Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Monday 20 May
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM
Our fabulous double bills are back – bringing you three big nights of international writers, presented back-to-back.
From genre-bending fiction bestsellers to young adult authors with cult followings, and non-fiction superstars who’ll change the way you view the world … we’ve got a little something for everyone.
You can cherry-pick your favourite authors and book individual events, or make a night of it and see two authors at once. It’s up to you.
6:45pm - 7:45pm and 8:30pm - 9:30pm (includes a 45 minute interval).
Patrick Ness
Patrick Ness is one of those writers whose darkly complex books for children and teenagers transcend their intended audience, winning him fans of all ages.
His multi-award-winning Chaos Walking trilogy has been described as ‘one of the most interesting fantasies ever published’.
His latest book for young readers is A Monster Calls, a heartbreaking story about cancer and loss, told through the metaphor of a yew tree that comes to life outside the bedroom of a boy whose mother is dying.
The Crane Wife is Ness’s first adult book in many years – a wise and romantic story about the creative imagination and the redemptive power of love. Ness will be in conversation with Lili Wilkinson.
Patrick Ness is presented by the Wheeler Centre in association with the Melbourne Writers Festival.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Barcelona-born, LA-based author Carlos Ruiz Zafón writes fantastical literary thrillers packed with intrigue and adventure – with books themselves at their very centre.
His admirers include Stephen King and Margaret Atwood.
The Shadow of the Wind, which sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, was the first in a quartet for younger readers that takes its inspiration from sources as disparate as Enid Blyton and Alexander Dumas.
His stories set in Barcelona’s (fictional) Cemetery of Forgotten Books have ‘the blissful narrative drive of a high-class mystery’.
The Watcher in the Shadows, his latest young adult novel, has just been released – to great anticipation. Ruiz Zafón will be in conversation with Sian Prior.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón appears with the support of the Consulate of Spain.
Featuring
Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of eighteen books for young people, including The Erasure Initiative and After the Lights Go Out. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it, establishing the Inky Awards at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. Her latest book is A Hunger of Thorns.
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Sian Prior
Sian Prior has had a multi-faceted career in the arts, education and media, as a writer, broadcaster, teacher and singer. She is best known as a former presenter on ABC RN, ABC Classic and ABC Melbourne, and a columnist ...
Patrick Ness
Patrick Ness (he/him) is the New York Times best-selling author of A Monster Calls (inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd), which won both the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal, was a Los Angeles Times ...
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Carlos Ruiz Zafón is the author of six novels, including the international bestsellers The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game and The Prisoner of Heaven.
His work has been published in more than 40 languages and honoured with numerous awards. He divides his time between Barcelona and Los Angeles.