It is a few years now since Heather Rose came to Maleny to speak about her memoir  Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here. The book revealed that, aside from being a best-selling, internationally-published, award-winning novelist, she had also managed to live a truly remarkable life, pushing the boundaries of the extraordinary in her search for meaning.

Now she has returned to the novel with  A Great Act of Love, a story that begins in 1839 when a young woman ‘of means’, Caroline Douglas, arrives in Hobart, with a young boy in her care. After leasing an old cottage next to an abandoned vineyard, she discovers that, in order to not just survive but flourish in her new life, she will have to navigate an insular colony of exiles and opportunists. But Caroline is carrying a secret of great magnitude and it will take all she is made of to bring it into the light. 

Moving from the champagne vineyards of revolutionary France to London and on to early colonial Australia,   A Great Act of Love is a spellbinding novel of legacy, passion and reinvention, inspired by true events. It is an immensely beautiful and heartrending saga of a father and daughter, and the enduring power of familial love.

These days Chris Hammer is best known for his ‘bush noir’ novels - a category which might even have been created to describe his books. They unravel in far-flung parts of Australia: in the opal fields of Lightning Ridge, out in north-western Victoria, in marginal country. They’re incredibly popular, selling several million to date, all over the world, and two of them have been adapted for television under the title of Scrublands.

But it wasn’t always thus. Chris started out as a journalist, winning awards for his insights on the machinations in Canberra. By his own account that eventually got too much for him, and he took off, travelling the length of the Murray/Darling from the Paroo to Adelaide, and wrote a book about it, called The River, seeking to depict and understand the complexities of our longest and most important waterway.

The book was much-lauded, and deservedly so, but its greatest gift might be the sense of the landscape and the people of the bush that has come to imbue his novels. Yes, there’s a crime been committed - and one of his protagonists, Nell Buchanan, or the investigative reporter Martin Scarsden - will have to figure out who done it, but the real hero is always going to be the richness of the place and of the people in which it all happens. There are no stereotypes, just people.

In his new novel, Legacy, Martin Scarsden is the centre of the action, not because he’s caught the scent of wrong-doing, but because someone is out to kill him. He’s on the run, heading out into the desert, although it seems even there he isn’t safe. He has to simultaneously protect himself, and try to find out who it is that wants him dead.

Hugh White argues that, right now, we confront the world's most dangerous crisis in generations, with the old global order facing a direct challenge in three crucial regions: Eastern Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. 

And then there’s Donald Trump, under whose leadership America's retreat from any kind of coherence has been both swift and dramatic. 

For Outspoken Hugh is discussing his June 2025 Quarterly Essay: Hard New World, Our post-American Future

White examines the dynamics of the US–China rivalry, and the new regional order which is emerging. He explains the big strategic trends driving the war in Ukraine, and why America has already “lost” Asia. He discusses Albanese's record and Labor's future choices in this new world, and where they might lead. 

Hugh White is a former Deputy Secretary for Strategy in the Department of Defence, and was the founding Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He is now Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra and is widely regarded as Australia’s pre-eminent commentator on defence matters.  

In his 2022 essay  Sleepwalk to War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance with America, referring to AUKUS, he wrote: 'In the annals of defence policy failure, it is hard to recall anything more absurd than this whole sad mess.'

Our ‘introducing author’ is the wonderful Joanna Jenkins.

Her first novel How To Kill a Client, became a massive best-seller. In her new novel, The Bluff, her focus moves from big-city legal firms to a small country town - but we’re still amongst the legal fraternity.  

I've now read  The Bluff and can confirm it's a clever, rich, dynamic novel. So many books set in rural Australia, particularly thrillers, are full of weird stereotypes of bush characters. Joanna avoids this trap. The people in her novel are all believable and interesting, individuals caught up in events beyond their understanding. Highly recommended.

Jane Rawson has an interesting backstory (see below) and much of her recent output has been fiction. In the case of  Human/Nature, however, she presents a series of linked essays that delve, in a very idiosyncratic and personal way, into the many ways we interact with Nature.

In deceptively simple language she prises open the faultlines between what we hope or wish those relationships might be, and the facts on the ground, presenting irrefutable arguments only to subtly pull the rug out from beneath them. She discusses, in no particular order, evolution and extinction, minds and exceptionalism, conservation and killing, and much more, drawing in ideas from right across the spectrum. The quality and - there’s that word again - the  nature, of her prose means that the questions she asks have the capacity to pierce our complacencies, if only because she admits, from the start, that they are also hers.

