Join A.J. Mackinnon and Paul Cullen at Hobart Town Hall for a conversation about Realms of Gold: The Remarkable Return of Jack de Crow.

When A.J. 'Sandy' Mackinnon sailed a tiny dinghy through twelve countries from North Wales to the Black Sea, he survived pirates, the English Channel, international incidents and all the disasters, big and small, that can befall a little boat on a long voyage. Those adventures became his beloved bestseller The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow.

Decades later, that trip is a happy memory and Sandy is firmly back on land – until a message from a stranger presents an opportunity too good to refuse. Sandy picks up where his first voyage left off, sailing and rowing single-handedly around the coast from Romania to Venice. From Istanbul to Ithaca, Mount Olympus to the ruins of Troy, he finds himself immersed in the legends of antiquity, plays chicken with mercurial border police, and is saved more than once by the kindness of strangers. He recounts it all with his unbreakable enthusiasm and self-deprecating humour, taking the reader on a hilarious and unforgettable adventure.

A.J. Mackinnon was born in Australia in 1963 and travelled as a boy on P&O liners between Australia and England, developing a love of slow travel. He has taught in schools around the world, sharing his passion for English literature, mathematics, drama, art and philosophy with countless students. He now lives in the Victorian High Country of Australia. He is the author of the international bestseller The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow, as well as The Well at the World's End and Quaint Deeds. His forthcoming book is Realms of Gold.

A.J. will be in conversation with Paul Cullen. Former Director of the Australian Wooden Boat Festival (AWBF) 2011-2020 and student shipwright, Australian Wooden Boat School in Franklin. Paul is a well-known Hobart identity, active in public events including the AWBF, the Antarctic Festival and the Taste of Tasmania. A former chef and Antarctic station leader, Paul has had an association with Fullers Bookshop for many years. 

Mark Cully in conversation with Emma Alberici on his new book, Waves of Plenty.

The definitive story of how immigration made Australia

Many Australians can trace family journeys to new lives in Australia. In this landmark work, Mark Cully tells the full story of immigration to Australia, from pre-colonial origins through colonisation, the gold rushes, the post-war immigration boom, the end of the White Australia policy, and the modern era of unbound temporary migration.

Rigorously researched, the book dismantles persistent myths, gives human faces to statistics, and maps the forces that transformed a distant colony into one of the world's most diverse societies. Cully traces how immigration has changed Australia, making it bigger, younger, richly diverse, less provincial and more powerful.

This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand where Australia came from, the fraught politics of immigration, and lessons for the future.

Mark Cully was chief economist for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Department of Industry, as well as chair of the OECD's Working Party on Migration. As head of macroeconomic policy in the Treasury, he led the design of the JobKeeper program during the pandemic. He is an expert panel member of the Fair Work Commission and a visiting fellow at ANU's Crawford School of Public Policy.

Emma Alberici spent 29 years as a reporter and foreign correspondent. From News Corporation as a cadet on the Herald Sun and later a finance editor, she moved to Sydney to take on a role as a researcher and producer on the Money Show. After eight years at Nine and the publication of three books on entrepreneurialism, she moved to the ABC where she spent 18 years, as Europe Correspondent, Finance Editor of 7:30 and host of Lateline. Emma is now a Partner at Derwent - Australia's largest executive recruitment firm. She is searching for interesting people, hearing their stories, telling them to others and relishing the opportunity to influence leadership across the not for profit and public sectors.

Kate Grenville combines forensic research, gripping storytelling and a profound curiosity about the complexities of the past in her latest work of non-fiction.

Hear from one of the country’s most acclaimed authors, Kate Grenville, on her dazzling new work of non-fiction – a colonial-era cold case that’s part locked-room mystery, part captivating exploration of a writer's imagination navigating the blurred boundaries between fact and possibility.

The Country Schoolmaster: A Mystery in 88 Letters begins with the discovery of an unassuming bundle of letters in an archive. On closer inspection, they reveal a complex and curious tale of victims, villains and small-town secrets. Was schoolmaster Joseph Connor savagely beating the students in his care? Or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? And what went so terribly wrong between him and his daughter?

