Niki Savva was in conversation with Kerry -Anne Walsh on her new book Earthquake, the election that shook Australia, a collection of Niki Savva’s most groundbreaking columns from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, along with a riveting and deeply informed analysis of Australia’s epoch-making 2025 election.

Legendary Australian actor and author Bryan Brown was in conversation with Alex Sloan on his new novel The Hidden and his journey into writing, following the success of his debut novel The Drowning.

Sean Kelly was in conversation with Amy Remeikis on his new Quarterly Essay,The Good Fight. What Does Labor Stand For? In this subtle and brilliant essay, Kelly explores whether Labor is still up for the good fight

Robert Wellington was in conversation with Mathew Trinca on Roberts new book Versailles Mirrored. The Power of Luxury,Louis XIV to Donald Trump.

Why has Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles, defining symbol of hedonistic opulence in 17th-century France and synonymous with the notion of the divine right of kings, continued to shape the aesthetics of cultural capital in the centuries since his death?

In Versailles Mirrored, Robert Wellington tracks this enduring fascination with the Sun King's palace through eight case studies spanning the 17th to 21st centuries. The book demonstrates how the extravagant palace style began as a symbol of the state in the 17th century; how it was adopted by the nouveau riche to show off their financial success in the 19th century; and, remarkably, how that palace look returned to play a role in statecraft in the hands of US President Donald Trump. Wellington links the aristocratic architectural traditions of France, England, and Germany to North America through the lens of Versailles, French architecture, and the decorative arts.

Opening with a brief overview of the history of Versailles and the political and cultural motivations of its creation, subsequent chapters address aristocratic buildings in France and Germany built by the Sun King's contemporaries; historicism in the 19th century in Britain, Germany, and America; and the present day, with Trump's buildings and Château Louis XIV, known as the 'world's most expensive home', purchased by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.In uncovering the motivations of those patrons, the book ultimately reveals why Versailles remains a powerful point of reference for those who wish to flaunt their social, cultural, and political capital.

Robert Wellington FSA is Associate Professor of Art History in the Centre for Art History and Art Theory, the Australian National University. He is an art historian with a special interest in the role of material culture in history making and cross-cultural exchange on one of the world's leading experts on the Palace of Versailles. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London and an expert judge on the ABCs upcoming Portrait Artist of the Year.

Dr Mathew Trinca Talalin AM FAHA is Professor of Museum Practice at the Australian National University. He is Chair of the Cultural Facilities Corporation in Canberra and sits on several arts and cultural sector boards and advisory bodies. Matthew was formerly Director of the National Museum of Australia between 2014 to 2024, and worked in senior roles in the Museum from 2003.

The vote of thanks was given by Helen Musa, arts editor of Canberra City news and convener of the Canberra Critics’ Circle.

Julianne Schultz was in conversation with Allan Behm on the updated edition of her bookThe Idea of AustraliaA search for the soul of the nation. Its publication complements the October SBS four-part series, hostedby Rachel Griffiths,inspired by, and based on, Julianne Schultz’s book.

What is the ‘idea of Australia’? What defines the soul of our nation? Are we an egalitarian, generous, outward-looking country? Or is Australia a place that has retreated into silence and denial about the past and become selfish, greedy and insular?

These were some of the questions Julianne Schultz set out to answer when she wrote the book, in part using the pandemic as an X-ray, to trace strengths and weaknesses in the stories we tell ourselves. As the executive producer of the Blackfella Films/SBS series two years later, and after the defeat of the Voice referendum, the questions still loomed.

A lifetime of watching Australia as a journalist, editor, academic and writer has given Julianne Schultz a unique platform from which to ask and answer these critical questions. The series explores these questions with a ruch montage of leading experts, family stories and a unique use of the contemporary archive. It doesn't flinch from the past, but points to a hopeful future.

Schultz came to realise that the idea of Australia is a contest between those who are imaginative, hopeful, altruistic and ambitious, and those who are defensive and inward-looking. She became convinced we need to acknowledge and better understand our past to make sense of our present and build a positive and inclusive future. She suggests what Australia could be: smart, compassionate, engaged, fair and informed.

This important, searing and compelling book explains us to ourselves and suggests ways Australia can realise her true potential. Urgent, inspiring and optimistic, The Idea of Australia presents the vision we need to fully appreciate our great strengths and crucial challenges.

Julianne Schultz AM FAHA FRSN is Professor Emerita of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University. She was the publisher and founding editor of Griffith Review from 2003-2021 and Professor of Media and Culture in the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University. She was the Chair of The Conversation Media Group from 2019 until 2023. She is a member of the board of the Sydney Writers Festival, writes a fortnightly column for The Guardian and is an acclaimed author of several books, including Reviving the Fourth Estate and Steel City Blues. She became a Member of the Order of Australia for services to journalism and the community in 2009, an honorary fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities in 2010 and a Fellow of the Royal Society NSW in 2023.

Allan Behm, Senior Advisor, International & Security Affairs Program at the Australia Institute, Canberra, specialises in international and security policy development, political and security risk evaluation, policy analysis and development, and negotiating the policy/politics interface. Following a career spanning nearly 30 years in the Australian Public Service, he was Chief of Staff to Minister for Climate Change and Industry Greg Combet (2009 to 2013) and senior advisor to the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Penny Wong (2017–19). He has a significant publishing record and is a respected commentator in both the electronic and print media.

The vote of thanks was given by Professor Kate Fullagar FAHA, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University.

Miles Franklin award-winning author Sofie Laguna was in conversation with Karen Viggers on her new novel The Underworld.