Jane began her career as a writer by working for Lonely Planet, travelling to places as different as Prague and Phnom Penh, but eventually settled in Melbourne, taking up the position of editor of the environment and energy section of  The Conversation. Almost a decade ago she moved to Tasmania where she now works for a conservation organisation. In the meantime she has found the time to write four novels, including the Aurealis winning  From The Wreck, as well as the non-fiction work,  The Handbook: surviving and living with climate change.

Our introducing speaker tonight is Dr Barry Traill AM, (BJ). Barry is a long-term resident of Maleny, and is one of Australia’s most successful environmental advocates. He is the former Director of Pew Charitable Trusts’ Australian Outback Program and now leads the Solutions for Climate Australia project, part of the Climate Action Network, working towards creating enduring bi-partisanship in federal politics to achieve decisive action on climate.

BJ's an ecologist by training, with a particular interest and expertise in the ecology of terrestrial birds and mammals. He has led many major environmental campaigns, including working with Indigenous peoples to protect Outback landscapes, (Country needs People) and greatly expanding Australia’s marine park network.

He has attended several 'COPs' including the 2024 event in Azerbaijan.

In 2023 he was, very deservedly, awarded an Order of Australia (AM) for his services to conservation and the environment.

In this critical time he will be discussing the state of environmental politics in Australia and the world, focussing on how climate and conservation are being addressed in the campaign.

Our featured author tonight is Debra Oswald. Debra came to prominence, or maybe the right word is fame, with the production of the immensely popular television series Offspring in 2010, for which she was the Creator and Lead Writer. But Debra had already been immersed in theatre and television for many many years before that - we might come to that in a minute - writing several successful plays and episodes for other series. Since then she has shifted her attention to the writing of novels, the one we are talking about tonight, the excellent One Hundred Years of Betty, being her fourth. Previous works include Useful, The Whole Bright Year and The Family Doctor.

She has also performed her own One-woman show, Is there something wrong with that woman?

Debra has received numerous awards, including two NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, a Qld Premier’s Literary Award and an AACTA Award for the screenplay of episondes in Offspring.

Debra is in conversation with Steven Lang about her new novel 100 Years of Betty

Our first guest tonight is the fascinating Steve MinOn.

Steve’s debut novel is First Name Second Name, which won the Glendower Award for an emerging Queensland writer at the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards. He has also been a recipient of the 2021 Queensland Writers Centre’s Publishible program for emerging writers and his articles and short stories have appeared SBS Voices, Mamamia, Nightmare Fuel, WQ Magazine and the 2022 Right Left Write Anthology. 

Self-described as ‘a child of mixed-race Australia,’ he has at different times been a creative director, an advertising copywriter and a restaurateur. He lives in Brisbane and is currently working on a follow-up novel.

Siang is in conversation with Steven Lang

I'm going  out on a limb here. I think Rick Morton’s  Mean Streak is an important book. Its description of the creation, implementation and eventual dismantling of Robodebt reveals a long slow-motion train wreck – one mendacious cruel scheming carriage after another inevitably, inexorably, piling into the one before it. But it’s also necessary.

If we want to live in a society which works (and after the events of this week who doesn’t?) we need to have strong, transparent institutions at its centre.

Rick Morton has done something essential for all of us: drilled down into how something as individually damaging and nationally disgraceful as Robodebt could exist in a place like this.

Morton is the senior reporter at The Saturday Paper. 

He has won two Walkley Awards for his coverage of the Royal Commission into Robodebt.

He's also the author of the wonderful  One Hundred Years of Dirt. 

He asks you to consider what it might be like to live in a country whose government callously, but deliberately, condemns its poorest citizens to a Kafkaesque nightmare. As some sort of idealogical crusade. To raise funds. That same government who, when it was revealed what they had done, was obliged to pay it all back.

Nobody, as you will be well aware, has been punished for what happened. Just in the last fortnight it was announced that the NACC had been forced to reverse its decision not to investigate Robodebt because Commissioner Paul Brereton had not adequately removed himself from the process. 

Rick grew up on a remote cattle station in far-west Queensland. His childhood gave him an insight into the nature of class in Australia and he writes very lucidly on the subject. When I was growing up, he says, ‘I didn’t know there was a hierarchy because I couldn’t see the rest of the ladder from where I was.’

Rick is in conversation with Steven Lang.

Siang Lu is the author of two novels,  The Whitewash and  Ghost Cities. The latter, which we'll be discussing, was inspired by the existence of several vacant uninhabited megacities of China. It follows multiple narratives, including one in which a young man named Xiang is fired from his job as a translator at Sydney's Chinese Consulate after it is discovered he doesn't speak a word of Chinese and has been relying entirely on Google Translate for his work. 

His first novel,  The Whitewash, won the ABIA Audiobook of the Year in 2023 and the Glendower Award for an emerging writer in the Qld Literary Awards. 

