Readers! This is your chance to be part of the studio audience at an all-in-one Big Day of Books at ABC Perth!

WA’s favourite radio presenters Hilary Smale, Jo Trilling, Ali Colvan and Claire Nichols will be chatting to some of the hottest new emerging writers in the Australian writing scene, along with some beloved favourites who are set to introduce their new books.

The studio is going to be crackling with big themes in recent fiction and non-fiction – including rural crime and buried secrets, the shadows and prophets that haunt our stories, and the healing power of writing. And you will be invited to consider whether grumpiness is a sin or a virtue, and why terrible plumbing makes for great comedy.

Hosted by ABC Radio, in partnership with Fremantle Press, UWA Publishing, Magabala Books and Boffins Books, this is your chance to grab a seat to enjoy a live literary show, meet the authors, and snap up some fabulous reads. Hurry! Seats are limited.

BIG DAY OF BOOKS PROGRAM

10:00: Powerful stories: identity and healing

Exploring the recovery of minds and bodies through the power of narrative with Helen Milroy, David Whish-Wilson and Bebe Oliver. How can storytelling assist in reclaiming identity, self-acceptance and agency? Hosted by Jo Trilling.

11:15: Dark pasts, buried secrets and foreboding futures

Small towns with big histories. How crime fiction exposes the fault lines in rural and remote communities with Josh Kemp, Angie Faye Martin and Margaret Hickey. Hosted by Ali Colvin.

12:30: In conversation with Fleur McDonald

Claire Nichols interviews Fleur McDonald, queen of rural crime, about her new novel Prospect.

1:30 Shadows and prophets

Many Australians know what it is like to live with legacies from elsewhere. Three novelists, Katherine Allum, Louise Wolhuter and Emily Tsokos Purtill ask whether it is possible to fight fate and forge new futures.

2:45: Profanity, profundity and unpredictable plumbing

From dickheads and corn cobs to murder most vile. From bum chafe to crushes and garrulous guile. Writing comedy is never as easy as reading it. Do you have to break a sweat to make people crack a smile? With Andrew HC McDonald, Meg Bignell and Kate Emery, hosted by Carrie Cox.

4:00: Warning: contents may offend

Grumpy old men meet grumpy young them. Former ABC presenter Geoff Hutchison and anarchic debut novelist Patrick Marlborough preview their July new releases How Not to Become a Grumpy Old Bugger and Nock Loose. Hosted by Gary Adshead.

Contact the host of Big Day of Books Perth 2025