The 2026 calendar of Australian literary events is up!
There is already a healthy listing, especially in the first half of they year, with the big question being: will Bendigo Writers Festival bounce back from this year’s kerfuffle?
The calendar is slightly more streamlined this year, with events yet to be confirmed listed at the bottom.
As always, please feel free to get in touch to bring events to my attention or alert me to errors.
I had the pleasure of being a guest of honour at Conflux, Canberra’s annual convention dedicated to speculative fiction, which ran 3-6 October.
Other GOHs were Kirstyn McDermott, James Bradley, Freya Marske, and Elise Miller, with the event chaired by Cat Sparks and emceed by Nicole Murphy. A fabulous line-up that I was thrilled and a little surprised to be a part of!
If you are interested in science fiction, fantasy, horror or any other reality-tweaking genre, in any form, then this convention is worth consideration.
Over the course of the event, I was a participant in five panels, held a kaffeeklatsch (basically, an arranged but relaxed gathering where we drink coffee and chat about writing, the business, anything at all*), and gave a talk, some of the latter of which I will reproduce here. I also provided a reading from Cruel Nights and a short interview with the Narrative Library** (my second outing with them): I’m under N! [listen here]
My talk included a PowerPoint, and that included some recommended texts in the vampire and climate fiction areas, as well as some advice for writers (some of which I suspect could be applied more broadly).
In case anyone was looking, here are the slides, with the caveat: it’s only the stuff that could fit, and I tried not to stress too much about the other favourites and notables that I had to leave out. Also mentioned/alluded to: Narrelle Harris’s Vampires of Melbourne, Mudrooroo’s Master of the Ghost Dreaming, Keri Arthur’s Riley Jenson Guardian, and Bill Congreve’s Epiphanies of Blood. Also movies Daybreakers, Thirst, Outback Vampires, and Bloodlust.
The Conflux program carried song titles for its programming titles, so I weighed in with my own soundtrack!
As to the promise mentioned in the page title: as part of the chinwag, I mentioned that I’d been beavering away, on and off, for five years on a new novel set in my flooded Brisbane world, and that it was almost done. The ridiculously talented and accomplished Kaaron Warren, who emceed my talk, made me – made me, I tells ya! – promise n front of everyone to have a draft sent to my agent within a fortnight. Well, it’s going out tomorrow, once I’ve settled on the working title, which is driving me crazy. Nothing like a little public accountability!
My thanks to the organisers of Conflux for inviting me along and making me feel welcome, as well as all the attendees who extended the hand of friendship – and good book and movie recommendations!
Major speculative fiction get-togethers are announced for Brisbane and Perth next year, with Conflux dates to be confirmed once they’ve taken a well-earned nap.
* In fairness, a convention is kind of a large, random kaffeeklatsch
** Psst: is that a preview of Kirstyn’s new novel? (She’s under M!)
Novel
Title: The End Times of Markusz Zielinski
Author: Keith Stevenson
Publisher: self-published @ https://www.keithstevenson.com/books/end-times/
In which the Australian writer and publisher turns from the enjoyable space opera of his Lenticular books to harder science fiction, portraying the mad scramble to save a last outpost of life from a collapsing universe. Once again, Stevenson provides a living culture, enough details of the factions and entities to make the world believable without bogging down in details. Indeed, there’s not much room for minutiae, as the story unfolds apace, the conflict driven by a political agenda of greed, ego and self-interest. The titular Markusz, a mathematician who may just be able to save what’s left if given the chance, has the clever foil of a ‘ghost’ of his dead wife as well as a strong supporting cast to contextualise the science clearly enough to allow the reader to follow along. And then there’s the question of the strange haven deep within the planet itself, and the mysterious connection to the force devouring the universe. It’s a blast.
Title: The Ministry of Time
Author: Kaliane Bradley
Publisher: Sceptre/Hachette, 2024
If you were to pick up The Ministry of Time, you may wish to flick straight to chapter 5, which opens thusly: “September found me in Pimlico, on a bench with Margaret Kemble*. The air was bisected by an iron hinge of autumn cold. Sparrows guested along the kerb, waltzing with the limp yellow leaves.” The “I” is the civil servant assigned to help Antarctica explorer Graham Gore acclimatise to life in the near future after he has been plucked from his own time (detailed in inserts). This is, as the name suggests, a time travel story, in which the pair are caught up in a beautifully presented attraction and dastardly deeds. As the quote shows, the writing is gorgeously descriptive, adding to superb character work and an engaging premise. But this excerpt should be enough to send you back to the start of this accomplished debut, and continue on, which is kind of what time travel is all about.
* We love Margaret (aka 1665). She is a fabulous character.
