Great Big Book Club: The Book of the After by Rebecca Higgie
Description
Remember, remember the Fifth of November.
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
What happens when a failed attempt to blow up parliament leaves you dead but long remembered, lingering as a spirit, waiting to finally be forgotten so you can move on to the next realm?
We invite you to find out by joining us to celebrate the launch of The Book of the After by Rebecca Higgie on Guy Fawkes Night.
The Book of the After is a love story, a ghost story, a bonfire of our past and our future, daring us to ask – what happens when we die?
Hosted by the City of Perth Library, this is a great big summer read that’s the perfect way to end the 2026 Fremantle Press Great Big Book Club series. Rebecca Higgie will be interviewed by fellow Fremantle Press author Emily Paull.
Books will be available to purchase on the night, with the author on hand for signing.
Bring a friend, bring your book club or just bring yourself! Tickets are limited so RSVP today.
We can’t wait to see you there.
Lineup
Rebecca Higgie
Rebecca Higgie is a writer from Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia. Her debut novel, The History of Mischief, won the inaugural Fogarty Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript and was published by Fremantle Press in 2020. Her short stories, creative non-fiction and poems have won awards and been published in journals, anthologies and newspapers, including The West Australian, Westerly, The Hope Prize Anthology and Stories of Perth. Formerly an academic at Curtin University and Brunel University London, she has a PhD in cultural studies and has published research on satire and politics. She is passionate about the climate, history and the intricacies of storytelling during times of crisis.
Emily Paull
Emily Paull is a Western Australian librarian, author and book reviewer. Having formerly worked in bookselling, Emily is an avid reader and a big supporter of the WA writing community, and regularly moderates author interviews around Perth. In 2019, her debut collection of short fiction, Well-Behaved Women, was published by Margaret River Press. Her novel The Distance Between Dreams was shortlisted for the 2023 Fogarty Literary Award and published in 2025. Her new novel, The Bookseller’s War, will be published in April 2027. When she’s not writing, she can often be found with her nose in a book.
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50 Years of Fremantle Press
Fremantle Press is a proudly not-for-profit publishing house celebrating its 50th year. With your help, we can continue to expand our impact by sharing the value of reading, ensure that all Australians get to see themselves represented in books, and keep Western Australian culture alive by publishing important local stories. Our power is in the stories we share. Join us by donating today.
About the Great Big Book Club
The Great Big Book Club series is a longstanding collaboration between Fremantle Press, local libraries and booksellers. As an initiative to connect with our local reading and writing community, the event series has helped establish audiences for emerging authors, given WA retailers the opportunity to benefit from book sales, activated library spaces and brought the reading community together to share their love of Western Australian stories.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