Fearlessly grappling with complicated histories and the strange textures of the past, Grenville once again reveals how great stories can emerge from unassuming archival fragments. Join her in conversation with Santilla Chingaipe as she lifts the lid on this fascinating true story. 

Kate Grenville will be in conversation with Karen Viggers on Kate’s new book The Country Schoolmaster : A Mystery in 88 Letters.

‘I stood there holding the hundred-year-old letter with a feeling that was familiar from other archives, other bulging files of dog-eared paper. It was a blood-running-fast, itchy-palm, eyes-wide-open feeling of stumbling on something. A story …’

Rummaging around in the archives one afternoon, Kate Grenville comes across an innocuous-looking file full of letters about a schoolteacher in country New South Wales. Intrigued, she keeps reading – and discovers a tale far more curious and complex than first appears. Was Joseph Connor savagely beating the students in his care? Or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? And what went so terribly wrong between him and his daughter?

Ultimately, Grenville simply has to know: was Connor a victim or a villain? Part colonial cold case, part locked-room mystery, part the dance of a writer's imagination among facts and semi-facts, The Country Schoolmaster is a book like no other. In it, the novelist comes to understand the seductive pleasure of story-making, but also its dangerous limitations.

Kate Grenville AO is one of Australia's most celebrated writers. Her novels include the international bestseller and award-winning The Secret River,  The Lieutenant, Lilian's Story, the Orange Prize–winner The Idea of Perfection and A Room Made of Leaves. Her works of non-fiction include One Life: My Mother's Story, Elizabeth Macarthur's Letters and, most recently, Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place. Kate has received honorary doctorates from Sydney University, Macquarie University and the University of New South Wales and a Lifetime Achievement in Literature from the Australia Council.

Karen Viggers is a veterinarian and award-winning, bestselling Australian author of five novels: The Stranding,The Lightkeeper’s Wife, The Grass Castle, The Orchardists’s Daughter and Sidelines. She is co-host with Irma Gold of the Secrets From the Green Room podcast. Karen's work is set in Australian landscapes and explores dying with dignity, displacement of First Peoples, wildlife conservation and clear-felling of native forests.

Ann McGrath, AM FASSA FAHA, Distinguished Professor, School of History, Australian National University, will give the vote of thanks.

Do we still believe in progress? In this wonderfully clarifying essay, Waleed Aly examines 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 and speech, and discusses the way instability has become central to contemporary life. When did freedom start to feel so unfree?

This is a supple and original essay about the forces transforming our politics.

Kate Grenville in conversation with Nicole Abadee on The Country Schoolmaster.

Rummaging around in the archives one afternoon, Kate Grenville comes across an innocuous-looking file full of letters about a schoolteacher in country New South Wales. Intrigued, she keeps reading – and discovers a tale far more curious and complex than first appears. Was Joseph Connor savagely beating the students in his care? Or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? And what went so terribly wrong between him and his daughter?

Ultimately, Grenville simply has to know: was Connor a victim or a villain? Part colonial cold case, part locked-room mystery, part the dance of a writer's imagination among facts and semi-facts, The Country Schoolmaster is a book like no other. In it, the novelist comes to understand the seductive pleasure of story-making, but also its dangerous limitations.


Kate Grenville is one of Australia's most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River was awarded local and overseas prizes and is now a much-loved classic. Grenville's other novels include The Lieutenant, Lilian's Story, the Orange Prize–winner The Idea of Perfection and A Room Made of Leaves. Her works of non-fiction include One Life: My Mother's Story, Elizabeth Macarthur's Letters and, most recently, Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place.

Nicole Abadee is an event moderator and journalist who writes for the Sydney Morning Herald and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been a literary judge, podcaster and a guest on ABC Radio. Nicole is a board member of the Eleanor Dark Foundation which runs Varuna and the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival and the Sydney Women’s Fund Advisory Council.

