The Good, The Bad And The Seriously Disturbed: How to create memorable characters with Emily Maguire, Sophie Green and Christian White and Jayne Tuttle
Re-Imagining The Past: How I found my historical novel
With Emily Maguire, Malcolm Knox, Jane Yang and Mel Fulton
Join Emily Maguire in conversation about her novel Rapture, a remarkable and audacious tale of identity, love, and self-discovery. Agnes, a wild and brilliant girl from ninth-century Mainz, disguises herself as a man to study and escape the limitations placed on women. As John the Englishman, she rises to prominence in the Church, caught in political intrigue and grappling with her true identity. Longlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize, Rapture is a transformative, thought-provoking novel that explores the cost of living a lie, the complexity of human relationships, and the search for belonging in a world that demands conformity.
Celebrated authors Emily Maguire and Josephine Rowe come together to discuss their new novels of faith, fate and the nature of belief.
Inspired by the legend of Pope Joan, Maguire’s Rapture is the story of a young woman who defies gendered expectations and enters the monastic life by disguising herself as a man. Rowe’s Little World opens with the body of a child saint stranded in the Australian bush, and goes on to weave a mesmerising story of the lives she touches across time and continents.
Together, they discuss the mundane, the miraculous and writing the ineffable, with Jaclyn Crupi.
Historical fiction has a magical power to bring the past to life.
The latest novel from bestselling writer Emily Maguire, Rapture, is an ambitious and audacious story of a woman disguised as a monk in 9th century Mainz. Moving between Scotland and Melbourne, Jock Serong’s Cherrywood is a haunting and playful story of legacy and community.
Step back in time with Emily and Jock as they discuss their novels with Kate Evans (ABC Radio National’s The Bookshelf).
She’s the Man meets the Man Upstairs in this tender glimpse at life in the Holy Roman Empire, the politics at its centre and the courage it takes to follow your heart.
Hear how Emily Maguire rewrote history in her newest novel Rapture, about a woman who became the revered ninth-century scholar John the Englishman. In conversation with Michaela Kalowski.
Founded in 2012, the Stella Prize celebrates the outstanding contributions of Australian women and non-binary writers. Meet three remarkable authors who made this year’s longlist, who all exemplify the diversity of talent in storytelling promoted. Jumaana Abdu brings us Translations, set in rural NSW; Emily Maguire transports us to the ninth century with her tale of a female pope in Rapture and Inga Simpson has us looking skyward as disaster looms in The Thinning.
‘Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities,’ said Mark Twain. ‘Truth isn’t.’ This tension lies at the heart of historical fiction. What narratives emerge when the boundaries between reality and imaginative storytelling blur? Acclaimed authors Jock Serong, Emily Maguire, Hannah Kent, and Courtney Collins dive into an unmissable conversation exploring the enduring power of the past, and how fiction can illuminate forgotten corners of history. We’ll hear fresh perspectives and insights into the human condition across time, and discover why we remain so drawn to stories that weave together the threads of what was, and what might have been.
Explore the essence of truth in non-fiction writing with three exceptional festival guests. Join Emily Maguire, Malcolm Knox, and Santilla Chingaipe for a compelling discussion on the challenges and rewards of shaping true stories. From the rigorous demands of research and fact-checking, to the art of crafting engaging and impactful narratives rooted in reality, this is a session to discover their distinct approaches to non-fiction, and the significance of presenting factual accounts that are both compelling, and deeply meaningful.
