In his book, Europe: A Natural History, Australian palaeontologist and conservationist Tim Flannery explores Europe’s surprising deep past, and how it might inform the future. Discover a pre-history when hippos swam the Thames and giant carnivorous hedgehogs roamed Italy.
Tim will be in conversation with writer, journalist and CEO of Writing NSW Jane McCredie.

Australia is endowed with the world’s oldest continuing surviving culture in the world, and yet militarisation defines us. Sixty thousand years of rich, ancient Aboriginal tradition, culture and civilisation is disregarded for the contrived myths of 1788 and Anzac. Why does commemorating the centenary of World War I dominate our sense of patriotism? What does it really mean to love and serve your country? You Daughters of Freedom author Clare Wright and Walkley Award winning journalist and author of On Patriotism Paul Daley, discuss Australia’s national identity through militarisation. What does it really mean to love your country?

The Departments of Germanic Studies and International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies are proud to welcome acclaimed German playwright, essayist, theatre curator and novelist Sasha Marianna Salzmann to the University of Sydney.

The author of two novels, author and co-author of ten plays, and the winner of numerous literary prizes, Sasha Marianna Salzmann is currently writer in residence at the Maxim Gorki Theatre, Berlin, where she was also artistic director of the studio theatre from 2013-2015. Most recently, Salzmann won the 2018 Mara-Cassens Prize for her first novel, Außer Sich, from the English translation of which, entitled Beside Myself, she will read.

The reading will be followed by the author in conversation with Dr Brangwen Stone (Department of Germanic Studies), an expert on modern German literature and theatre. There will also be an opportunity for audience questions and discussion in English and German.

Free entry and all welcome – online registrations required by Friday 16 August 2019, 5pm.

This event is supported by the Goethe Institute Australia.

The romantic comedy of the year, this is the story of Natalie: unsure of herself in the summer between high school and university. This book is for anyone who’s ever hidden in the bathroom at a party, or cringed inwardly at something they’ve said. It Sounded Better in My Head is a YA release that will appeal to women everywhere - it’s for the awkward teen in all of us! Nina Kenwood is the marketing manager at Readings Bookshop in Melbourne. It Sounded Better in My Head won the 2018 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing. 

German playwright, essayist, theatre curator and novelist Sasha Marianna Salzmann discusses her most recent book Beside Myself  at the Goethe-Institut in Sydney.

This is a free event, but bookings are essential.

Jennifer Down will launch Joey Bui’s fictional collection Lucky Ticket, which is based on interviews the author conducted with Vietnamese refugees around the world. Moving beyond the familiar tales of war, political discord and their effects, Lucky Ticket offers a glimpse at the myriad of relationships that make up the lives of displaced people. It prompts us to think differently about assimilation, cross-cultural differences and the migrant experience.

This event is free, no need to book.

Academic Tyson Yunkaporta’s Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World asks how we might do things differently, while author Bruce Pascoe (Dark Emu) tries to redress the past. They offer a way of thinking about the future. With Readings book seller Marie Matteson.This session is free, no bookings are required.

Join Sand Talk author, academic, educator, Indigenous thinker, maker, arts critic, researcher and poet Tyson Yunkaporta for a night by the fire.

Australia’s lauded reputation with regards to women’s voting rights belies the disenfranchisement many have faced on the basis of class and race. Activist Tarneen Onus Williams, former Greens MP Lidia Thorpe and You Daughters of Freedom author Clare Wright discuss the bumpy road to the ballot box. With Amy Gray.

Alice Bishop’s A Constant Hum, is a gripping tale of disaster; Angela Meyer’s A Superior Spectre is about the demon of curiosity; and JP Pomare’s Call Me Evie is a bestselling thriller. These debut Melbourne authors discuss their work with Readings head buyer Alison Huber.