Book Launch: Coming Out at the End of the World, with Nick Verso
Description
Join author Ben Ryan and Invisible Boys director Nick Verso for the launch of Coming Out at the End of the World, a new apocalyptic young adult novel!
Doors open at 6:30 pm. You can get a drink and browse the bookshop.
Have you ever had a secret so big you’d rather the world just ended than having to tell anyone? Alex has one. Then the world actually ended!
When his city is overrun by the undying – reanimated, bloodthirsty corpses – Alex realises that simply surviving the apocalypse is not enough. To truly live, he must finally come out to his tough and distant big brother, Brody, before it’s too late.
But it’s not exactly the kind of thing you bring up while dodging death, fighting your way through hordes with a huge, living-dead beast on your trail. Then Alex glimpses a boy with a beautiful smile out there, all alone in a world full of monsters and he knows… If he stays silent, he’ll be no better than the walking dead.
But what if Alex speaks up and loses the only family he has left? The world may be over. But Alex’s story is just beginning.
'Both heartfelt and horrifying, a moving tale of two brothers determined to protect their bond in a world crumbling around them.' – Nick Verso
Lineup
Ben Ryan
Ben Ryan is an Australian writer and filmmaker who tells genre-bending stories for young readers about the monsters we fight and the ones we carry with us. He was a finalist in the American Fiction Awards and received an honourable mention at the Eric Hoffer Book Prize. As a screenwriter, Ben has been supported by Screen Australia and Screen Queensland. His latest film project is now in development with Magpie Pictures. Ben’s short film The War, which he wrote, directed and produced, received an Honourable Mention at the International Film Awards Berlin. His scripts have featured on Coverfly’s Red List and placed in the Other Worlds Film Festival (Austin, TX), the Page Turner Screenplay Awards and the Emerging Screenwriters Competition. Ben loves tropical islands, urban jungles and Dutch canals. He now lives on Australia’s Gold Coast, which he describes as the perfect mix of all three.
Nick Verso
Nick Verso is a Logie award-winning Australian writer/director. His short film, The Last Time I Saw Richard, won the Australian Academy Award and showcased his passion for stories involving mental health, youth issues and queer culture. Nick’ debut feature film Boys In The Trees, made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival before screening at festivals around the world including Toronto, Busan, Sitges and winning Best Feature at the Austin Film Festival. In 2023, he won the Logie for his first original series as creator - Crazy Fun Park - a horror-comedy for the ABC and his latest series, Invisible Boys, premiered at #1 on Stan to critical and commercial acclaim including a Peabody nomination and multiple AACTA nominations. His other television work includes the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning Nowhere Boys, The Unlisted, Itch, In Our Blood, Swift Street and won Australian Director's Guild Awards for his work on Indigenous series Grace Beside Me as well as Crazy Fun Park. As a director, Nick has attended the Berlinale Talent Campus, Binger FilmLab Directors Coaching Programme (Amsterdam), trained with Song Of The Goat theatre company (Poland), was awarded an Asialink Arts Fellowship to work in robotics labs in Beijing, became a Churchill Fellow to study show running practices in the USA and UK, and in 2025 was nominated for the AACTA Reg Grundy Award.
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