Of Siang Lu, Chris Flynn wrote:  'A literary star is born in Siang Lu, although he'll probably be replaced by a white guy called Jeff at some point, so get in while you can.'

Siang is in conversation with Steven Lang

Gina Chick has written a memoir. It’s titled  we are the stars, and it follows her life from when she was almost seven years old, all the way through until she’s fifty, and there’s hardly a page you might choose to describe as conventional. Gina – with all that literary royalty in her blood – made her own way, a path which took her on a dance through the hidden world of 90s Sydney nightlife (right into the arms of a conman) and from there into the wilderness where she began a wondrous love affair with some of the deepest lessons life (and death) can offer.

Literary royalty? Yes, because although Gina is most famous for having survived alone in the Tasmanian wilderness for 67 days, becoming the inaugural winner of the Alone Australia competition (and endearing herself to some five and a half million viewers), she is, also, the daughter of Suzanne Chick, author of Searching for Charmian. Suzanne, it turned out, was Charmian Clift’s daughter, given up for adoption at birth. Charmian was, of course, one of Australia’s great writers (  Peel Me a Lotus, Mermaid Singing), also famous for living on the island of Hydra with her partner of George Johnston, the author of  My Brother Jack

These days Gina describes herself as a rewilding facilitator, a writer and a speaker. She’s on the tele right now with Julia Zamero, doing great Australian walks. Gina is, in fact, a force unto herself. Her book is released at the beginning of October and we’re incredibly lucky to have her come to Maleny.

Gina is in conversation with Steven Lang

Andrew Stafford’s book  Pig City,about Brisbane music from the 70s through to the millennium, has been re-released for its twentieth anniversary.

It is, in itself, a major Brisbane icon. Bernard Fanning wrote of it: 

‘Twenty years on, Pig City  reminds us of how deeply the political undercurrents (Joe Bjelke Peterson’s government) impacted the cultural output of Brisbane’s artists, and how the pioneers of the scene (unknowingly) laid the platform for the bands to come.'

Paul Grabowsky: 

‘I read Pig City in 2005, as part of my induction into the musical history of Brisbane. I couldn’t put it down. Any city lucky enough to be honoured with such a chronicle is a very lucky place.’

Andrew is in conversation with Steven Lang

Mark Newman was born and raised in South Africa. As a young man he completed a post-graduate philosophy degree at Johannesburg University (University of the Witwatersrand). This was during the time of Apartheid in South Africa, a regime that had a profound affect on him. As soon as he could he arranged to leave, being awarded a scholarship from the French Government to study film-making at the French National Film School. Over the next thirty or forty years Mark has produced and directed films in Africa, the UK and Australia. For the last decade or so – until very recently - he and his partner Robyn Hofmyer were very involved with the Baramba/Cherbourg Aboriginal Community, and the Ration Shed in particular.

In recent years, however, Mark has followed a long-held dream to write novels. Dronikus, the novel we’re discussing tonight, is the first to see the light of day. Launched late last year it was short-listed for the Aurealis Award for the best Science-Fiction novel of the year.

Dr Norman Swan was born and raised in Glasgow, but he did his medical training at Aberdeen University, eventually going on to specialise in pediatrics. After he emigrated to Australia in the early 80s, however, he made the move into radio and television broadcasting, mainly with the ABC, and in this role, through a series of programs, including Life Matters, The 7.30 Report, Catalyst, Quantum, Four Corners, and, of course, The Health Report - which he has produced and presented since its inception in 1985, he has been given the label of Australia’s most trusted doctor. And that was before Coronacast.

(Interestingly enough for all those in our audience who are lovers of Radio National, Norman is not simply a broadcaster, he was the station’s general manager for three years from 1990, during which time it saw a major revitalisation, bringing on board such luminaries as Philip Adams and Geraldine Doogue, amongst others. We have a lot to thank him for).

More recently his focus – when not getting married on the island of Hydra – and many congratulations on that! - he has been the writing of a series of books about health, books which he describes not as giving advice, but presenting evidence. He’s here tonight to speak about So You Want to Know What’s Good for Your Kids?

In the autumn of 2023 Simon undertook to follow the course of the Brisbane River from its source to the sea, in the hope that, by walking its length he might better understand the power and impact of this immense waterway on the environment and communities who rely on it.

In  Everything is Water, Cleary takes us along on his journey, made both alone and with companions, and explores the way rivers connect landscapes, ecologies, histories, communities and myth. Over four eventful weeks and a serious weather event we are witness to the river in all its beauty and fury.

Beautifully told,  Everything is Water considers our complex relationship with nature through flood, drought, time and place.

