John Silvester, Kate Wild and Marian Wilkinson with Madeleine Grummet

An investigative journalist's anatomy of a scandal often reveals attempts to cover up, bury information, lie, blame others and fabricate stories result in more harm and more illegal or inappropriate behaviour. Our three multi award-winning journalists discuss what happens when smart people panic. 

Sean Scalmer, Sarah Wilson and Toby Walsh with Stephen Lunn

In just five years, office life for most Australians has changed beyond what anyone might have imagined 10 or 20 years ago. Our panel members will share their research and observations how the modern worker’s routine has changed, and why anxiety, stress, breakdowns in physical and mental capacities, performative productivity and the erosion of home-work boundaries are very real challenges to employers and employees.

Peter FitzSimons, Jock Serong and Helen Trinca with Michael Cathcart

How does a biographer deal with the ghost in the room, the person whose story you are trying to tell - creatively, engagingly and with accuracy? How do biographers navigate their way through truth, empathy, objectivity, admiration and those ”Eureka!” moments of discovery as they retell someone’s life journey? 

Bri Lee, Kate Mildenhall and JP Pomare with Hannie Rayson
Where do great characters come from? Do your family or friends ever recognise themselves in your work? And why is the flawed, imperfect oddball in a novel way more interesting than someone nice? 

Troy Bramston, Lucinda Holdforth and Don Watson with Libbi Gorr

Whether it’s a wedding, a funeral, a conference or a key-note, writing and delivering speeches is no easy task. Our three panel members - each speechwriters to Australian politics leaders - discuss how to take audiences on a journey they’ll never forget. 

Geraldine Brooks, Jennifer Byrne, Annabel Crabb and Marian Wilkinson with Tom Wright 

This session is supported by Pitcher Partners

Evelyn Araluen, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Erik Jensen, Richard King, Thomas Mayo and Richard Piper with Jane Montgomery Griffiths

This session is supported by I-Nex

Madeleine Gray, Sarah Krasnostein, Michael Shmith and Georgie Williamson with Jason Steger

Elizabeth Buchanan, Bob Carr and Toby Walsh with Steve Bracks 

War, invasion and conflict are still alive and well but in 2026, there are new forces in play threaten a nation’s security, including cyberspace and data centre control, “green grabbing” and the dismantling of indigenous land sovereignty, and acquiring land to ensure supply chains function. Our panel reflects upon land’s role as ultimate superpower asset.

Chris Kohler and Marian Wilkinson with Daniel Ziffer  

Panel member Chris Kohler’s new book How They Get You:  Sneaky Everyday Economics and Smart Ways to Hold on to Your Money is the catalyst for a conversation with investigative journalist Marian Wilkinson about businesses that behave badly - and what communities can do to fight back. 

Konrad Marshall, Martin McKenzie-Murray with Rose Donohoe

Newspaper sports sections - and sporting books - still produce some of journalism’s best reporting and finest writing. Our panel discusses why.

Sean Kelly, Amy Remeikis, Don Watson with Brendan Donohoe  

At a time when political pundits are questioning the Liberal -National Party alliance and its capacity to win government, our panel dissects the past, present and future of conservative politics in Australia. 

Sean Kelly, Sarah Krasnostein, and Martin McKenzie-Murray with Liz Porter

Three esteemed non-fiction specialists discuss how they distil stories from the world and the people around us, and turn them into entertaining and breathtaking prose, and amazing long-form journalism. 

Desmond Manderson will be in conversation with Malcolm McLeod, Anna Olsen and Carolyn Strange on his new book High Time: How Australia Changed Its Mind About Illegal Drugs, a unique look at Australia's treatment of illegal drugs from the 1980s to the present.

How did the nation change its mind about drugs? Australia's repressive treatment of illicit drugs began with racist anti-Chinese laws around 1900. Until the mid-1980s, prohibition seemed absolute and unalterable, supported by local police forces, state and federal agencies and international law.

This book tells the surprising story of what happened next: the turn to a 'harm minimisation' approach. Compelled by the AIDS crisis and medical professionals agitating for change, Australian governments began to consider whether thousands of lives could be saved – not by preventing the use of drugs, but by reducing the risks associated with their use. Along the way, what began as a pragmatic response to a health crisis morphed into something more: a moral argument for compassion and respect.

Examining such controversial issues as pill testing, injecting rooms, medicinal cannabis, the opioid crisis, and vaping , High Time traces the efforts, often faltering and provisional, to forge a new path forward. Written with clarity and elegance by one of Australia's leading authorities on drug policy and history, it presents the story of Australian drug law as one that remains unfinished but is moving in a hopeful direction.

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

Readings Carlton are delighted to host the launch of Sirens: Inside the Shadow World of First Responders Martin McKenzie-Murray.

Martin McKenzie-Murray will be in-conversation with Gideon Haigh to discuss the book. 

Three first responders - a paramedic, a police officer and a firefighter - are motivated by a desire to serve the community. But they are drawn to their work by more complicated impulses as well- a need for control, an acute awareness of danger, and childhood experiences they are still running from.

Peter, a paramedic, served at high-profile disasters including the Port Arthur massacre and the Beaconsfield mine collapse. Tara, a firefighter, experienced devastating loss at a young age. Brett, a police officer, survived childhood neglect and abuse. In telling their stories, Martin McKenzie-Murray draws on his own experience and his research into trauma and recovery to ask profound questions about human motivation and survival.

This is a free event, but bookings are essential.