A Day in Carlton festival

25 Sep 2024

Join Readings on the 15 and 16 of November for 24-hours celebrating books, culture and community. Check out the program and deals available below.

Deals on the Day

Show your ticket to any of the Day in Carlton events to receive exclusive discounts at businesses around Carlton!

$10 glasses of wine when you show your ticket at Jimmy Watson’s
$4 coffee when you show your ticket at Heart Attack & Vine
$14 Aperol spritz when you show your ticket at Sunhands
$10 bottle when you show your ticket at Bottega Tasca
10% off food and drink when you show your ticket at Cinema Nova

Follow @readingsbooks on Instagram for more Deals on the Day.

These deals are only available on Saturday 16 November 2024.

Friday 15 November

Underscore

7pm at Church of All Nations

Join us for Underscore, a genre-bending, genre-blending musical and literary salon that blurs the lines between music, storytelling, song and recitation. Acclaimed writers Sean O’Beirne, Maxine Beneba Clarke and Christos Tsiolkas will present excerpts of their work over a lush electro-acoustic soundscape provided by Sally Ford and the Idiomatics.

Tickets:

Concession/under 30s – $20

Full – $30

Please book here.

Saturday 16 November

Family Fun with the Real Pigeons

10am at Church of All Nations

Join us for a rollicking good time with Real Pigeons author Andrew McDonald and illustrator Ben Wood as they discuss the 12th book in the Real Pigeons series, Real Pigeons Power Up, which is perfect for readers aged 6+.

Tickets:

$20 per family (one adult and two young readers)

Please book here.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura

11am at Readings Carlton

Meet and greet local author, cook and all-time sweetheart Julia Busuttil Nishimura and get your copy of Good Cooking Every Day signed in time for Christmas. One of Australia’s best-loved food personalities, Busuttil Nishimura is renowned for her generous and uncomplicated seasonal cooking.

This event is free. No need to book.

We Are a Racist Country

11am at Cinema Nova

Laura Tingle once famously said about Australia: ‘We are a racist country, let's face it. We always have been, and it's very depressing.’ Take that premise as a jumping off point and join Erik Jensen, founding editor of The Saturday Paper and editor-in-chief of Schwartz Media, as he asks activist and author Veronica Gorrie, author and academic Alice Pung, and Lord Mayor of Melbourne Nicholas Reece about their experiences in our own home town. Author and journalist George Megalogenis will open the discussion with an introduction to Australia’s social and political stats and facts – both past and present.

Tickets:

Concession/under 30s – $15

Full – $25

Please book here.

Walk it Off

12pm and 4pm at Readings Carlton

Join Sean Reynolds, the author of Melbourne Ghost Signs, on a walking tour of Carlton to discover fascinating places – and the stories behind them, one ghostly sign at a time. Some are nostalgic, some are gaudy, and their stories are variously delightful, heroic, and tragic.

Tickets:

Concession/under 30s – $10

Full – $15

Both sessions are sold out

Words to Sing the World Alive

12.30pm at Cinema Nova

We are delighted to be part of the launch of Words to Sing the World Alive, a collection that celebrates First Nations languages from across the continent. These are words that evoke the power of childhood and the wonder of Country; that explore the essence of mother, of fire, of time; words that are imbued with family and belonging, and that surprise with their connections. Alice Skye and Yasmin Smith will be in conversation.

Tickets:

Concession/under 30s – $10

Full – $15

Please book here.

Mo Willems’ Pigeon

12.30pm at Readings Kids

Come and meet Mo Willems’ famous Pigeon as he scuttles here and there. Careful he doesn’t chase you up Tyne Street! If he stands still long enough, you can even have your photo taken with Pigeon, who is bigger and better than anything you’ve ever seen!

This event is free. No need to book.

Thomas Mayo and the Big Nope

2pm at Cinema Nova

Since the referendum, supporters and volunteers have been asking for guidance as to how to continue to support Indigenous recognition. Thomas Mayo, a leader of the Yes 23 campaign, has penned a new book, Always Was, Always Will Be, to answer that question.

Join us to hear this extraordinary leader in conversation with Shelley Ware at an event essential for people who want to keep the positive momentum going and the number of allies growing. This is for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who are ready to do everything they can to close the gap. Are you in?

Tickets:

Concession/under 30s – $15

Full – $25

Please book here.

Spinning Around: The Kylie Playlist

3.15pm at Cinema Nova

Up you get. Own it. Dance it. Consider it. Join us as we celebrate Australian icon Kylie Minogue who is the musical muse for a sparkling new anthology. The writers each took a Kylie Minogue song as the springboard for a new, original piece of work, and today they are sharing it with you.

Join Grace Chan, Thuy On, Christos Tsiolkas, Lucy Treloar and Nicholas Gadd with editor and maestro Angela Savage to hear about their inspiration and process. Glitter not essential, but highly encouraged!

Tickets:

Concession/under 30s – $10

Full – $15

Please book here.

You are Your Family

5pm at Church of All Nations

David Marr, beloved Australian journalist, author, and host of ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live, will join Lech Blaine in a discussion about the ties that bind us.

In Australian Gospel, Lech Blaine, one of Australia’s most brilliant writers, has written the story of his childhood – a gripping tale of the tangled fates of two couples and the foster children trapped between them. Here the old adage is true: fact is stranger than fiction. Australian Gospel is a family saga like no other – heartbreaking and hilarious. If you think Donald Trump is weird, then the Shelleys are even weirder!

Tickets:

Concession/under 30s – $15

Full – $25

Please book here.

Is Everything Fucked?

7pm at Church of All Nations

Come along for some cold, hard truths as well as a rollicking good laugh as Paul Barclay, Walkley Award-winning writer and past presenter of ABC Radio National’s Big Ideas, invites guests to discuss the obvious. Joining him will be author and comedian John Safran; lawyer and author Josh Bornstein; ARC Future Fellow, director of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia, and professor at Melbourne Law School, Rebecca Giblin; and comedian and author Jennifer Wong. Together, they will answer the burning question on everyone’s mind: is everything fucked? The panel may also call on expert witnesses at large in the audience: Nicholas Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Tim Loveday, poet and teacher, and home gardener, cook and author Jaclyn Crupi.