In conversation with Michael Ondaatje

The United States has been in the news a lot lately - but tracing its past can bring fresh perspective to its tumultuous present. Lucky for us, acclaimed historian Don Watson - who’s been enlightening readers for decades with his elegant and engaging commentary on US history, culture and politics - is on the case. His latest book is a pithy and perfect introduction to America’s grit, glamour and grift, from the declaration of independence to the twenty-first century.

A schoolmaster accused of shocking violence. A boy who’s learnt the power of silence. An unrepentant war criminal. A judge facing the collision of her personal and private lives. These engrossing fictional and real-life tales of resistance, retribution and reckoning ask us to consider the nature of justice and the limits of the law.

Suzie Miller (Inter Alia), Kate Grenville (The Country Schoolmaster), Michael Mohammed Ahmad (Bugger), Olivera Simic (Madam War Criminal). Chair: Jessica Rudd 
 

Kate Grenville: The Country Schoolmaster: A Mystery in 88 Letters
In conversation with Matthew Condon 

A locked-room mystery. A colonial cold case. A family feud. And a cache of 88 letters that pose a series of tantalising questions. Celebrated writer Kate Grenville’s new book is a mesmerising reconstruction of a hundred-year-old true story she discovered in the archives. Was New South Wales schoolteacher Joseph Connor an abusive villain or the victim of a small-town witch hunt? Grenville is at her masterful best here, piecing together the facts as she ruminates on the pleasures and pitfalls of storytelling.

A locked-room mystery. A colonial cold case. A family feud. And a cache of 88 letters that pose a series of tantalising questions. Celebrated writer Kate Grenville’s new book is a mesmerising reconstruction of a hundred-year-old true story she discovered in the archives. Was New South Wales schoolteacher Joseph Connor an abusive villain or the victim of a small-town witch hunt? Grenville is at her masterful best here, piecing together the facts as she ruminates on the pleasures and pitfalls of storytelling.

Join Kate Grenville, author of The Secret River and one of Australia's most celebrated writers, as she brings her new book The Country Schoolmaster: A Mystery in 88 Letters to the Northern Rivers for this special in conversation event on Monday 12 October at Bangalow A&I Hall.

‘I stood there holding the hundred-year-old letter with a feeling that was familiar from other archives, other bulging files of dog-eared paper. It was a blood-running-fast, itchy-palm, eyes-wide-open feeling of stumbling on something. A story…’

Rummaging around in the archives one afternoon, Kate Grenville comes across an innocuous-looking file full of letters about a schoolteacher in country New South Wales. Intrigued, she keeps reading – and discovers a tale far more curious and complex than first appears. Was Joseph Connor savagely beating the students in his care? Or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? And what went so terribly wrong between him and his daughter?

Ultimately, Grenville simply has to know: was Connor a victim or a villain? Part colonial cold case, part locked-room mystery, part the dance of a writer's imagination among facts and semi-facts, The Country Schoolmaster is a book like no other. In it, the novelist comes to understand the seductive pleasure of story-making, but also its dangerous limitations.

Listen to Richard Cooke in conversation with Raph Dixon & James Hennessy as he takes us through a playful and provocative exploration of mighty Wikipedia: how it was built, why it thrived and what we lose as its ideals disintegrate.

Please note that this event will be recorded for the Down Round podcast.

One of the keystone inventions of the twenty-first century, Wikipedia is the largest repository of human knowledge ever made, with editions in more than 300 languages read by millions every day – all created by unpaid, mainly amateur and mostly anonymous volunteers.

In this entertaining book, journalist Richard Cooke delves into Wikipedia's fabled creation, its extraordinary success and its profound effects on politics, business, literature and society. He explores the site's shifting role in establishing fact in a time of deep uncertainty about truth and authority; the often hilariously fierce debates between 'Inclusionists' and 'Deletionists' about what is worth knowing and preserving, and who gets to decide; and the great peril Wikipedia faces today from bots, political division and artificial intelligence.

The Last Best Place on the Internet is a fascinating journey into the hidden world of one of the most vital – and most endangered – cultural achievements of our time.

