Louise Maher, ABC journalist, producer and presenter joins master illustrator and storyteller Robert Ingpen AM as he leads us on a journey into the magical landscapes of his own imagination, revealing the places, stories and people that inspired him along the way.

In words and images Tim Cope shares his epic adventure as he journeyed through the land of the nomads following in the footsteps of Genghis Khan’s conquering armies.

Join ABC 666's Alex Sloan in conversation with award winning actor and, most recently, children's picture book author Richard Roxburgh.

Self-professed ‘beevangelist,’ and co-founder of The Urban Beehive Doug Purdie guides gardeners to transform our backyards into bug nirvanas, helping save our bees one plant at a time.

Join us for a rare view of Tim Winton's imagination at work and play as the Miles Franklin Award winning author reveals the real characters and events behind his bestselling novels in this intimate discussion with ABC's Andrea Ho. The Boy behind the Curtain ranges from his boyhood - movies and road-trips, family and faith - to the natural world, art and writing.

Tim Winton has published 26 books for adults and children, and has been translated into 28 languages. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and has been shortlisted twice for the Booker Prize (The Riders and Dirt Music).

In association with Penguin Random House.

Meet one of Australia’s masters of fantasy fiction as he explores Goldenhand, his long-awaited fifth instalment of New York Times best-selling Old Kingdom series. 

Garth’s books include award-winning young adult fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen and Clariel. More than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world, and his work has been translated into 40 languages. A full-time writer since 2001, he previously worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Army Reserve.

 

In association with Allen and Unwin.

Dr Stuart Braga, nephew of Jack Braga, and Professor Jorge Santos Alves, Catholic University of Portugal, reveal the fascinating story of the world’s most enduring European colony, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Library’s acquisition of the Braga Collection. The Braga collection contains significant, rare and beautiful works about Portugal, Macau, China and Japan, and is one of the Library’s most important historical collections.

The Braga Collection contains about 7400 books and pamphlets, nearly all of them written in English or Portuguese. The collection consists predominantly of historical works and in particular histories of Portugal, the Portuguese colonies, China and Japan. While the bulk of the collection dates from the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, there are about 50 pre-1800 titles, with the earliest dating from 1489.

Hear exhibition curator, Sasha Grishin in conversation with Virginia Haussegger, exploring the life and art of colonial artist S.T. Gill. 

Sasha Grishin is a leading art historian, art critic and curator. He is curator of the Library’s current exhibition, Australian Sketchbook: Colonial Life and the Art of ST Gill, and author of the companion publication ST Gill and His Audiences. 

Virginia Haussegger is the face of ABC TV News in Canberra. She is an award winning journalist, writer and commentator whose extensive media career spans more than 25 years.

Every biography is shaped by the vantage point of the biographer. But where should that be—safe in the shadows or out on stage with our subjects? David Marr addresses the key challenge of modern biographers: what they do with themselves in their writing?Supported by Dr John and Dr Heather Seymour AO

Hear from Chet Van Duzer as he reveals secrets uncovered by multispectral imaging of the Henricus Martellus World Map, thought to be one of the most important of the 15th century. Dr Martin Woods, Curator of Maps at the National Library and Denyl Cloughley, Manager of Preservation Services, lift the veil on the history and ongoing challenges of preserving the Blaeu wall map of New Holland.