The House That Joy Built: In Conversation with Holly Ringland

Join us for a very special morning tea with Holly Ringland in conversation with Michaela Kalowski, to celebrate the launch of Holly's new book. Let's talk about creativity, from the fearsome and the painful to the life-changing wonder it can fill our lives with. The House That Joy Built, takes our hand and leads us on a journey where we can meet our fears, and not only create how and what we desire, but delight in all the joy of doing so.

Don't miss this exciting event with Holly Ringland, author of international bestsellers The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding.

Brought to you by Gertrude & Alice, and Woollahra Library

WHEN: 10.30am - 12.30pm, Friday 20th October 2023. 

WHERE: Woollahra Library at Double Bay, 1/451 New South Head Rd, Double Bay NSW 2028.

TICKETS: 

• ADMISSION: $12.50 (excluding external fees). Your ticket includes admission to the event and morning tea.
• ADMISSION + BOOK BUNDLE: $35.00 (excluding external fees). Your ticket includes admission to the event, morning tea and a copy of Holly's new book, The House That Joy Built. (Save $7.50)

An uplifting, positive and powerful book about breaking through fear and finding joy through creativity.

All of Holly's books will be available for purchase on the day and she will happily sign them after the talk - priority in the signing line will be given to those who have chosen to purchase their book(s) from Gertrude & Alice, as appreciation for their support.

About the Author:

Holly Ringland is the author of the international bestseller The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which has been translated into thirty languages and adapted into a global seven-part TV series starring Sigourney Weaver and produced by Amazon Prime Video and Made Up Stories, now screening worldwide. In 2019, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart won the Australian Book Industry Award General Fiction Book of the Year. In 2021, Holly co-hosted an eight-episode ABC TV series, Back to Nature, with Aaron Pedersen. After living between Australia and the UK for ten years, Holly has been based in the Yugambeh region of southeast Queensland since 2020, where she wrote The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding in her 'office', a vintage caravan named Frenchie. Upon publication, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding became an instant national bestseller, and it was named 2022 Book of the Year by Booktopia.

About the Book:

The House that Joy Built is about how to give ourselves permission to be creative. It explores two big forces: the fear that can block our creativity, and the permission we can meet that fear with - to not just create, but to revel in the life-changing wonder and joy of doing so. It offers a jump-start for the nervous heart of anyone whose desire to create is overruled by fear. It is a book for those people who yearn to write, as well as people who find their creativity elsewhere: gardeners, carpenters, sculptors, jewellery-makers, florists, songwriters, dancers, cooks, painters... anyone who wants to make something but doesn't because they're afraid. Afraid of feeling vulnerable, of criticism and judgement from others, of not being good enough, of not having enough, of having 'bad' ideas, of being too much. It is for everyone who has ever felt stuck creatively, for those who don't know how to begin, for those who feel they have so much welling up inside and are just trying to find a way into themselves. This book is an openhearted clarion call to experience the joy and freedom of creating.

About the Host:

Michaela Kalowski is an interviewer, moderator & curator for writers and ideas festivals. Highlight interviews include Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Michelle de Kretser, & Stan Grant. She's curator of ABC RN’s on-air writers’ festival, Big Weekend of Books, now in its fourth year.She also produces and hosts a monthly books conversation event for Petersham Bowling Club in Sydney. Michaela has conducted radio interviews and presented programs across ABC radio and is the co-presenter & co-writer of a two-part podcast for ABC RN, tracing part of her family’s history, called Laya’s Way Home.

Venue Information:

This event will be hosted at Woollahra Library at Double Bay, there will be tea, coffee and cakes available.

There is street parking available in side streets and paid parking underneath Woolworths. This venue is wheelchair accessible and lifts are available - please let us know if you need any more information.