author event: crime panel
thursday 23 july || 6pm
Join us this July for a thrilling Crime Fiction Panel featuring acclaimed Australian authors Margaret Hickey, Mark Smith, and Leah Swann, in conversation with moderator Laura McCluskey. The event will be held at The Studio @ PCT, Mornington Community House, 91 Wilsons Road Mornington.
We’re delighted to welcome this outstanding group of writers for an evening of discussion, insight, and behind-the-scenes stories about their latest books, the craft of crime writing, and their thoughts on each other’s work. Whether you’re a longtime crime fiction fan or looking for your next great read, this promises to be a fascinating event you won’t want to miss.
TICKETS $20 | BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL
about the author
MARGARET HICKEY is an award-winning author and playwright from North East Victoria. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and is deeply interested in rural lives and communities. She is now the author of seven crime novels – Cutters End, Stone Town, Broken Bay, The Creeper, An Ill Wind and Cold River – and a collection of short stories, Rural Dreams. With her seventh novel Cold River due out on July 28.
Cutters End was awarded the BAD Crime Sydney Festival’s Danger Prize, and was also shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for First Fiction. Margaret won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Fiction in 2025 for The Creeper.
Cold River
Available 28 July 2026
Deep in the mountains, secrets grow deadly . . .
Detective Constable Sally White knows how easily hikers can go missing in Victoria’s high country. But there’s something about the disappearance of Louis Taylor, a young man lost up Mount Viking, that’s not sitting right with her.
Louis was an aspiring journalist, researching the illegal tobacco trade – also known as chop chop – that was once so prevalent in the area. And the last person he interviewed before his hike has just met a gruesome end . . .
But with no other leads, and with the search winding down, Sally is forced to accept the young man died in a tragic accident. Until she learns of another missing person case that bears striking similarities. Astrid Marlowe, a young lawyer, vanished in the same mountains two years before. Were Louis and Astrid simply unlucky hikers lost in the treacherous terrain? Or did they both stumble into something – or someone – they shouldn’t?
about the author
MARK SMITH is the author of five novels, including his critically acclaimed Winter Trilogy. The Road to Winter was shortlisted for multiple awards and is taught in schools around Australia. The sequel, Wilder Country won the 2018 Australian Indie Book Award for YA. His first adult novel, Three Boys Gone, was published in 2025 and his second, Where Truth Ends, will be released on May 28 2026.
An award-winning writer of short fiction, Mark’s work has appeared in Best Australian Stories, Review of Australian Fiction, The Big Issue, The Victorian Writer, Island and The Australian. Mark lives on Victoria’s Surf Coast where he writes and runs outdoor education programs for young adults. Mark is also an in-demand speaker at schools and an experienced facilitator at festivals and book launches.
WhereTruth Ends
Available 26 May 2026
Meg Maher thought she was doing the right thing. Now she’s on the run.
When a peaceful climate protest ends with a violent explosion in the city centre, every member of the protest group becomes a suspect. The incident is declared a terrorist attack. But the authorities aren’t the only ones hunting Meg.
Scared and alone, Meg seeks refuge with her father, Luke, knowing that every word she says puts him in danger too. But as the terrorism investigation closes in, Meg is forced to question everything: her friends, her cause, even herself. Was her group of activists infiltrated from the start? Or has someone twisted their mission beyond recognition?
What happens when the truth is the first thing to burn?
about the author
LEAH SWANN is an award-winning Australian writer whose work includes novels, short stories, poetry, articles and essays. Her debut novel Sheerwater (HarperCollins, 2020) became a bestseller and won the Davitt Award for Best Debut Novel in 2021. Her short story collection Bearings drew critical acclaim, and she is also the author of a fantasy trilogy. Her writing has appeared in news outlets and literary publications.
Her second novel, Later, Only Love Remains, is being published with HarperCollins in May 2026.
Later, Only Love Remains
Available 26 May 2026
Jack Wolfe, a complicated and difficult old man, retreats to his remote shack in the Otways to grieve his wife’s death in a car crash where he was the driver. Half mad with remorse, and memories of wrongs he has done to others, what he craves more than anything is forgiveness – and solitude.
Instead, he meets Lotus, an exuberant yet lonely young woman who insists on trying to help him, although he’s determined to keep her at bay. He doesn’t want or need anyone. But late one night, when his dog starts howling, Jack discovers a shivering and wet stranger on his property. Is this man dangerous, or someone who simply needs his help? His late wife would want him to show kindness, but he can’t help suspecting the man’s motives. And what should he do about the unwanted friendship from Lotus?
A powerfully compelling story with a spiralling, slow-burn intensity which escalates into a propulsive, gut-wrenching and achingly beautiful read, Later, Only Love Remains is a story about violence, birth and death, the yearning for redemption and the endless wellspring that is love.
about the moderator
LAURA MCCLUSKEY is a writer, editor and actor. Born and raised in Melbourne’s north-east, until early adulthood her entire life existed within a fifteen-minute radius. McCluskey studied journalism at La Trobe University, moved into digital content and marketing, then started acting across theatre, film and television, and co-founded a theatre company in 2019 called Three Fates Theatre Company. Then in 2023, she co-founded a film company, Sybilline Films. Her debut novel, The Wolf Tree, the first in a series featuring Scottish detectives George Lennox and Richie Stewart, was published by HarperCollins in 2025, and her follow up novel The Cursed Road was published on 24 February this year and available in store or online.
McCluskey comes from a big family, spends a lot of time running around after nephews, and wishes that she was a much better cook. She lives in Naarm/Melbourne.
Cursed Road
Available Now
The hauntingly atmospheric and gripping new novel from the author of The Wolf Tree
In a mountainous region of the Scottish Highlands, a young woman’s body has been found on a remote stretch of road. Though the manner of her death suggests a terrible accident, a name carved into her arm hints at something more sinister. And when a personal connection to the name is revealed, DIs Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to investigate.
As George and Richie question locals, they discover that the road has a bloody history. Fearing that more women will be harmed, they track the killer through a rugged wilderness where ancient feuds, generational curses and the unforgiving elements fight for supremacy. But there are more secrets to the road than just its history – and the people living along it will do whatever it takes to stop those secrets from coming out.