Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks will discuss her first book in seven years, Horse, with me, Ramona Koval. Inspired by a true story, the novel connects three narratives surrounding a famous US thoroughbred racehorse to explore legacies of racism, horse-racing and art.

If you are in Melbourne, or will be on the 21st July, book here: Hidden Histories: Geraldine Brooks - The Wheeler Centre

Ramona Koval discusses the journey of her beautifully wrought latest release, A Letter to Layla: travels to our deep past and near future in conversation with Elizabeth McCarthy. Book here

Journalist and author Caroline Baum (Only) sits down with two of Australia’s favourite broadcasters and authors to discuss the stories that inspire them. Host of ABC’s Conversations Richard Fidler has turned his love affair with Prague into a personally curated history – The Golden Maze – a work that is both a biography of a city and the stories and people that define it. Former host of Radio National’s Book Show Ramona Koval recently embarked on a global quest to better understand the ingenuity, the science and the tales that make us human in A Letter to Layla. Book here

Rudyard Kipling once said of his interview with Mark Twain, “Blessed is the man who finds no disillusion when he is brought face to face with a revered writer.” Beloved broadcaster and author Ramona Koval (A Letter to Layla: Travels to Our Deep Past and Near Future) delivers an enthralling talk about her imaginary friendships with authors no longer with us, from Marguerite Duras to Stefan Zweig. Exploring the disappointment and delight that can arise from getting to know the writers behind our favourite literary classics, Ramona asks whether we should assess a book’s merits independently of its author’s.

This is a free event, but you will need to book tickets here

“Brilliant presenter and writer Ramona Koval talks to the ever-engaging Robyn Annear about her latest non-fiction title, a kaleidoscopic portrait of humanity written with warmth, insight and curiosity. A Letter to Layla is a wide-reaching, totally compelling look at what makes us human, from the traits of our earliest hominid ancestors through to the terrifying promise of artificial intelligence. Woven throughout are Ramona's observations of her three-year-old granddaughter, Layla, and her hopes and fears for Layla's generation.

Ramona Koval is a writer, journalist and former broadcaster on Radio National.

Robyn Annear is a writer and historian based in Castlemaine.”

Book here

How might the origins of our species inform the way we think about our planet? At a point of unparalleled crisis, can human ingenuity save us from ourselves? Much-loved writer and journalist Ramona Koval travels the globe in a quest for answers, and encounters the unexpected.

The result is A Letter to Layla: Travels to our deep past and near future, a kaleidoscopic portrait of humanity, written with Ramona's signature warmth, insight and curiosity. Ramona appears in-conversation with Lee Kofman.

This FREE event will take place on Zoom. The Zoom meeting details form part of your ticket, emailed to you after registration. You can also pre-order copies of A Letter to Layla and have them shipped to you anywhere in Australia for free!

Suzanne Donisthorpe and I worked together at Radio National for many years. This Sunday 4th October at 10am she will be interviewing me about A Letter To Layla on her own program, ArtSwank on 94.9 MainFm which broadasts to the Goldfields region of Victoria. Or you can listen on line with the  TuneInRadio app on your smartphone, or visit their Listen Live page to stream the program over the internet.