Celebrated Australian author Helen Garner will be joined by Michael Williams, editor of The Monthly to reflect on her writing life to date.
Helen Garner, as one of Australia’s most significant and renowned writers, needs little in the way of introduction. From her groundbreaking debut novel Monkey Grip (1977) to her latest, co-authored non-fiction work The Mushroom Tapes (2025, with Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein) she continues to set the standard for fearless investigation into what makes us – and her – tick.
This event will be a celebration of Garner’s immense contribution to Australian letters and life across five decades.
Presented as part of Body of Work – a free, in-conversation series with some of Australia’s greatest living literary icons, presented by Fed Square and curated by author and bookseller Jaclyn Crupi.
Garner's first new work in a decade is a tender portrayal of the relationship between grandmother and grandson, and of that moment on the cusp of adulthood when a boy is both child and man.
WINNER, Baillie Gifford Prize 2025
Helen Garner’s acclaimed three volumes of diaries are collected here in one sumptuous book.
"This is one of the greatest books I've ever read. End of story." ZADIE SMITH
‘I revere Helen Garner’s writing, and it’s in her diaries that she’s at her acute, rigorous, pitch-perfect best.’ NIGELLA LAWSON
‘Raw, incisive and, as she puts it, “bareknuckle”. I can’t wait to pour over them with a fellow reader.’ DUA LIPA