Join us for a 10th anniversary celebration event to open the festival with a stellar panel of international and national writers who have dedicated their lives to their love of literature – Andrew O’Hagan, Anna Goldsworthy, Siang Lu and Sophie Gee. They will share their reflections on the formative books that shaped them, insights into their writing lives, and hopes and fears for the book at this moment in human history. We invite you to come along and honour the precious books you love – the ones that struck a chord when you were a kid, the ones printed on your heart.

Rummaging around in the Archives one afternoon, Kate Grenville comes across an innocuous-looking file full of letters about a schoolteacher in country New South Wales. Intrigued, she keeps reading – and discovers a tale far more curious and complex than first appears. Was Joseph Connor savagely beating the students in his care? Or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? And ultimately, Grenville simply must know: was Connor a victim or a villain? Part colonial cold case, part locked-room mystery, part the dance of a writer’s imagination among facts and semi facts, The Country Schoolmaster is a book like no other.

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River was awarded local and overseas prizes and is now a much-loved classic. Grenville’s other novels include The Lieutenant, Lilian’s Story and A Room Made of Leaves.

Matt Lloyd-Cape in conversation with Jack Toohey on Our Place: How to Solve the Housing Crisis and Rebuild the Australian Dream.

An evidence-based guide to solving Australia's housing crisis from a leading policy expert

Australia has faced a housing crisis before – and solved it. We can do it again.

In Our Place, leading policy expert Matt Lloyd-Cape cuts through the noise, showing exactly how our housing system broke. Drawing on the latest research, he reveals that although social housing tenants, renters and first-home buyers are worst affected, the whole of society suffers in a housing crisis. From the rise of far-right politics to intergenerational inequality, the housing crisis is reshaping the nation.

To solve the crisis, Lloyd-Cape argues, we need to think bigger – much bigger. Our Place shows how a bold national housing plan could:
• End homelessness by 2045
• Provide the next generation with appropriate rental standards and an affordable path to home ownership
• Create thriving urban centres away from the capital cities
• Place housing at the heart of an ambitious plan for a fairer and more prosperous Australia.

The tools are within reach. What's missing are leaders willing to rethink the economic and political assumptions that got us here.

Our Place is a powerful, solutions-focused vision for an Australia where everyone has a place to call home.


Matt Lloyd-Cape joined the progressive think tank Per Capita in 2019, and in 2022 he was the founding director of the Centre for Equitable Housing, where he is now the principal fellow. He is a prominent commentator and adviser on housing issues.

Jack Toohey is a Sydney-based author and creative director focused on systems literacy, social inequality and climate justice. In 2023, he released a video examining housing affordability that went viral. In 2025, he released his debut non-fiction Better Things Are Possible and in 2026 he appeared before a senate inquiry into intergenerational housing in Australia.

Luke Stegemann will be in conversation with Linda Jaivin for her book The Shortest History of Madrid.

Madrid's story is one of the most unlikely of any European capital.

The only European capital founded as a Muslim settlement, Madrid has a story as diverse as its population today. From the grandeur of the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties to the chaos and trauma of civil war and dictatorship, Madrid has survived it all with defiant spirit.

It has been home to some of Spain's – and the world's – most brilliant writers, thinkers and artists, from Cervantes and Goya to Hemingway and Almodóvar. It has been the setting for outrageous political scandals, mass movements and wild literary rivalries. And it continues to be a city that refuses to be defined by anything but its own irrepressible energy.

We’re fascinated by the lives of first responders: paramedics, firefighters and police officers. What draws people to these intense professions? How does what they see reshape them? Martin McKenzie-Murray has had three life stories entrusted to him by experienced first responders. He joins Nigel Featherstone in conversation and together they’ll traverse danger, camaraderie, trauma and its aftermath.

How are debates over free speech, identity and equality of opportunity transforming our politics? It seems our media and political systems are hardening social divisions not bridging divides. Come and hear Waleed Aly, Niki Savva and Jordan McSwiney lift the lid on the rise of illiberal democracy and the raging culture wars around us.

Deep fakes, curated companions and killer drones… could AI become so intelligent it is game over for humanity? What are the benefits and pitfalls of AI? What might it do to our sense of self, our creativity and what it means to be human? Join researchers and writers Toby Walsh, Ange Lavoipierre and Waleed Aly for a conversation we need to have.

