Magic & Murder: Jaclyn Moriarty, Scott Westerfeld & Justine Larbalestier

Join authors Jaclyn Moriarty, Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier for an evening of magic and murder as they discuss their new novels and writing in collaboration with community.

In celebration of the launch of Jaclyn Moriarty’s magical novel, Time Travel for Beginners, and husband-and-wife duo Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier’s murderous adult fiction debut, The Mortons, they’ll be coming together to chat about their process. At opposite ends of the genre spectrum at first glance, the authors were in fact part of each other’s stories from the start, exchanging first drafts.

Come along for an insightful conversation about collaboration, creative exchange, and the ways writers shape each other’s work — with plenty of magic, murder, and behind-the-scenes stories along the way.

6:30pm arrivals for a 7pm start.

Tickets: $10 per person (+ GST and Humanitix fee)

Please note: Your $10 ticket fee is redeemable on night towards any book purchase. Please see staff on the night.

About Time Travel for Beginners:

In her dazzling new novel, award-winning author Jaclyn Moriarty asks the question, if you could revisit one moment in your life, what would it be?

On a bustling road in Sydney, Australia, lies a nondescript storefront known simply as the Time Travel Agency. Inside, you’ll be welcomed by the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, a selection of baked goods … and the question, Where in time do you wish to go?

The guidelines are simple: you can go whenever you wish into the past, and there’s no fear of altering the present. Have tea with Jane Austen, scream at a Beatles concert, witness the Olympics in ancient Greece. Perhaps a more personal trip? Visit your long-lost grandmother, recapture the heady days of your youth, return to the idyllic time when your teen was a babbling baby — or watch yourself make the one decision that changed everything.

Is it a hoax? And if it’s real, what’s the catch?

When single mother Anna is offered a job at the agency, she glimpses the possibility of happiness. Meanwhile, Teddy’s a customer hoping to untangle his recently imploded marriage. And Jade, who has a deeply buried secret, despises the agency for offering false hope.

About The Mortons:

The Mortons is an epic novel of inheritance, loyalty, and what it costs to discover empathy when you have been trained to live without it. A darkly funny, action-packed gothic thriller following a modern-day, old-money crime family with murderous intent. It’s The Secret History meets The Sopranos, with a dash of Saltburn!

Meet the Mortons: In this family, murder is currency — and business is booming.

The Mortons are a modern-day, old-money dynasty with impeccable taste. They are also stone-cold killers. Jessica Morton has always excelled at Helshire, a college where legacy students learn to exercise control over their wealthy peers. Now, having committed her first kill, it should be her moment, her honor. But that kill will unknot a series of revelations spanning the Mortons’ country estate, the New York City art world, and Helshire itself.

About the authors:

Scott Westerfeld is the author of twelve New York Times bestsellers, including the Uglies series, which has sold millions of copies in thirty-five languages. Westerfeld is also known for the Leviathan trilogy, a seminal work in the steampunk genre, published in more than twenty countries. Westerfeld’s book So Yesterday won the Victorian Premier’s Award, and his books have also won the Aurealis and Ditmar awards in Australia. He splits his time between Sydney and New York City. The Mortons, written with Justine Larbalestier, is his first adult book in twenty-five years.

Justine Larbalestier is the award-winning author of eight critically acclaimed novels for young adults, including My Sister Rosa, which was an Edgar Award Finalist for Best Young Adult Novel. Among others, she edited the anthology Zombies vs. Unicorns alongside Holly Black, and has contributed essays and short fiction to a number of collections. The Mortons is the first jointly-authored adult debut from Justine and Scott.

Jaclyn Moriarty is the best-selling author of novels for young adults and adults including Feeling Sorry for Celia, The Year of Secret Assignments, and the Colours of Madeleine trilogy. Jaclyn grew up in Sydney, lived in England, the US, and Canada, and now lives in Sydney again. She has been the recipient of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, the Queensland Literary Award, and the Aurealis Award for Fantasy. Her books have been named Boston Globe Honor Books, White Raven selections, and Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Assocation. She is very fond of chocolate, blueberries, ice-skating and sleep.