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Congratulations to Kyle Perry on the exciting news that his best-selling debut crime novel, The Bluffs, has been optioned to become a TV series by First Option Pictures. Kyle is a Tasmanian author who was a 'full house' drawcard at our Word of Mouth pop-up festival last September and features on the TVWF podcast series, you can watch the shortened or full interview below. Watch the full interview here Kyle Perry is a man of many talents. He is a drug and alcohol counsellor in Hobart, Tasmania. Kyle grew up around the Tasmanian bush and seas and his love for the Tasmanian landscape has played an important role in influencing his writing and spare time. The Bluffs takes us deep into the Tasmanian wilderness and follows the story of a group of teenage school girls who go missing in the fictitious town of Limestone Creek - drawn in Kyle’s imagination from his visits to Mole Creek and the Greater Western Tiers. With several prime suspects under investigation, this mystery thriller is a page turner!

The Tamar Valley Writers Festival and the National Book Council Tasmania invite you to join Tasmanian author and cook Sally Wise and veteran radio presenter Chris Wisbey in celebrating the release of Sally's new book, The Comfort Bake (Murdoch Books). Food & Words to Warm the Heart offers a convivial afternoon of lovely conversation — ranging from recipes and pantry secrets to reminiscing aplenty with her good friend and former ABC Radio presenter Chris Wisbey. These days Chris, with his partner Sally Dakis,  operates a 3500-tree cherry farm in the State’s south. What would a Sally Wise event be without delicious food, and the ticket price includes a traditional afternoon tea. Alcoholic beverages will be available at bar prices. Tickets are $35 each. Be sure to book your place quickly as seating capacity at the Rowella Community Hall venue is limited, due to Covid-19 restrictions. This event is supported by Petrarch's Bookshop, and copies of Sally’s book will be available for purchase signings. FOOD & WORDS TO WARM THE HEARTSally Wise in conversation with Chris WisbeyPresented by the TVWF and the National Book Council TasmaniaSunday February 27, 2-4pmRowella Community Hall, Rowella Rd.Tickets $35 Bookings through Eventbrite Sally Wise Sally Wise OAM is a living legend of home cooking. She was the 2019 Tasmanian Senior Australian of the Year, and is known as 'Tasmania's favourite nan' for her popular cooking school set in the picturesque Derwent Valley, bestselling cookbooks and decades-long regular spot on ABC Radio. When she is not running cooking demonstrations at food festivals or community events, or furnishing the local work-from-home group, 'The Custard Club', with innovative cakes, she can be found teaching locals, tourists, prisoners, young adults, children - anyone! - how to turn simple ingredients into comforting meals. Chris Wisbey Chris Wisbey is best known in Tasmania as presenter of ABC Radio’s ‘Weekend’ programmes. Especially the Saturday Morning talkbacks where he was Peter Cundall’s hearing aid for two decades and the ‘Jams and Preserves’ segment with the legendary Sally Wise, who he would like to think, in a small way, helped take her from ‘passionate but unassuming’ to her status as ‘Australia’s bestselling cooking writer’! Chris grew up in Southern Tasmania, took a ‘Gentleman’s degree’ at UTAS (extended…), worked in the West Coast mines and found himself studying Performing Arts and working for the ABC in Townsville. Starting of as weather-boy in the 7o’clock news and eventually presenting the bulletin and that forgotten classic of North Queensland Current Affairs; 'Points North'.  When Evening Radio started in Queensland, Chris took over and remained in radio for 38 years, working in at least 12 locations including presenting the national daily ‘Morning Extra’ and the long running ‘Australia All Over’ from Sydney. Chris and his wife, Sally Dakis, both retired from the ABC over two years ago now. They have two daughters studying at tertiary level, and are trying to stop running a large commercial cherry orchard and Peony farm just outside of Richmond.

The Australian bushranger myth is the topic of the National Book Council Tasmania's October event. Jeanette M. Thompson, author of Bone and Beauty: The Ribbon Boys Rebellion (UQP: 2020) will illuminate the research that led to her writing the story of a forgotten convict rebellion. During her residency* at Patterdale, she discovered a familiar story of punishment and rebellion among the government servants. Using case studies of early Tasmanian and mainland bushrangers, Jeanette draws back the veil of the Australian Bushranger myth. Come along to the National Book Council event to hear Jeanette share on Wednesday October 20 at 1:15pm, at the Launceston Library. RSVP is essential due to Covid-19 regulations. Email nationalbookcounciltasmania@gmail.com Jeanette M. Thompson Jeanette graduated as Doctor of Creative Arts from the University of Technology, Sydney. Bone and Beauty grew out of Jeanette’s research into Australian colonial history and creative nonfiction writing. She has been a lecturer in Children’s Literature, Charles Sturt University, and a tutor for the Family History Unit, University of Tasmania. Her research and community writing have explored ways of making history accessible and engaging for a wide variety of audiences. Bone and Beauty: The Ribbon Boys Rebellion 1830. Rebelling from years of maltreatment and starvation, a band of Ribbon Boys liberate eighty convicts from Bathurst farms and lead them inland towards freedom. Governor Darling, fearing that others will also rise up, sends the 39th Regiment in pursuit. Three bloody battles follow, but to whom will justice be served? Rich with detail, Bone and Beauty fuses archival evidence and narrative technique to tell the gripping story of the Ribbon Boys and their reputed leader Ralph Entwistle. For the first time, the influence of Irish secret societies, the scale of oppression and corruption, and the complex web of criminal and family relationships behind these events are revealed. "The convict uprising at Bathurst in 1830 has been almost completely forgotten. Jeanette M. Thompson has brought the story back from obscurity in a most lively and readable way. She has combined serious research with imaginative fair."HENRY REYNOLDS