BOOK
Title: Beyond the Humming Downs
Author: Ellen Starsmore
Publisher: self-published, 2025
I was provided with an ARC of this debut fantasy ‘with a dash of hopepunk’, and isn’t it great when, after a friend has spent years writing, rewriting, editing, polishing, and researching the self-publishing pathway, it all comes together. Our starcrossed lovers Adehl and Roh meet on the titular downs and there are sparks as their mystical energies (ellir) forge a connection. But Adehl has a secret, one that propels her and Roh on a risky journey that triggers the gradual unveiling of deeper political mischief. This is where the hopepunk kicks in, as the self-appointed guardians of ellir find their claim being challenged, with Adehl and Roh at the pointy end. It’s a tale gently and engagingly told, the world fully realised and the characters suitably complex. Fantasy readers who love horses and cool names for things will be rolling in hay with this one. I just hope we don’t have to wait as long for the next book.
Given I’m not the most prolific of writers, it does mean a great deal when one of my sporadic publications gets nominated for an award. So a toast to Cruel Nights, and moreso to those fans who cared enough to get it onto the ballot in the ‘best novella’ category in the Ditmar awards.
The Ditmars are nominated and awarded by popular vote (the latter restricted to members of various conventions), so it was great to see the novella make the cut alongside some seriously heavy hitters in the genre field, being:
‘Shattered’ by Pauline Yates
‘The Emporium’ by Kaaron Warren
‘Wilder’ by Pamela Jeffs
‘Ghost of the Neon God’ by T. R. Napper
‘Maleficium’ by Kyla Lee Ward.
The winner will be announced at Conflux, Canberra’s speculative fiction convention, in October.
The full list of finalists is at the Conflux website.
It’s worth mentioning that it’s a bunch of volunteers who make conventions and awards happen. They should take a bow for pumping this energy into the scene.
MOVIE
Title: Weapons, 2025
Director: Zach Cregger
Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin
Weapons is a movie that is probably best seen cold, because it does not walk the expected path as it plays out its central mystery. The fan gets hit one morning when a classroom of kids fails to turn up to school – except one. Emotions run high, and the teacher (Garner) falls under suspicion as the days wear on and the kids don’t turn up. The only clue is footage of them all running away from home in the wee hours. From there, things spiral in pleasantly surprising and eerie ways. The story is presented in a series of interconnected viewpoints, both filling in the background and taking the narrative forward. It’s a clever balancing act of horror and dark comedy, light relief turning into dread, and offering one of the bleakest endings I’ve seen in ages. The audience reaction was a reminder of why some flicks are worth seeing in the cinema, as gasps became laughs became gasps. Ouch.
MOVIE
Title: Together, 2025
Director: Michael Shanks
Starring: Alison Brie, Dave Franco
We checked out Together to see what Alison Brie is up to now that she had graduated from college and retired from professional wrestling. Turns out, she’s making a fun movie where the body horror takes togetherness to a whole new level. Millie (Brie) has convinced her musician boyfriend (played by Brie’s husband, Franco) of many years to accompany her to the sticks where she can take up a teaching position. There, they stumble upon a secret that really tests the strength of their fraying bond to each other. It’s not the tightest plotted, and the sacrifice of art for a sensible career hits an uncomfortable note, but there are some striking moments – an eyeball effect is worth seeing, and a scene with a saw puts the teeth on edge. I’m glad I didn’t read much about it before going in, because ultimately, there’s enough going on to make it not entirely predictable and a bit of a conversation starter.
Film: Superman, 2025
Director: James Gunn
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult
Superman never really grabbed me, and I would’ve passed on this latest iteration were it not for noises about the film getting up the nose of people who like to use ‘woke’ as an insult. If the price of a movie ticket and a choc top equates to a finger in the eye of that set, sign me up. So up, up and away it was. And what an enjoyable outing it turned out to be. Not a lot of Clark Kent, not much repeating of the lore we know so well, but straight into the diabolical plot of arch villain Lex Luthor to dethrone Superman. All that alien goodness masquerading as human kindness – a big thumbs down from Luthor. It’s family, a few friends (including Nathan Fillion, always fun), and Krypto to the rescue. Gunn, who shares a writing credit, harnessed the hero’s history and spirit with a deft hand. Truth, justice and a few giggles for the win.
MOVIE
Title: 28 Years Later, 2025
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes
Something to be said for this, the third instalment of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 28 series: it’s not as bleak as the second outing, 28 Weeks Later, but it still has plenty of bite. The UK is still in quarantine as the Rage virus wracks the island, the non-infected self-sufficient but supplementing with foraging and zombie hunting. Anyone who has played Zombicide will note a development in this outing roughly analogous to the three different kinds of ‘zombies’ present in that game as well as insights into the ecosystem of the infected that reminds us that they are not undead, just very angry and very hungry. Enter young Spike, who becomes a conduit for a meditation on life and death as, armed with a bow and a deep love for his ailing mother, he has a coming-of-age journey. Bookending the movie is an unexpected turn for another young survivor, perhaps a springboard into a planned further two movies. Tasty.