In conversation: Joanne Fedler

Join Joanne Fedler to celebrate the launch of her new novel The Whale's Last Song - a beautiful, tender book about love and sacrifice, for readers of Charlie Mackesy and Paulo Coelho.

WHEN: Thursday, 10th of October, 2024, at Paddington Uniting Church. Doors open at 6:30pm, with unallocated seating, for a prompt 7 pm start. Parking can be difficult so please leave enough time. There is also a parking facility close by.

TICKETS: 

Admission: $20.00 (excluding external fees).

1 x Admission + 1 x Book Bundle; $45.00 (excluding external fees), includes a signed copy of Joanne Fedler's The Whale's Last Song. (RRP: $32.95)

2 x Admission + 1 x Book Bundle; $60.00 (excluding external fees), includes admission for two and a signed copy of Joanne Fedler's The Whale's Last Song. (RRP: $32.95)

Once upon a time, a young girl ventured into a dark forest, looking for a cure for her much-loved elder sister ... A touching, tender and lyrical fable about what we do for the ones we love and the beauty and mystery of being alive in a world in which we are part of everything, and everything is part of us.

About The Whale's Last Song

As a terrible pandemic rages through the country, a young girl, Teo, leaves her small village and sets off into the forest, in search of a cure for her sister who is infected with the pox. Her father Merdocai has surrendered himself to the evil Marquis to be experimented upon for the Greater Good; and with her mother long-dead, all Teo has to keep her going is the love of her sister, her father and her friend Rodrigo, a stuttering poet.

As Teo ventures deeper into the forest, she encounters creatures and teachers who hold the answers to all the questions she has about who she is, and where she has come from. Meanwhile, out in the depths of the ocean, a whale is returning to the place he was born, to exhale his last breath. While Teo does not know this, he too holds secrets that belong to Teo's story.

The Whale's Last Song is a tender, sweet and wise fable, on what we are prepared to do for those we love; a celebration of the beauty and mystery of being alive in a world in which we are part of everything, and everything is part of us; and a love song to the natural world. It is The Alchemist meets The Princess Bride meets The Little Prince. It is a little gem.

About the Author

Joanne Fedler is the internationally bestselling author of 12 books, which have been translated into many different languages and have sold over 750 000 copies worldwide. She is a Fulbright scholar, has a Master’s degree in Law from Yale, set up and ran an advocacy centre to end violence against women in South Africa and has spent her life fighting for women’s rights.

She was selected as one of the women in 200 Women Who Will Change the Way You See The World (Chronicle Books, 2017).

Her book Things Without A Name has recently been optioned for the screen. As a writing mentor, she offers writing retreats for women all over the world as well as online writing courses.

Her courses include the 7 day free online writing challenge, 7 Tricks to Writing Your Story, The Author Awakening Adventure and Write Your First Draft Masterclass.

You can find out more or enrol here!

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.

About Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore

Rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore is an oasis for writers, readers, and coffee lovers. Books overflow from the shelves of their store, featuring a mix of new, second-hand, antiquarian and rare books. Stay a while & enjoy some homemade chai, and amazing coffee, and unearth a book treasure or two. Read more about the bookstore's story here, and about the real Gertrude & Alice here.