EVENTS

Bringing literary events to readers and writers across Victoria

Forthcoming events

BOOKS @ THE BREWERY
A series of literary events held in partnership with the Shedshaker Brewing Company. Join us for a beer, wine or cider (or two) and pizza while listening to some of Australia's finest writers for both adults and children.

Books @ The Brewery  - Meet Val Case

When:   Wednesday August 25

Time:     6 00 - 8 00pm

Venue:  The Taproom, 9 Walker Street, Castlemaine

Cost:      $5  ...bookings are essential.

The Undertaker's Daughter 

In The Undertaker's Wife, the reader is introduced to the Shaw family of Beaufort in rural Victoria. In this sequel, daughter Miranda comes into the world prematurely but with energy and feistiness that, through her childhood, exasperate her father but delight her mother. 

Uncertainty about her career choice characterises her teenage years. A simple accident sets her on a certain path, and romance enters her life.

But it is the late 60s. The conservative traditions of the 40s and 50s give way to more freedom of opportunity for young people.  

Miranda eagerly takes up a short-term opportunity in the UK and, as a result, more painful decisions have to be made.  

Two tragic losses bring her to a clarity of vision about her destiny. 

We look forward to welcoming Val to The Taproom to launch her new book, The Undertaker's Daughter. 

BOOKS @ THE BREWERY
A series of literary events held in partnership with the Shedshaker Brewing Company. Join us for a beer, wine or cider (or two) and pizza while listening to some of Australia's finest writers for both adults and children.

Books @ The Brewery  - Katherine Kovacic & Paul Laverty

When:   17 August 2021

Time:     6 00 - 6 30pm start

Venue:  The Taproom, 9 Walker Street, Castlemaine

Cost:      $5  ...bookings are essential.

Introducing the fabulous Ms Peregrine Fisher, niece of the famous Phryne Fisher, as seen on 7plus and Acorn tv

'A splendid read, with an authentic 60s flavour. I recommend it unreservedly.' - Kerry Greenwood

Peregrine Fisher is unexpectedly summoned to a meeting of the Adventuresses' Club of the Antipodes, where she learns some incredible news.

When Adventuress Florence Astor is accused of murder, Peregrine jumps at the chance to help on the case. Detective James Steed, initially dismissive, quickly finds Peregrine's flair for investigating and headstrong nature leave him little choice.

A second shocking death occurs and Detective Steed's boss, Inspector Sparrow, demands the case be brought to a close with suspicious speed.

With Sparrow issuing threats, time is running out for Peregrine. It seems she's set herself an impossible task, but then, as Detective Steed says, 'never underestimate a woman named Fisher'.

​Katherine Kovacic:

Katherine Kovacic has written short stories, true crime and crime fiction. Her debut novel, The Portrait of Molly Dean, was shortlisted for the 2019 Ned Kelly Awards for Best First Fiction, and is the first of three books in the Alex Clayton art mystery series.

Meet Paul Laverty

We're delighted that Jenny Valentish has agreed to be in conversation with Paul and look forward to seeing you at this celebratory event. 

It's time we thought about where our fruit comes from. 

But once you've read this book, you'll wish you’d never found out.

Welcome to Cider Country - home to the apple orchards of Australia's Central Victorian region. Not only do they produce the nation’s favourite fruit, it’s also the main ingredient in one of our favourite summer drinks. 

But behind the apples is a myriad of twisted tales and an infinite number of colourful characters including racist supervisors, fugitive journalists, sexually promiscuous Muslims, concert promoters, Thai Princes, rabid dogs, aspiring models, failed writers, French musos, ex-cons, former triads, self-harmers, Jazz man Ryuichi Sakamoto and 'fucking Angus and Julie Stone (sic)’. 

There's also a mole who's about to blow the whole industry apart, along with a new blend of cider which might just save the world. 

This collection of comedically dark and interlinked tales will have you thinking about apples, cider and life itself in a whole different light.

Paul J. Laverty is a Scottish-Australian writer and journalist based in Castlemaine. He is the host of 94.9 Main FM book show, The Quiet Carriage, which also airs across the nation on the Community Radio Network.

He wrote the first biography of Grammy award-winners Arcade Fire and another on Beck (Artnik / Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf Verlag). He has produced plays and screenplays, one of which, Over the Sea to Skye, was optioned by White Hot Productions (makers of The Dressmaker). He is currently completing a creative writing PhD at Curtin University. 

His novella, Man Overbored, was published in 2019 October, and his latest novella, Cider Country, is out July 2021 (both via RoadHouse Media).

ONLINE EVENT
Jennifer Mills in conversation with Alex Kelly 
 

When:   Sunday 15 August 2021

Time:     8 00 - 8 45pm start

Cost:      $5 

Zoom Link:    This link will be sent to you at 1pm on the day of the event. 

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The Airways shifts between Sydney and Beijing, unsettling the boundaries of gender and power, consent and rage, self and other, and even life and death.

A powerful, inventive, and immersive novel from award-winning author Jennifer Mills.

