Literary La Trobe

In this important and engaging conversation Professor Julie Andrews discusses her new book, Where Are All the Community? Aboriginal Melbourne Revisited, published by La Trobe University Press, an imprint of Black Inc. Professor Andrews is in conversation with Professor of History at La Trobe University, Kat Ellinghaus.

Recorded 25th August, 2025.

In 2024 acclaimed Australian writer and La Trobe University Adjunct Research Fellow Christos Tsiolkas was one of the judges of the Melbourne Prize for Literature Writers Prize. This prize is awarded to an essay demonstrating outstanding originality, literary merit, and creative freshness.

The prize was won by Dr Carrie Tiffany, lecturer in English and Creative Writing at La Trobe University, with Dr Judith Bishop, Tracey Banivanua Mar Fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University, winning the civic choice award.

In this discussion Christos, Judith and Carrie discuss the essay form. Can the essay be fresh? What makes a great essay and, why do they write them?

They discuss Carrie’s essay – ‘Seven Snakes,’ published in Meanjin, Judith’s essay, ‘History repeats (A tale of artificial noses),’ published on the Melbourne Prize website and Christos’ most recent essay, ‘Politics is Not Religion,’ published in The Monthly.

Award-winning science journalist and former Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at La Trobe University, Elizabeth Finkel, discusses her latest book, Prove It: A Scientific Guide for the Post-Truth Era, with science educator and La Trobe’s own Douglas Bair. They delve into the role and function of the scientific method in a post-truth era, exploring how evidence-based theories underpin our legal, academic, and political institutions, and public conversations.

Recorded 19th August, 2025.

Author and creative writing lecturer Catherine Padmore engages in conversation with two La Trobe postgraduate researchers and writers: Tara Calaby, whose debut novel was part of her PhD project and published to acclaim two years ago; and Louise Falconer, who recently submitted her PhD and passed with flying colours, and is on the board of Writers Victoria, supporting emerging writers.

All three speakers have had great success in publishing short fiction and nonfiction in a range of media and genres and taking different paths to creating a writing life.

Recorded on 25th March, 2025.

The Sandhurst Mechanics' Institute opened in 1854 and for more than fifty years held the largest book collection in Bendigo. In this lively conversation, Claire Knowles and Alexis Harley explore what the Mechanics’ Institute reveals about the history of reading and writing in the Goldfields.

From handwritten marginalia to the suspiciously pristine pages of a 150-year-old book of verse, and from complex, ambitious literature to 1860s advertising jingles, this session uncovers the archival clues and newspaper records that tell us what readers and writers were up to during this formative stage of Bendigo’s history.

The speakers are Claire Knowles, who has published three books on Romantic-era poetry and is the former president of the Romantic Studies Association of Australasia, joined by Alexis Harley, a lecturer at La Trobe University who researches the intersections of 19th-century literature and the history of science in colonial contexts.

Recorded on 31st July, 2025.

Cold-blooded killers, grief-stricken widows, famous artists, independent women with sharp minds and large fortunes, and a cap doffed to Jane Austen’s 250th birthday.

In this event hear from Dr Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar, authors of Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective, along with the author of Diving, Falling, Dr Kylie Mirmomahadi, as we celebrate the publication of these outstanding books, in conversation with Professor Katie Holmes.

Recorded on 29th April, 2025.

The Closing Gala of the Bendigo Writers Festival was a celebration of Australia’s leading writers and thinkers. In this event you’ll hear from celebrated author Kate Grenvlle in conversation with me, Clare Wright, and 2024 Stella Prize Winner Alexis Wright in conversation with Yves Rees.

Recorded on 18th August, 2024.

What happens to our national story when three unconventional historians listen to people, country and the archives in new and challenging ways?

In this event three writers and historians Dr Mark Dapin, Professor Anna Clark and Dr Shannyn Palmer explore approaching Australian history with an impartial new light with host Professor Stuart Kells.

Recorded on 18th August, 2024.