Lunch with Alice Zaslavsky

Upstairs at 360Q
$85

Over a delicious two-course meal prepared from her hit book Salad for Days, the host of ABC TV’s ‘A Bite To Eat with Alice’ will share her passion for healthy, seasonal, flavourful meals and her mission to educate everyone on the joy and power of cooking for health and connection. With Kerrie O’Brien.

After The Stella Comes The Rot

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

Goorie and Koori writer and Stella-award winning author Evelyn Araluen talks about her new book, The Rot, a liturgy for girlhood in the dying days of late-stage capitalism, exposing the fraying nerves of a speaker refusing to avert their gaze from the death of Country, death on Country, and the bloody violence of settler colonies here and afar. With Jayne Tuttle.

Craig Silvey’s Diabolical Genius

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

From Rhubarb to Jasper Jones, Honeybee to Runt—and its new, blockbuster sequel—Craig Silvey will share how he crafts genre-defying stories for his devoted readers, why he prefers being unshackled by category and convention, and where he sees his diabolical career taking him next. With Jason Steger.

The Wellmaniac and the Introvert

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

Bestselling Wellmania author Brigid Delaney and reformed sociophobe Jenny Valentish will canvas how existential dilemmas have stimulated some of their wildest escapades, revealing the hard lessons and fraught truths that have made them into two of Australia’s most compelling writers. With Tracee Hutchison.

A Morning with Craig Silvey

Point Lonsdale Primary School Hall
$30 includes two kids and their adult

Join Craig Silvey, bestselling author of Runt and its gripping sequel, Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping, for a fun hour of reading, pie-eating, dog drawing, question-answering, and all manner of dog-themed shenanigans. Recommended for readers aged 8+. With Kirsty Wilson.

Jane Caro’s Lyrebird

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

Bestselling, award-winning author and political commentator Jane Caro will talk about her new crime novel Lyrebird and how she weaves her real-life advocacy into her fiction, creating worlds that are uncannily familiar while crafting plot twists and absorbing mysteries to keep readers guessing. With Hannie Rayson.

John Wayne ‘The Gunslinger’ Parr: An Australian Champion

Monahan Sports Centre
$30 / $22

Over the course of 150 fights and 349 stitches, Muay Thai fighter, kickboxer and boxer John Wayne ‘The Gunslinger’ Parr won ten world titles, including the prestigious WMC World Title and an Australian middleweight boxing title. With co-writer Jarrod Boyle, Parr will discuss the book that details the triumphs and trials of his brilliant, brutal career. With Jenny Valentish.

Heather Rose’s Next Great Act

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

Stella Prize-winning author Heather Rose shares the inspiration behind her latest work, A Great Act of Love. Rose will explore the themes she grapples with across her stories; how strong, determined, unapologetic women fuel her fiction; and why the scope of merciless colonial history has provoked her new book. With Jason Steger.

Peter Greste: From Correspondent to Casualty

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

Imprisoned for his journalism, Peter Greste has traversed the globe and reported from the world’s most dangerous places. Depicted by Richard Roxburgh in a film based on his bestselling memoir, Greste will reflect on why telling the truth has become so dangerous, and how good journalism is essential in a fractured world. With Michael Cathcart.

Presented in partnership with the Peter Blazey Fellowship.

Melissa Leong Gets Gutsy

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

The first female judge on MasterChef Australia, Gold Logie-nominated TV personality and fashion icon Melissa Leong will discuss her book Guts: A Memoir of Food, Failure, and Taking Impossible Chances. Melissa will share her experiences of mental health, racism, and the joy food has played in her daily life and soaring career. With Jaclyn Crupi.

Presented in partnership with Geelong Regional Libraries.

Bob Brown Remains Defiant

Queenscliff Town Hall
$40

Former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown casts an unflinching eye on the forces that have shaped him and the reasons why he’ll never stop fighting. Bob’s new book, Defiance, traverses his early days leading local environmental campaigns, to the national stage and Federal Parliament, all the while fighting for issues that matter. With Sophie Black.

Presented in partnership with the Bookshop at Queenscliff.

Make Policy Great Again

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

Jenny Macklin AM’s parliamentary career saw her lead multiple portfolios: she designed the NDIS, oversaw the Apology to the Stolen Generations, and established the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Sexual Abuse. Passionate about reform and progressive change, she explores how urgent issues can be tackled in the current political landscape. With Jane Caro.

America Unravelling

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

With the re-election of President Trump, America has entered a tumultuous new era of political strongmanship and an unraveling of previous approaches to foreign policy, climate action, human rights and more. With decades of U.S. political expertise between them, Emma Shortis and Don Watson unpack what this new era means for Australia and the world. With Dylan Bird.

Presented in partnership with RMIT University.

All Gardens Bright and Beautiful

Queenscliff Town Hall
$30 / $22

Award-winning garden and landscape designer Tim Pilgrim and passionate gardener and cook Jaclyn Crupi talk about the inspirations behind their new gardening books. Hear Tim and Jaclyn explore the pleasure and accessibility of being green thumbs and the joy of planning and creating the gardens of their wildest dreams. With Michael McCoy.

A Toast to Jane Austen

Queenscliff Town Hall
$40 includes afternoon tea and sparkling wine

It is a truth universally acknowledged that 2025 is the 250th year since the birth of Jane Austen! Contemporary regency authors Kelly Gardiner, Sharmini Kumar and Alison Goodman will explore Austen’s wide appeal and ongoing relevance and explain why they love to write novels set in the regency era. Afternoon tea and champagne will be served, regency costumes will be on display, and we’ll learn a simple regency dance! With Elizabeth McCarthy.