Wikipedia is one of humanity’s most underappreciated triumphs – a standout in the cesspool that is much of the internet – and it has been achieved by unpaid, amateur and mostly anonymous volunteers. Join Richard Cooke and Bernard Keane to foray into the Wonderful World of Wikipedia, its controversies and characters.

What makes a book a ‘Classic’—and can a 21st-century work make the cut? Authors Lisa Wilkinson, Michelle de Kretser, Moreno Giovannoni and Maria Takolander each champion a favourite Australian or international work, and put their reps on the line debating, defending and challenging one another’s choices. Expect bold opinions, surprising picks and spirited bookish banter. With Michael Cathcart. 

Micaela Sahhar, winner of the 2026 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Find Me at the Jaffa Gate, Moreno Giovannoni, 2026 Age Book of the Year winner for The Immigrants, and Antoun Issa, author of Rebirth, explore their parents’ experiences in Palestine, Italy and Lebanon—and the extraordinary personal stories, memories and histories that compel them to put family life onto the page. With Louise Adler. 

Presented in partnership with The Bookshop at Queenscliff.

Uncover the truth behind a gripping colonial cold case with one of Australia's most celebrated authors, Kate Grenville.

‘I stood there holding the hundred-year-old letter with a feeling that was familiar from other archives, other bulging files of dog-eared paper. It was a blood-running-fast, itchy-palm, eyes-wide-open feeling of stumbling on something. A story …’

Rummaging around in the archives one afternoon, Kate Grenville comes across an innocuous-looking file full of letters about a schoolteacher in country New South Wales. Intrigued, she keeps reading – and discovers a tale far more curious and complex than first appears. Was Joseph Connor savagely beating the students in his care? Or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? And what went so terribly wrong between him and his daughter?

Ultimately, Grenville simply has to know: was Connor a victim or a villain? Part colonial cold case, part locked-room mystery, part the dance of a writer's imagination among facts and semi-facts, The Country Schoolmaster is a book like no other. In it, the novelist comes to understand the seductive pleasure of story-making, but also its dangerous limitations.

Join us at Paperchain to hear Linda Jaivin, author of The Shortest History of Madrid, in conversation with John Zubrzycki, author of The Shortest History of Delhi.

The only European capital founded as a Muslim settlement, Madrid has a story as diverse as its population today. From the grandeur of the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties to the chaos and trauma of civil war and dictatorship, Madrid has survived it all with defiant spirit.

It has been home to some of Spain's – and the world's – most brilliant writers, thinkers and artists, from Cervantes and Goya to Hemingway and Almodóvar. It has been the setting for outrageous political scandals, mass movements and wild literary rivalries. And it continues to be a city that refuses to be defined by anything but its own irrepressible energy.

Delhi, with its stories of intrigue and empire, decadence and artistry, destruction and rebirth, has been exhilarating travellers for centuries. Its history stretches back thousands of years, through invasions, empires and the struggle for independence.

This many-layered history can be seen on the streets of Delhi today – in ancient monuments to emperors, saints, princesses and eunuchs; in the domes of mosques clad in shimmering white marble; in stately Mughal gardens; and in the bustling laneways of its markets and neighbourhoods. Now, Delhi is a vast megalopolis, drawing people from all over the subcontinent, a cornucopia of religions, castes, languages and economic classes.

In The Shortest History of Delhi, John Zubrzycki pairs an invigorating account of Delhi’s past with an insider's guide to the city today.

Linda Jaivin has been studying Chinese politics, language and culture for more than forty years. She has been a foreign correspondent in China, and is co-editor of the China Story Yearbook, an associate of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University and the author of twelve books including The Shortest History of China.

John Zubrzycki is an Australian author with a PhD in Indian history from the University of New South Wales. A former foreign news editor with The Australian, he has worked as a correspondent in India and as a diplomat in New Delhi and Jakarta. He is the author of four books on India, the latest being House of Jaipur: The Inside Story of India’s Most Glamorous Royal Family.

