James Bradley will be in conversation with Beejay Silcox on his new book Deep Water: The World in the Ocean, which through the lens and narratives of the ocean, offers vital new ways of understanding and being in the world, and how we anticipate our climate future

The ocean holds a vast space of meaning and connections. It has shaped and sustained life on earth for billions of years, nurturing the evolution of species, fostering a deep connection with Indigenous cultures, witnessing the devastation of colonial exploration, and suffering the consequences of extractivist expansion.

Deep Water is both a hymn to the beauty, mystery and wonder of the ocean, and a reckoning with our complex relationship to the natural world. . Weaving together science, history and personal reflection it explores the way the ocean connects every living being on Earth, the origins of the environmental catastrophe that is overtaking us and the question of what lies ahead.

‘This beautiful lucid hymn to the sea is a reminder of what we still have, what we stand to lose and why we must never stop fighting to save our home ' Tim Winton

James Bradley’s books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade and Ghost Species and The Penguin Book of the Ocean. His essays and articles have appeared in The Monthly, The Guardian, Sydney Review of Books, Griffith Review, Meanjin, the Weekend Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2012 he won the Pascall Prize for Australia’s Critic of the Year, and he has been shortlisted twice for the Bragg Prize for Science Writing and nominated for a Walkley Award.

Beejay Silcox is an Australian writer and critic, the Artistic Director of Canberra Writers Festival, and chair of the 2024 Stella Prize. Beejay’s literary criticism and cultural commentary regularly appears in literary and arts publications including the Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, and the New York Times.

The vote of thanks will be given by Tim Hollo, Executive Director of the Green Institute

This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase on the evening in the Cultural Centre foyer. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.

Additional Information:

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A podcast will be made available after the event.

Symposium by University House Wine bar (Shop 13, 152 University Avenue, Acton, which is just next to the Kambri cultural centre) will now be open for dining after meet the author events. Food and wine details at https://unihouse.anu.edu.au/eat/symposium/. No bookings necessary.

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