Two Writers Under the Influence
August 2nd 2017 - 7.30pm sharp
This month's double bill has brilliant crime/thriller writers Aoife Clifford and Anna George.
“A sparkling debut...This debut novel from an award-winning short-story crime writer paints a picture of death and betrayal across the sexually charged canvas of a first year on a university campus...Tense, sparse and unmistakably Australian, the gripping plot challenges and subverts the notion of innocence until the very last page.” - Monocle Magazine
Anna’s critically acclaimed debut novel, What Came Before (2014), is a stunning literary thriller about the risks you take when you fall in love. It was shortlisted for the 2015 Ned Kelly and Sisters in Crime Best Debut Fiction awards, and was longlisted for the 2016 International Dublin Literary Award.
Anna has worked in the legal world as well as in film and television. Her second novel, The Lone Child (2017), has just been published and explores pain, judgement, love and loss. The Lone Child is a chillingly honest depiction of the bewildering and often isolating exhaustion of motherhood, and the fraught bonds between mother and child.
On The Lone Child…
“Absolutely arresting. A story shaped by contemporary social inequalities, their chilling consequences and, above all, the powerful, life-affirming love of women for their own and other people's children.” - Zoë Morrison, author of Music and Freedom
“A sensitive evocation of the sometimes dark and disorienting nature of motherhood, George’s haunting tale reminds us of the redemptive power of human connection.” - Wendy James, author of The Golden Child
Aoife’s bestselling debut novel, All These Perfect Strangers (2016), was published in Australia, the UK, and the USA.
She is the only person to have won both premier short story prizes for crime fiction in Australia – the Scarlet Stiletto, and the S.D. Harvey Ned Kelly Award. Among other prizes, she has been shortlisted for the UK Crime Association’s Debut Dagger, was awarded an Australian Society of Authors mentorship, and is an Amazon Rising Star.
Her short stories have been internationally published, and her next novel will hit the shelves in 2018.
“Suspenseful and taut…dual storylines of past and present are revealed skilfully and with the assurance of a seasoned crime writer...In the hands of a less talented writer this complex and multilayered tale might not have engaged so thoroughly but in this case the author delivers -- and how.” - Good Reading
On What Came Before…
“This took my breath away. Brilliantly structured and captivating.” - Geelong Advertiser
“A chilling, unsettling portrait of an abusive relationship. Pick this one up if you enjoyed The Lovely Bones and Gone Girl.” - Who Weekly
Writers Under the Influence
Thanks to Bel Schenk for a great Writers Under the Influence this month - moving from poetry to prose so seamlessly. Here's a couple of pics for those who missed it.
Coming up in July...
Sunday 2nd July - Winnie Salamon's Book Launch - Pretty Girls Don't Eat - 3pm
Wednesday 5th July - Writers Under the Influence - Bel Schenk - 7.30pm
Wednesday 12th July - Tenx9 Melbourne - On Siblings - 7.30pm
Thursday 27th July - Hyde Whiskey Christmas in July Masterclass - 6.30pm
Hyde Whiskey Masterclass - Christmas in July
Thursday 27th July - 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Join Hyde Brand Ambassador, Scott Farrow, for a guided tasting of five award-winning whiskies, alongside tasty Christmas canapés.
The Hyde brothers are part of a new generation of Irish whiskey makers, establishing Hibernia Distillers, Inis Eonáin, County Cork.
Hibernia takes advantage of Cork’s temperate micro-climate to enhance their whiskies, with a variety of wood cask finishes including Sherry, Port, Madeira, Rum and Burgundy.
Hyde impressed critics - their No.1 President’s Cask 10 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish won Best Single Malt Irish Whiskey at 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Awards.
Discover what makes Hyde so special.
Tickets: $40
Places strictly limited
Drop in or call 9077 7915 to book.
Around the World in Eight Whiskies
Thanks to Brendon Rogers for an excellent tasting class. For all those who couldn't make it, here's a few shots of what you missed.
Tenx9 Melbourne
We had another great night with Tenx9 Melbourne, and their true stories on Regret.
They'll be back next month to talk about Siblings.
July's Writer Under the Influence
Brilliant local poet Bel Schenk is our special guest for July’s Writers Under the Influence event.
Bel is the author of three poetry collections - Urban Squeeze (2003); Ambulances & Dreamers (2008); and Every Time You Close Your Eyes (2014).
She is currently working on her first novel and will be reading extracts from her work in progress, plus a few poems and influences past and present.
'There is a knowingness, an ambiguity at the heart of Schenk's poetry that resists easy labels.' - Geoffrey Lehmann, Australian.
Every Time You Close Your Eyes - ‘…a solid and original contribution through which readers can see the verse novel anew – as mutable and dynamic in its ongoing negotiations with genres, techniques and forms.’ Linda Weste, Text Journal.
'Sparsely written, yet deeply self-aware ... Schenk’s Every Time You Close Your Eyes shows how poetry can represent moments of time with stunning concentration.' - Autumn Royal, Cordite Poetry Revie.w
Ambulances & Dreamers - ‘An engaging collection.’ J.M. Coetzee.