Join us for lunch as we hear from author and Per Capita research fellow Matt Lloyd-Cape about his timely new book, Our Place.

An evidence-based guide to solving Australia's housing crisis from a leading policy expert.

Australia has faced a housing crisis before – and solved it. We can do it again.

In Our Place, leading policy expert Matt Lloyd-Cape cuts through the noise, showing exactly how our housing system broke. Drawing on the latest research, he reveals that although social housing tenants, renters and first-home buyers are worst affected, the whole of society suffers in a housing crisis. From the rise of far-right politics to intergenerational inequality, the housing crisis is reshaping the nation.
 

Matt Lloyd-Cape is a social research and policy expert. For 25 years he has worked in international NGOs, trade unions, universities and think tanks in many different parts of the world. In 2022, he became the founding director of the Centre for Equitable Housing at the think tank Per Capita, where he is now the principal fellow. 

We are delighted to have Sean Kelly host the launch of Richard Cooke's playful and provocative exploration of mighty Wikipedia!

One of the keystone inventions of the twenty-first century, Wikipedia is the largest repository of human knowledge ever made, with editions in 343 languages read by millions every day – all created by unpaid, mainly amateur and mostly anonymous volunteers.

In The Last Best Place on the Internet, journalist Richard Cooke delves into Wikipedia's fabled creation, its extraordinary success and its profound effects on politics, business, literature and society. He explores the site's shifting role in establishing fact in a time of deep uncertainty about truth and authority; the often hilariously fierce debates between 'Inclusionists' and 'Deletionists' about what is worth knowing and preserving, and who gets to decide; and the great peril Wikipedia faces today from bots, political division and artificial intelligence.

Join one of the world's leading researchers in artificial intelligence, Professor Toby Walsh as he discusses his new release, God AI: Boom or Doom? What to Expect When Machines Outsmart Us.

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?

Join Professor Toby Walsh explores the existential risks posed by our accelerating efforts to realise an AI-powered future.

‘If you only read one book about what happens when machines get smarter than us, make it this one. This is the guide you want for the scariest journey in human history.’ —Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

$5.00 + booking fee

Books will be available for purchase and signing on the night.

Non-alcoholic refreshments and nibbles on arrival.

Bookings required.

In Waves of Plenty, Mark Cully tells the full story of immigration to Australia, from pre-colonial origins through colonisation, the gold rush, the post-war immigration boom, the end of the White Australia policy, and the modern policy of temporary migration. Join the author in conversation with ABC’s Josh Becker as they discuss the fraught politics of immigration and dismantle its persistent myths.

Join Bob Brown, former leader of the Australian Greens and trailblazing environmentalist and biographer Mark McKenna for a conversation about Defiance, Brown's reflection on fifty years of environmental activism. In this special event, Brown and McKenna will discuss the motivations that continue to drive his activism and his enduring commitment to protecting nature for future generations.

As AI becomes more human, it brings new existential, social and ethical risks. Will we learn to coexist with it or will we be creating our own successor? Join Toby Walsh, Anna Goldsworthy, Steve Toltz and Michael Black as they explore the risks and benefits posed by our acceleration towards an AI-powered future. 

Tasmania is home to one of the world’s largest temperate wilderness areas, yet this remarkable landscape is facing increasing environmental pressure. Climate change, more frequent and severe fire seasons, pollution from salmon farming, and the loss of endemic species are among the many challenges threatening its ecosystems, its people and their culture. Join us for a timely discussion exploring the environmental challenges facing the island and the responses required to protect and restore Tasmania’s unique natural environments. With Johanna Bell, Romy Ash & Bob Brown with Simon Lauder.

Join former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr and former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown for a timely discussion on the state of Australian politics. Together, they will examine whether conviction, principle, and public service still have a place in an era marked by political instability, growing uncertainty, and shifting public expectations. They will be joined by Liz Ritchie, CEO of the Regional Australia Institute, whose expertise in regional policy and community development will bring valuable insight into the issues that matter most to regional Australians.
 

Join us at the Bendooley Estate as we spend the evening with Kate Grenville and her latest novel investigating a cold case in 1800s Australia. 
Wednesday, 28 October in the Book Barn from 6pm until 8pm, with canapés and a drink served upon arrival.  

