True Story

In public, they looked poised, confident and fearless, but as high-profile social researcher Rebecca Huntley (Sassafras) and acclaimed musical star of Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera Josh Piterman (Behind the Mask) both admit, they have been haunted by trauma and anxiety. So how did they find a way to cope? They talk candidly with award-winning author and celebrant Dr Jackie Bailey. Ab...

It's bandied around a lot these days in conversations about the US and right-wing politics, but what exactly is fascism and why would it prompt Wollongong steelworker Jim McNeil to go and fight against it in the Spanish Civil War, just as George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway did? Michael Samaras has uncovered a remarkable story of idealism and courage in Anti-Fascists: Jim McNeil and his mates in...

From monuments to documents, men have been the main characters in our history. Now two powerful storytellers are reframing the narrative to celebrate the accomplishments of women. Join Stella Prize-winning historian Professor Clare Wright as she speaks to Yves Rees about ten trailblazing women whose connection with the United States changed the course of Australian history, and author Sita Sarg...

Nothing could be more topical than conspiracy theories, as recent events demonstrate; and in a so-called post-truth world, what role does scepticism have in determining who we trust and what we believe? To discuss these thorny, burning issues, we have assembled a formidable panel: Walkley award winner Ariel Bogle and her co-writer Cam Wilson, authors of Conspiracy Nation (which covers everythin...

Stella Prize-winning historian Professor Clare Wright has long been a source of inspiring stories about our past with her award-winning accounts of the Eureka Stockade and the early Australian feminist movement as well as her television documentaries, radio programs, feature films and podcasts. Delivering this year’s keynote address, she tells the story behind the ṉäku dhäruk (bark petitions) c...

Stella Prize-winning historian Professor Clare Wright has long been a source of inspiring stories about our past with her award-winning accounts of the Eureka Stockade and the early Australian feminist movement as well as her television documentaries, radio programs, feature films and podcasts. Delivering this year’s keynote address, she tells the story behind the ṉäku dhäruk (bark petitions) c...

Two of the best new Australian biographers talk about how they bring to life remarkable lives that deserve another look. Vicki Hastrich celebrates deep sea fishing champion and millionaire author Zane Grey, who spent time fishing for marlin on the South Coast of NSW, while Anthony Sharwood travels in the footsteps of his hero, Enlightenment freedom fighter Tadeusz Kosciuszko, from Poland to Fra...

Non-fiction authors walk among us! Four local writers tell ABC Illawarra host Melinda James about their exciting new titles. Biographer Jeff Apter reveals the life of trailblazing music producer Lee Gordon. Journalist Erin O'Dwyer has the inside story on the true crime memoir she co-wrote with a former beauty queen and convicted drug dealer. Electrify Everything guru Saul Griffith explains how ...

Former mayor of Wollongong Frank Arkell was flamboyant, successful, well-off and a relentless champion of the city he loved. But there was a sinister, dark underside to his life that involved predatory sexual behaviour towards young boys as part of an alleged paedophile ring of powerful men. In his book Politics, Pride and Perversion, historian Erik Eklund has done forensic research to tell a s...

What does it take to disrupt Australia’s history and stand by your views when they are attacked? The answer is: a lot. After the controversy surrounding his bestselling book Dark Emu, First Nations writer Bruce Pascoe was bruised but unbowed. Black Duck, a Year at Yumburra is his personal account of his healing on his farm (where he somehow also found time to write a novel, Imperial Harvest). I...

Local First Nations author Jodi Edwards has been teaching us the Dharawal language at the festival these past couple of years. But she is also continuing to pursue her own academic research into the relationship of coastal First Nations people to the whale population that migrates past our beaches. Jodi will come to True Story fresh from delivering the keynote speech at the international Societ...

Family violence prevention campaigner and 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty is so beloved and admired, she needs no introduction. But having won the sympathy and respect of a nation in the face of the most terrible violence, what next? How do you move forward and restore your faith in human nature? What does Hope (the title of her new book) even mean in the aftermath of tragedy? Rosie Bat...

With Mean Streak, his new investigation of how Robodebt was allowed to create a suicidal wave of despair, Rick Morton proves once again that he has an unflinching instinct for social analysis combining journalistic rigour with an outspoken sense of justice. In our specially commissioned opening address, Rick will reflect on the painful truths he has learned while investigating and exposing brut...

When Gina Chick won the first Australian season of Alone, she captured the hearts of millions with her survival skills and earth-mother personality. Now, in We Are the Stars, she has written an exuberant, roaring affirmation of life in the face of loss and triumph. Join Gina for a high-octane hit of inspiration exploring what it takes to thrive beyond the wilderness, with Caroline Baum. About ...

Memoirist Ailsa Piper (Sinning Across Spain, The Attachment) describes her latest offering, For Life, as a tale of living, dying and flying, but it is also about swimming, noticing, favourite words, friendship, and finding a home. Written in prose that is both luminous and illuminating, For Life shifts from dark to light as Ailsa reflects on her experiences of loss and recovery. In conversation...