October is a blockbuster month in our events calendar! Events Manager Chris Gordon shares nine of her favourites. These are really just the tip of the iceberg so make sure to check out our full events calendar here.
Allan Fels in conversation with Professor Patrick McGorry
In his many years as head of the ACCC, Allan Fels has taken on a range of businesses to make sure Australians get a fair deal. Join us to hear Fels discuss his new book, Tough Customer: Chasing a Better Deal for Battlers, with Professor Patrick McGorry.
When: 6:30pm, Tuesday 8 October
Where: Readings Hawthorn, 701 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn
Bookings: Free, but please book here.
Booker Prize shortlist dinner
Join us for a sit-down Booker Prize shortlist dinner. Discuss which Booker Prize-shortlisted book you think should win; which book you think probably will win; and which book will win over your dead body (chances are, that’s the one that will get the gong!) Mark Rubbo, Readings’ managing director, will be your host du jour and Jane Sullivan, literary journalist from The Age, will give you her insider knowledge on how awards work and what judges look out for.
When: 7:30pm, Monday 14 October
Where: Tolarno Eating House, 42 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Bookings: Tickets are $125 per head and include wine, food and a $50 donation to The Readings Foundation. Please book here.
Elliot Perlman in conversation
We are completely thrilled to have award-winning author Elliot Perlman with us for one night only to talk about his new novel, Maybe the Horse Will Talk. Warm, dramatic, and at times laugh-out-loud funny, with the narrative pull of a thriller, Maybe the Horse Will Talk is a love story, a reflection on contemporary marriage, and on friendship. It is also an unflinching examination of sexual harassment in the workplace and an exposé of corporate corruption that taps directly into the pulse of our times.
When: 6:30pm, Thursday 17 October
Where: Readings Carlton — 309 Lygon St, Carlton
Bookings: This event is free, but please book here.
Wine tasting at Readings Hawthorn
Join us to celebrate the launch of Australia’s First Families of Wine with an exclusive wine tasting event. Join family members from iconic Victorian wineries Brown Brothers, Campbells and Tahbilk together with author Richard Allen and photographer Kim Baker as we launch this book that celebrates eleven of Australia’s most iconic and important wine families and the businesses they have built.
When: 6pm, Thursday 24 October
Where: Readings Hawthorn, 701 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
Bookings: Tickets are $70 per person, or $100 per couple, and include tastes and a copy of Australia’s First Families of Wine. Please book here.
Charlotte Wood in conversation with Sophie Cunningham
Join us to hear two beloved authors talking about the brilliant new novel from Charlotte Wood, acclaimed author of The Natural Way of Things](. The Weekend explores growing old and growing up, and what happens when we’re forced to uncover the lies we tell ourselves. Wood will be joined by Melbourne author Sophie Cunningham. This event is supported by the Stella Prize.
When: 6:30pm, Wednesday 23 October
Where: Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston St, Carlton
Bookings: This event is free, but please book here.
Ash Grunwald on surfer-musicians
Grab a beer and settle in for an evening of song and storytelling with Ash Grunwald to celebrate the release of Surf by Day, Jam by Night, his story of inspiration and series of candid, intimate conversations with the best surfer–musicians in the world.
When: 6:30pm, Thursday 24 October
Where: Readings St Kilda — 112 Acland St, St Kilda
Bookings: Free, but please book here.
Clare Bowditch in conversation with Dr Susan Carland
In her new, no-holds-barred memoir, Your Own Kind of Girl, ARIA Award-winning singer and actress Clare Bowditch confronts her inner critic. The book reveals a childhood punctuated by grief, anxiety and compulsion and tells how these forces shaped Clare’s life. Join Clare as she celebrates this heartbreaking, wise and playful memoir. Clare will be in conversation with Dr Susan Carland.
When: 6:30pm, Monday 28 October
Where: The Melbourne Athenaeum, 188 Collins St, Melbourne
Bookings: Tickets are $45 and include a signed copy of Your Own Kind of Girl. Bookings are essential here.
Christos Tsiolkas on Damascus
We are delighted to be launching Christos Tsiolkas’ stunning new novel Damascus, with a discussion of the themes that have always obsessed Tsiolkas as a writer: the ways in which nations, societies, communities, families and individuals are united and divided. A work of soaring ambition and achievement, Damascus explores nothing less than the establishment of the Christian church.
When: 6:30pm, Wednesday 30 October
Where: Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston St, Carlton
Bookings: This event is free, but please book here.
Charlotte Ree on Just Desserts
We are thrilled to have the very glamorous baker Charlotte Ree with us for one night only to share her tips for successful baking, and reveal how she creates online content for brands such as Marimekko, Kenwood and Williams-Sonoma. Ree believes strongly in scratch baking – going back to basics with the classic flavours and techniques that our grandparents perfected.
When: 6:30pm, Thursday 31 October
Where: Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon Street, Carlton
Bookings: This event is $30 per person and includes a goodie bag with a signed copy of Ree’s first book, Just Desserts. Please book here.
