On our climate change panel, experts will shine a factual light on the contemporary Australian climate debate, alongside authors of speculative fiction who have imagined our future as one of desolate landscapes, resource scarcity and threatened species.

An essential guide to the future of work in Australia.

For many Australians, rapid progress in artificial intelligence, robotics and automation is a growing anxiety. What will it mean for jobs? What will it mean for their kids’ futures? More broadly, what will it mean for equality in this country?

Jim Chalmers and Mike Quigley believe that bursts in technology need not result in bursts of inequality, that we can combine technological change with the fair go. But first we need to understand what’s happening to work, and what’s likely to happen.

This is a timely, informative and authoritative book about the changing face of work, and how best to approach it – at both a personal and a political level. 

Are Australian schools safe? And if they’re not, what happens when kids are caught in a bleak collision between ill-equipped school staff and a confected media scandal?

In 2016 the Safe Schools program became the centre of an ideological firestorm. For the 67th Black Inc Quarterly Essay, Benjamin Law explores how and why this happened. He weaves a subtle, gripping account of schools today, sexuality, teenagers, new ideas of gender fluidity, tabloid media scares and mental health.

Benjamin comes to the Library to talk about the issues raised in this timely essay.

Dymocks Camberwell celebrated 2012 The National Year of Reading with the inauguration of our very own First Tuesday Book Club, each month.

We start the evening by talking about our favourite novels, both new & older ones. We will ask participants to comment about books they have read or are reading, just like a normal book club. We won’t be setting a monthly book, as we want to hear about as many books as possible, including old favourites. You may just want to listen at times and hear about other people’s experiences with their books. It is totally up to you!

Join us to launch Writers on Writers, a new book series in which six authors reflect on another Australian writer who has inspired and influenced them.

Justine Hyde, Director Library Services and Experience at State Library Victoria will chair this panel with series contributors Alice Pung and Erik Jensen.

Author Alice Pung will talk about her subject, John Marsden, one of Australia's most popular writers of fiction for children and young adults, and Saturday Paper Editor-in-Chief Erik Jensen delves into the world of celebrated Australian novelist and poet Kate Jennings.

Writers on Writers is published by Black Inc. in association with the University of Melbourne and State Library Victoria.

Jeff Apter is the author of more than 20 books, many dealing with the world of music. He has written biographies of Keith Urban, the Finn brothers, Johnny O’Keefe, Jeff Buckley and the Bee Gees. As ghostwriter, he has worked with Kasey Chambers, AC/DC’s Mark Evans and Richard Clapton. He was also the creative consultant for the Helpmann Award–nominated live production A State of Grace: The Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley and spent four years on staff at Rolling Stone Australia.

Jeff Apter is the author of more than 20 books, many dealing with the world of music. He has written biographies of Keith Urban, the Finn brothers, Johnny O’Keefe, Jeff Buckley and the Bee Gees. As ghostwriter, he has worked with Kasey Chambers, AC/DC’s Mark Evans and Richard Clapton. He was also the creative consultant for the Helpmann Award–nominated live production A State of Grace: The Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley and spent four years on staff at Rolling Stone Australia.

Jeff Apter is the author of more than 20 books, many dealing with the world of music. He has written biographies of Keith Urban, the Finn brothers, Johnny O’Keefe, Jeff Buckley and the Bee Gees. As ghostwriter, he has worked with Kasey Chambers, AC/DC’s Mark Evans and Richard Clapton. He was also the creative consultant for the Helpmann Award–nominated live production A State of Grace: The Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley and spent four years on staff at Rolling Stone Australia.

Writing about music and the lives of musicians—as Jeff has done for the past 30 years, across more than 20 books —is a rewarding, sometimes under-appreciated, creative field. In this seminar, Jeff will discuss what makes a good music bio, what key lessons he’s learned during his long and winding career, and will give his opinion on the seemingly never-ending ‘authorised vs unauthorised’ argument. He will provide professional advice ranging from selecting a subject to research, ‘pitching’ to publishers, the writing itself, ‘death by 50 cuts’ (aka editing), design and photo selection. Jeff will also discuss the numerous crucial relationships any writer must maintain: with their desk, their editor, designers, booksellers, publicists, readers and more.
 

Treat yourself to The Festival of Questions – a series of thoughtful, quick-witted and exhilarating discussions that will change how you see the world. It’s one whole day of querying, questioning, wondering and asking why.

In four sessions across one day, we’ll bring together some of the sharpest and funniest thinkers we know. They’ll wrestle with the big questions facing Australia, and the world, today. Think: culture, class and climate; politics and punditry; philosophy and feminism. What are the issues that divide and unite us? Do terms like ‘right wing’ and ‘left wing’ still have meaning today? Is the world changing too fast, or not fast enough?

Join us for a day of storytelling, comedy, debate, discussion and ... possible disarray. We’ll open our minds and mind the whole world’s business.