Rummaging around in the Archives one afternoon, Grenville unearths 88 letters tracing the mysterious life of a schoolteacher in country New South Wales. What first appears simple soon reveals itself to be a tale far more curious and complex. Was Joseph Connor savagely beating the students in his care? Or was he the victim of a small-town vendetta? And what went so terribly wrong between him and his daughter? 

From one of Australia's most celebrated writers comes a part locked-room mystery, part colonial cold case that will have you realising that The Country Schoolmaster is a book like no other.  

Linda Jaivin and John Zubrzycki in conversation with Satyajit Das for the release of The Shortest History of Madrid and The Shortest History of Delhi.

Linda Jaivin covers Madrid's story, one as diverse as its population today. From the grandeur of the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties to the chaos and trauma of civil war and dictatorship, Madrid has survived it all with defiant spirit.

It has been home to some of Spain's – and the world's – most brilliant writers, thinkers and artists, from Cervantes and Goya to Hemingway and Almodóvar. It has been the setting for outrageous political scandals, mass movements and wild literary rivalries. And it continues to be a city that refuses to be defined by anything but its own irrepressible energy.

John Zubrzycki writes about Delhi, with its stories of intrigue and empire, decadence and artistry, destruction and rebirth, has been exhilarating travellers for centuries. Its history stretches back thousands of years, through invasions, empires and the struggle for independence.

This many-layered history can be seen on the streets of Delhi today – in ancient monuments to emperors, saints, princesses and eunuchs; in the domes of mosques clad in shimmering white marble; in stately Mughal gardens; and in the bustling laneways of its markets and neighbourhoods. Now, Delhi is a vast megalopolis, drawing people from all over the subcontinent, a cornucopia of religions, castes, languages and economic classes.

Linda Jaivin is the internationally published author of thirteen books, including The Shortest History of China and Bombard the Headquarters! The Cultural Revolution in China. She is also a translator and cultural commentator. After some forty-odd years writing about China, she has turned her attention to Spain with The Shortest History of Madrid.

John Zubrzycki is the author of seven acclaimed books on India that have been published internationally and translated into almost a dozen languages. His books include Dethroned: The Downfall of India's Princely States and The Shortest History of India. He has a PhD in Indian history from the University of New South Wales and has lived and worked in India as a diplomat and foreign correspondent. 

Satyajit Das is an internationally respected financier with half a century’s experience, named in 2014 by Bloomberg as one of the fifty most influential financial thinkers in the world. He is the author of several works on the finance, money and society, and eco-tourism. His latest book is The Everything Bubble, due out in the first half of 2027.

Boom or Doom? Learn what to expect when machines outsmart us as a leading AI researcher discusses his new book on artificial intelligence.

Is it game over for humanity?

Join us at Ryde Library one of the world's leading researchers on artificial intelligence Professor Toby Walsh discusses this vital question. He will be speaking about his newest book, God AI, an essential guide to one of our most dangerous inventions.

There will be an opportunity for Q&A, book purchasing, and have your book signed by Toby.

Attendees on the day also have a chance to WIN a signed copy of the book.

Join authors Susan Wyndham and Susan Lever as they chat about their most recent biographies and the art of writing abut prominent historical figures.

About Woman in the Watchtower by Susan Wyndham:

Elizabeth Harrower wrote some of the most intense, original and highly regarded novels of the twentieth century. Then she abruptly stopped writing in the 1970s and became one of the most puzzling mysteries of Australian literature. Why didn’t she continue? Harrower gave evasive answers to friends and interviewers, and only since her death in 2020 has a deeper search been possible.

In this definitive biography, renowned journalist and writer Susan Wyndham grapples with the elusive Harrower. She immerses us in the author’s tumultuous family, her complex friendships with Patrick White, Christina Stead, Kylie Tennant and Shirley Hazzard, and her timeless probing of the human spirit in five remarkable novels.

Drawing on time spent with Harrower, revealing analysis of her fiction and new research, Wyndham unmasks a literary legend.

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.