Hugh Mackay has long been recognised as Australia’s leading social psychologist. In  The Way We Are, his self-described ‘final book’, he presents a compelling portrait of the country as it stands today.

Hugh argues that we have entered a critical period in our social evolution. He identifies several major issues: the unfinished march towards gender equality combined with the concurrent persistence of misogyny; the anti-social consequences of social media and the impacts of information overload; and the decline in religious faith and the things we look towards as a substitute.

Some of his observations might not make easy reading, but his analysis goes further, to share his own perspective on the steps we need to take to contribute to the healing of our wounded society.

Hugh has written more than twenty books, including  Advance Australia… where?, The Art of Belonging, and Beyond Belief. He appears regularly on television, radio and newspapers as a commentator.  The Way We Aredemonstrates his deep affection for our country and is a marvellous book-end to his illustrious career.

Tyyni and I have now read Carly's memoir,  Breath, and are furiously recommending it to everyone we meet.

It really is an extraordinary book, telling the story of a remarkable, and some might say difficult, life, but Carly brings to the story a profound sense of humour, combined with a close grasp of something most of us find difficult to deal with, that is, in a word, death. 

She strikes me as utterly fearless, prepared to speak about everything and anything, which means there is a generosity in her words that is rare, and immensely valuable. 

‘The only thing more remarkable than Carly-Jay Metcalfe’s story is the way she tells it.  Breath captures the privileges and pains of living in our transitory bodies. The absurdities. The cruelties. The bone-deep joys. This book is a love letter to the sublime human mess. An invitation to pay attention to every precious lungful.’ 

Beejay Silcox

Bri Lee writes investigative journalism, opinion, essays and art criticism. Her work has appeared in, amongst other places, The Monthly, Harper’s Bazaar, The Saturday Paper, Crikey and The Guardian. She is the author of three non-fiction works, the memoir, Eggshell Skull, and the two more journalistic works, Beauty and Who Gets to Be Smart. Just nine days ago she launched her marvellous debut novel, The Work, which she’s here to talk about tonight.

In publicising this event I described Bri as a phenomen but I think that is, in any objective analysis, an understatement. These four books - Eggshell Skull was a bona fide bestseller - have all been published since 2018. In the meantime she is undertaking a PhD in Law at the University of Sydney - where she lectures on media law - as well as taking literary journeys and running a weekly newsletter entitled News & Reviews, and being that much maligned thing - which hopefully we’ll also get to later - an influencer.  

As I mentioned at the start of the evening I’m delighted to have her here in Maleny as the guest of Outspoken, please welcome Bri Lee to Maleny.

Tony Birch is the acclaimed author of four novels, including  The White Girl and  Ghost River, as well as three short story collections and two books of poetry. 

Most recently his short story collection  Dark as Last Night won the New South Wales Premier's Christina Stead Prize for fiction, the Queensland Literary Award Steele Rudd prize and was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's literary prize. He has previously been awarded the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature.

Professor Tony Birch has recently been appointed the third Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at the University of Melbourne. Tony will be the third to take up the mantle previously held by two other literary greats, Richard Flanagan and Alexis Wright.

Women & Children follows the life of Joe Cluny. It is 1965 and he is living in a working-class suburb with his mum, Marion, and sister, Ruby, spending his days trying to avoid trouble with the nuns at the local Catholic primary school. One evening his Aunty Oona appears on the doorstep, distressed and needing somewhere to stay. As his mum and aunty work out what to do, Joe comes to understand the secrets that the women in his family carry, including on their bodies. Yet their pleas for assistance are met with silence and complicity from all sides. 

Women & Children is a novel about the love and courage between two sisters, and a sudden loss of childhood innocence.

Melissa is the best-selling author of   The Birdman's Wife, which won many awards, including the Qld Premiers/University of Queensland Fiction Award and the Neilsen Bookscan Award. 

Her new novel is  The Naturalist of Amsterdam.

At the turn of the 18th century, Amsterdam is at the centre of an intellectual revolution, with artists and scientists racing to record the wonders of the natural world. Of all the brilliant naturalists in Europe, Maria Sibylla Merian is one of its brightest stars.

For as long as she can remember, Dorothea Graff’s life has been lived in service to her mother, Maria: from collecting insects to colouring illustrations for Maria’s world-famous publications. While Dorothea longs for a life that is truly her own, she constantly finds herself drawn back into her mother’s world – and shadow.

From the jungles of South America to the bustling artists’ studios of Amsterdam, Melissa Ashley charts an incredible period of discovery. With stunning lyricism and immaculate research,  The Naturalist of Amsterdam gives voice to the long-ignored women who shaped our understanding of the natural world – both the artists and those who made their work possible.