The contemporary wellness movement encourages active participation in dieting, exercise, alternative medicine and mindfulness, in order to improve physical and mental health. Our panel will discuss wellness from a number of view points, and answer the questions you may have as a result of your own search for wellness.

Heather Ellis has worked as a radiation safety technician, a motorcycle courier, a journalist for News Ltd and in communications for an NGO. She lives near Melbourne with her three children, and is currently writing the sequel to Ubuntu while working as a freelance journalist and professional speaker. And she still rides motorcycles.

Heather Ellis, Melbourne author will hold an author talk and slide show at the Hotel Soho for her book, Ubuntu: One Woman’s Motorcycle Odyssey Across Africa. An extraordinary tale of adventure, courage and personal growth; the message of Ubuntu will stay with you long after you finish this amazing read. 

ATTENTION ADVENTURERS!

Make your way to Riverbend on Friday November 3rd at 6.30pm to hear from  Michael Smith, the first person to fly solo around the world in an amphibious plane!! Learn about the epic seven month adventure which took him to the farthest reaches of the globe , often risking his life to make modern aviation history.

Don't miss this chance to hear from a truly intrepid Australian, as he recounts tales from his book, Voyage of the Southern Sun. You just might be inspired to take a journey of your own...!

Technology plays a pivotal role in our daily lives; in the way we work, communicate, shop and spend our time. This panel explores surveillance, connectivity, the changing workplace and the role of technology in consumerism.

Panel discussion with Lee Kofman, Alice Pung, Maria Tumarkin.

Creative non-fiction is one of the fastest growing literary genres in its appeal to readers, writers and publishers alike. Audiences, it seems have developed an appetite for ‘true’. But creative non-fiction is often poorly understood and is very complex in terms of the many forms it can take and ethically it is very complicated.  Join three of the best exponents of the genre for a fascinating panel discussion.

In her recent Quarterly Essay, The Long Goodbye, Anna Krien explores the psychology and politics of a warming world. She joins acclaimed scientist Tim Flannery who is investigating exciting new technologies currently being developed to address our most pressing environmental issues as they discuss where we are now and what the possibilities may be for a positive future for us and our planet.

Session Chair: Brett Bryan

Panel discussion with Andrew P Street, Laura Tingle, Rebecca Huntley.

Three of the nation’s most astute observers of Australia’s political scene; journalist, columnist Andrew P Street, political editor for The Australian Financial Review Laura Tingle and social researcher and expert on social trends Rebecca Huntley will discuss the current state of play in Canberra, debate the winners and losers and why that matters.

Session Chair: Tony Wilson

John Marsden and Alice Pung in conversation.

In the Writers on Writers series, leading authors reflect on an Australian writer who has inspired and fascinated them. Award-winning writer Alice Pung has examined the life and work of one of her biggest influences, the much-loved and hugely successful author John Marsden. In this session John and Alice will discuss the journey they undertook as the writer and her subject.

Shortlisted for the 2017 Miles Franklin Literary Award, Their Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers, is an hilarious novel in the guise of sixteen biographies of (invented) Australian writers. Join the author as he discusses the poets and historians, science fiction and mystery novelists of this large-scale parody and satire of Australian literary culture and explores his search for new ways of telling stories.

Session Chair: Catharine Lumby

In 2016 the Safe Schools Program became the centre of an ideological firestorm. In his recent Quarterly Essay, writer and columnist Benjamin Law explores how and why this happened. Benjamin will discuss his gripping yet subtle account of schools today, sexuality, teenagers, new ideas of gender fluidity, tabloid media scares and mental health.

Session Chair: Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli

Political speechwriter and academic Dennis Glover’s debut novel, The Last Man in Europe, examines the life of George Orwell from 1936, through his fighting in Spain, to his death in 1950 and focuses on the torturous writing of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the classic work that made him famous. Dennis and Robert Gott will discuss the writer’s long-time fascination with Orwell and why he chose historical fiction over a non-fiction biography to explore the life of this pivotal figure of twentieth-century literature.

Session Chair: David Astle

Businessman and owner of Yarraville’s Sun Theatre, Michael Smith, recently circumnavigated the globe in his tiny Searey amphibian aeroplane.  Adventurer, speaker, entrepreneur and environmentalist Huw Kingston completed a year long, human-powered circumnavigation of the Mediterranean Sea.  Join these intrepid explorers and adventurers as they share the delights, perils and discoveries from their incredible journeys.

Session Chair: Robert Gott

Join Classic FM favourite Christopher Lawrence as he discusses the human emotions as expressed by our greatest composers. He will take us on a journey through the listening experience, from anger and Beethoven to sadness and Tchaikovsky, triumph and Wagner and freedom and Mozart; examining the ways in which classical music can improve your life.

Session Chair: David McCooey