Praise for The Airways:
'Sensational. The Airways is an intricate, existential wonder - Mills' ability to inhabit boundlessness is astonishing. A deeply empathetic genius flows through these pages.' - Josephine Rowe

'A haunting and intimate examination of violence, alienation, dislocation and possession, and the need to reckon with the past. The Airways is a masterful novel: Mills writes prose of rare distinction.' - Julie Koh

Jennifer Mills is the author of the novels Dyschronia (Picador, 2018), Gone (UQP, 2011) and The Diamond Anchor (UQP, 2009) and a collection of short stories, The Rest is Weight (UQP, 2012). In 2019 Dyschronia was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and the Aurealis Awards for science fiction. Mills' fiction, essays and criticism have been widely published, including in Best Australian Stories, Best Australian Essays, the Guardian, Lithub, Meanjin, Overland, The Saturday Paper, the Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Review of Books, and the Washington Post.

BOOKS @ THE BREWERY
A series of literary events held in partnership with the Shedshaker Brewing Company. Join us for a beer, wine or cider (or two) and pizza while listening to some of Australia's finest writers for both adults and children.

Books @ The Brewery  - Meet Andrew Wear

When:   Wednesday 8 September 2021

Time:     6 00 - 6 30pm start

Venue:  The Taproom, 9 Walker Street, Castlemaine

Cost:      $5  ...bookings are essential.

In times of crisis lies opportunity. Recovery shows us how we can build back better after COVID-19.

We have recovered from many crises in the past: war, depression, pandemic, natural disaster. Often, we’ve bounced back to create an even better future. The Spanish Flu was followed by the economic prosperity of the Roaring Twenties. In the decades following World War II, the German economy grew to the world’s most advanced. In the United States, social and economic policies responding to the Great Depression laid the foundations for twentieth-century prosperity. 

As we contemplate recovery from the COVID-19 health and economic crisis while confronting the climate emergency, what can we learn from other recoveries? Through interviews with experts, policymakers and community leaders, this book examines past recoveries and investigates implications for the future. It explores what went well, what we should do differently and what the lessons might be for the recovery ahead of us.

With governments prepared to lead, listen to experts and involve communities in decision-making, not only is a successful recovery possible – we can also choose to re-evaluate many of the things we thought were fixed. We have an opportunity to build back better.

Andrew will be in conversation with Warwick Smith, Co-founder and economist at Castlemaine Institute and we hope you can join us for this important and timely discussion. 

Andrew Wear:

Andrew Wear is a senior Australian public servant with degrees in politics, law, economics and public policy. A graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard Kennedy School and a Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, he is also a director of Ardoch Ltd, a children’s education charity. His first book, Solved! How other countries have cracked the world’s biggest problems and we can too, was published in 2020. Currently Andrew is City Economist and Director of Economic Development and International at the City of Melbourne

Warwick Smith:

Warwick is an economist, writer, businessman and philosopher with broad interests including economic development, the application of evidence in public policy formulation, health, social justice, democracy, statistics/econometrics, demographic economics, tax economics, gender economics, environmental economics and the history and philosophy of economics. He is the co-founder and economist at Castlemaine Institute. 

DATE:        18 SEPT 2021

VENUE:     St Lawrence Room, The Convent, Daylesford

                    7 Daly St, Daylesford 3460

TIME:        11 00am for an 11 30am start and 1 00pm finish.

COST:       $99

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(includes a gift bag to which you will add a copy of a Monica Mcinerney book of your choice* and a ticket to go into the draw for our door prize/give-away.)

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*Valued at $20.00. Please note that all of Monica's books will be available to purchase on the day.

A Spring Literacy Feast For Primary Teachers and librarians
Guest Authors
New Books
Reading-based PD Session
Pop-up Shop with books at 15% discount

Join us for an evening of stories, beautiful books, wonderful authors and a whole lot of reading tips and ideas

MORRIS GLEITZMAN   SOFIE LAGUNA  JESS McGEACHIN      
Plus sessions with
KRISTIN GILL  (Northern Books) and SUSAN LA MARCA – Executive Director FROM SLAV

Date:    7 September 2021
Time:    5 00pm – 8 00pm
Venue    The Taproom
                9 Walker St
               Castlemaine 3450



5 00   Guests arrive/Bookshop Browse/order food and drinks
5 30   Sofie Laguna talking about her new novel, The Song of Lewis Carmichael
5 50   Jess McGeachin talking about his new picture book, Frankie Fossil
6 10   Ten Books in Ten Minutes with Kristin Gill from Northern Books
6 20   Break/Bookshop/Browse/Book signing/order food and drinks
6 30   Dr Susan La Marca (SLAV Executive Director) – Developing Readers – tips and ideas for bringing reading to life for students.
6 45   Morris Gleitzman** talking about the final instalment in the ‘FELIX’ series – Alway
7 15   Bookshop Browse/book signings
8 00  Close

**Please note that if  Morris Gleitzman is unable to be with us given that he is currently residing in Sydney, we will kick-off the event with him via Zoom on the big screen.