The Underworld is for every reader you know; thinkers, laughers, empaths, quirky folk, queer folk, nostalgists, the young and those getting on. Readers seeking a happy ending and anyone ready to feel. Anyone who has ever been fourteen.

Martha Mullins is a misfit. Her mother is glamorous, aloof and judgemental. Her father, mostly absent. Academic and shy, Martha finds herself fascinated by the underworld, a place she learns about in Roman mythology classes at school. To Martha, the underworld and its divine inhabitants provide a place of refuge, escape, imagination and desire. But Martha also finds joy in friendship. Connection. Intimacy. It’s Martha’s band of friends who show her the value in spontaneity, fun, laughter. Until things go wrong. How will Martha find her way in the world where she cannot be herself? Will she ever find a home for the love she feels?

The Underworld is a wondrous novel from an author who wields her considerable powers with assuredness and grace. Funny, brave, insightful and clever, Martha will break your heart – then mend it – many times over.

Sofie Laguna has written four novels for adults which have won numerous literary awards including the Miles Franklin Award, the Colin Roderick Award and the Indie Award. She has also been shortlisted for the Stella Prize, the ALS Gold Medal, the Voss Award, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Sofie’s many books for children have been published in the US and the UK and in translation in Europe and Asia, and been named Honour and Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia.

Karen Viggers is a Canberra writer, veterinarian and podcaster , who loves nature, bushwalking and animals. She is the author of five novels, which have been bestsellers in France as well as Australia: The Stranding, The Lightkeeper's Wife, The Grass Castle, The Orchardist's Daughter and Sidelines. She is co-host with Irma Gold of the Secrets From the Green Room podcast.

The vote of thanks was given by Sally Pryor, Features Editor of The Canberra Times.

Hugh Mackay was in conversation with Alex Sloan on his new book Just Saying. Exploring twenty-five remarkable quotations to enlighten, challenge and inspire, in which Hugh reflects on profound sayings, ancient and modern.

Warm, witty, wise – and occasionally challenging – Just Saying encapsulates Hugh Mackay's highly personal reflections on 25 quotations from some of the world's greatest thinkers and writers, from Confucius and Plato to Susan Sontag and Miles Franklin; from Samuel Johnson and Mary Wollstonecraft to Bertrand Russell and Gloria Steinem.

Interpreting our world and inspiring us to do better, Hugh explores themes ranging from kindness and humility to power and prejudice; from gender equality to ethnic diversity; from coping with change to the damage inflicted on ourselves by revenge, and the great gulf between propriety and virtue.

'Writing these reflections has felt a bit like the beginning of a conversation . . . now it's over to you.' Hugh Mackay

Hugh Mackay AO is a social psychologist and bestselling author. His non-fiction. including The Way We Are and The Kindness Revolution. covers social analysis, psychology, communication and ethics. He is also the author of nine novels. Hugh has had an over 60 year career in social research and was a weekly newspaper columnist for 25 years. He is a fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and the Royal Society of New South Wales and has been awarded honorary doctorates by five Australian universities. He is currently an honorary professor in the School of Medicine and Psychology at the Australian National University.

Alex Sloan AM is an award winning journalist, panellist, MC and commentator whose extensive media career spans 30 years, including 27 years with ABC Radio. Alex is a Director and Deputy Chair of Australia's think-tank, The Australia Institute and a Director of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. In 2017 Alex was named ACT Citizen of the Year and in 2019 was made a Member of the Order of Australia.

The vote of thanks was given by Frank Bongiorno AM, Professor of History ANU and President of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Award-winning author Greg Haddrick was in conversation with Michael Brissenden on Greg's new book The Mushroom Murders.

A family lunch. Three deaths. What really happened? The shocking story of a weekend lunch laced with a highly toxic mushroom, and a triple murder trial that gripped the world, shattered a family and gave a mother a life sentence.

On 29 July 2023, Erin Patterson hosted a family lunch at her home in the small regional Victorian town of Leongatha. She had invited her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, and her husband Ian. Erin made beef Wellington for her guests, individual beef eye fillets covered in mushroom paste, wrapped in pastry. The following day, all four guests were taken to hospital, and Heather, Gail and Don died. Ian Wilkinson barely survived. A toxicologist found traces of the highly poisonous death cap mushroom in the remains of the meal.

At first, it appeared to be a dreadful accident. As the police investigation continued, the evidence mounted, seeming to point one way. Yet Erin Patterson spun a web of lies, and steadfastly claimed she did not intend to harm her relatives.

Greg Haddrick tells the fascinating inside story of the dramatic murder trial, and the forensic evidence that convinced the jury to convict a suburban mother of a gruesome triple murder. With many details not previously revealed in the media, it is the compelling story of a troubled family and the world's most poisonous mushroom,.

Greg Haddrick is a Logie Award-winning screenwriter and film and television producer. His credits include the TV series Underbelly, Janet King, and Pine Gap, and he has also won seven AWGIE Awards as a writer, three AFI Awards as a producer, and an International Emmy Award nomination as a writer and producer. He is the author of In the Dead of Night about the Wonnangatta Valley murders, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Danger Award.

Michael Brissenden was a journalist with the ABC for 35 years, covering politics, national security issues and spent many years working as a foreign correspondent. He now writes fiction and has published four novels: The List (2017), Dead Letters (2021) , Smoke (2024) and Dust (2025).

The vote of thanks was given by Meredith Rossner, Professor of Criminology at POLIS: The Centre for Social Policy Research at ANU

Meet the author - Tony Abbott by Experience ANU

Tony Abbott was in conversation with Chris Uhlmann on his new book Australia. A history. How an ancient land became a great democracy.