Richard Flanagan’s latest book, an exposé of the salmon farming industry, has sparked heated debate in Tasmania and around the country since its release just three days ago. Toxic: The Rotting Underbelly of the Tasmanian Salmon Industry is a powerful critique of an industry he says ‘is as secretive as its practices are destructive and its product disturbing’. Toxic is already prompting comparisons with Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking 1962 study of the pesticide industry, Silent Spring. This weekend the Sydney Writers Festival is presenting Richard Flanagan in conversation with the ABC’s Laura Tingle. This arrangement preceded the publication of Toxic, but the explosive new book and its controversial subject matter are bound to be the focus of their discussion. For Tasmanians keen to hear it, and in association with the Sydney Writers Festival, the Tamar Valley Writers Festival will livestream the session at the Star Theatre, Invermay, in Launceston, on Saturday from 4pm to 5pm. Flanagan won the Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and the Commonwealth Prize for Gould’s Book of Fish. His other recent book The Living Sea of Waking Dreams offers a tender haunting portrait of a world disappearing around us. The Tamar Valley Writers Festival is also proud to be screening two other sessions from this weekend’s Sydney Writers Festival at Launceston’s Star Theatre. George Miller: Beyond Thunderdome will screen on Sunday, May 2 from 12 noon - 1pm, and Great Adaptations: Margaret (Pomeranz) and David (Stratton) Return, on Sunday May 2 from 4pm - 5pm. Miller is one of Australia’s best-known film creatives thanks to films such as Mad Max, Fury Road, Babe and Happy Feet. No doubt he will discuss the forthcoming latest incarnation of Mad Max, featuring Aussie golden boy Chris Hemsworth. Pomeranz and Stratton have long been Australia’s favourite film critics and they reunite in this special SWF event to discuss movie adaptations of Australian books. BOOK NOW FAST FACTS: What: Richard Flanagan in conversation with Laura Tingle. Where: Live-streamed from Carriageworks in Sydney to Launceston’s Star Theatre, Invermay. When: Saturday, May 1, 4pm-5pm Tickets: $20 adults, $10 students Bookings: Star Theatre 6333 1190 or www.startheatre.com.au

We are thrilled to announce that we are once again bringing the Sydney Writers’ Festival to the Star Theatre, Invermay, this year! One of Australia’s best-loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, Sydney Writers’ Festival will be streaming its headline events from Carriageworks in Sydney direct to the Star Theatre's big screen on Saturday May 1 and Sunday May 2. We are inviting you to be part of Live & Local, streamed live by Sydney Writers’ Festival and delivered locally to Launceston's Star Theatre. Prepare to be engaged by conversations, debates and discussions as the Festival brings some of the world’s finest authors to Launceston in real time. As well as hearing new ideas from great thinkers, audiences have the opportunity to participate in Q&A sessions at each event, sending questions direct to the stage. Tickets General: $20 each Student: $10 each Bookings through Star Theatre on 6333 1190 and startheatre.com.au Don't forget that the Star Theatre offers light snacks and beverages. Our partner Petrarch's Bookshop will also be on site with a popup book store and the featured authors' books for sale. The Lineup Saturday May 1, 4–5pm Richard Flanagan & Laura Tingle Richard Flanagan is a legend of Australian letters. His much-lauded novels are published in 42 countries. He won the Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and the Commonwealth Prize for Gould’s Book of Fish. His latest book The Living Sea of Waking Dreams offers a tender, haunting portrait of a world disappearing around us. With ABC's Laura Tingle, he reflects on capturing in words the things we’re losing. Sunday May 2, 12noon–1pm George Miller: Beyond Thunderdome George Miller is a legend of cinema. From Mad Max to Babe to the recent triumph of Fury Road (with a Happy Feet or two along the way), it’s hard to think of a more revolutionary creative figure in Australia today. Sunday May 2, 4–5pm Great Adaptations: Margaret and David Return Greatly missed on TV screens, the nation’s favourite film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton reunite in a special event discussing movie adaptations of Australian books. The famously sparring duo settle back into their critics’ chairs to offer their top five standout movies that do justice to the original text, the five-star films that bested the books and the flops that lost their lustre when transposed from page to screen.