Finding the courage to tell my story

Jan Cochrane-Harry, Robyn Davidson, Lech Blaine and Grace Tame with Sally Warhaft

Our annual Political Lunch at The Baths

Paddy Manning, Amy Remeikis and Laura Tingle with Barrie Cassidy

The influence and legacy of media proprietor Rupert Murdoch

Ranald Macdonald, Paddy Manning, Walter Marsh and Sally Young with Corrie Perkin

Three writers discuss their approach to biography

Troy Bramston, Kate Fullager and David Marr with Sarah L’Estrange

Have we lost the war?

Peter Christoff, Joelle Gergis and John Hewson with Natasha Mitchell

What is free speech and what are we afraid of?
Dennis Glover and Lucinda Holdforth with Hannie Rayson

Three writers discuss their approach to biography

Julia Baird, Catherine Lumby and Paddy Manning with Jamila Rizvi

Peter Christoff, Joelle Gergis and Kylie Soanes with Amanda Smith

What does good political leadership look like

Lech Blaine, Troy Bramston and Niki Savva with Brendan Donohoe

How novelists weave fact into their fiction

Melissa Ashley, Dennis Glover and Kate Grenville with Irma Gold

David Marr, Thomas Mayo and Margo Neale with Natasha Mitchell

Sarah Krasnostein, David Marr and Laura Tingle with Ramona Koval

Join our chat about the news of the day

Erik Jensen and Amy Remeikis with Tom Wright

Toward the 2025 election

Lech Blaine, Erik Jensen, Amy Remeikis and Niki Savva with Brendan Donohoe

Three authors discuss their work, their writing journey and their creative process

Dennis Glover, Gail Jones and Myfanwy Jones with Laura Macdonald

Do people still listen? Should they listen?

Eric Beecher, Erik Jensen and Laura Tingle with Jon Faine

For many years, Newcastle was the centre of an extensive paedophile network run by members of the Anglican church – and protected by parishioners and community members who looked the other way. 

In this gripping book, author Anne Manne reveals how this network was able to avoid detection for so long, and how its ringleaders were finally exposed and brought to justice. At the centre of the story is a survivor, Steve Smith, who endured years of childhood abuse but refused to be silenced. 

Join us on Sunday, 28 April for the offical book launch of Crimes of the Cross, led by chair speaker Tanya Wilks OAM in conversation with author, Anne Manne and survivor, Steve Smith. 

A searing expose of institutional child abuse, and the remarkable story of the survivors who would not be silenced

For many years, Newcastle was the centre of an extensive paedophile network run by members of the Anglican church – and protected by parishioners and community members who looked the other way.

In this gripping book, Anne Manne reveals how this network was able to avoid detection for so long, and how its ringleaders were finally exposed and brought to justice. At the centre of the story is a survivor, Steve Smith, who endured years of childhood abuse but refused to be silenced.

Drawing on extensive research and interviews with survivors, clergy, police and others, Manne explores how the network operated and how it became entrenched in the upper echelons of Newcastle society. She offers deep insights into the minds and strategies of abusers, and pays tribute to the victims and their tireless struggle for justice. Child sexual abuse has previously been thought of as an individual crime; Manne pioneers an examination of it as part of a network.

This is an unforgettable study of courage and faith in the face of unthinkable evil.

Part of the Writers @ Stanton collection.

Join Anne Manne, author of Crimes of the Cross, and discover a searing expose of institutional child abuse, and the remarkable story of the survivors who would not be silenced.