas, it offered equality and guaranteed freedoms. But more and more, we live in a post-liberal world.

Aly maps the new politics arising – both conservative and progressive – as mainstream politics loses its appeal. He examines the new battles over identity, injustice, speech and sovereignty. Deftly identifying the cracks, he points to the instability at the centre of contemporary life: Social media, AI, environmental disasters and climate harm, endless convenience and information, insecure housing, income and energy – all feeding ‘a near-constant sense of crisis in almost every sphere of life’.

Is this what it looks like when an old order dies? Liberalism's confidence that humans are ultimately progressive beings seems to have overlooked how much we value stability, predictability and meaning. Our age of discontent stems directly from the sense that things are unmoored and beyond our grasp; that we are serving the system, rather than it serving us.
Waleed Aly, Time of Monsters

Copies of Dr Waleed Aly's Quarterly Essay, Time of Monsters: What Future for Liberalism? will be available to purchase in the Auditorium foyer on the night of the event. 

Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre