author event: karen viggers
thursday 15 february || 6.30pm
In store | Tickets $15 | Bookings essential
We are delighted to kick off our 2024 events with a visit from Karen Viggers, who is the author of five novels, the latest of which is Sidelines.
Karen will be in conversation with fellow author, Irma Gold, with whom she hosts a podcast for writers called Secrets From The Green Room.
6.15pm arrival for a 6.30pm start.
Sidelines
Release date 3 January 2024
When a violent brawl erupts at a suburban junior soccer game, some onlookers are shocked. But others saw it coming. Rivalry, parental pressure, coaching bias, inequity, and many other factors have played a part in turning Saturday mornings into a pressure cooker.
Thirteen-year-old Audrey is a talented young football player. But does she want to play for Australia or does she just want to please her father, Ben, whose own thwarted sporting career looms large in his ambitions for his daughter? Audrey’s mother, Jonica, doesn’t know whether to be more concerned about her anxious daughter, her overbearing husband, or the only other girl on the team, Katerina, who is causing trouble on and off the field. And Katerina’s mother, Carmen, is so busy looking for opportunities to give Katerina more game time that she fails to notice what is really capturing her daughter’s attention.
When Griffin, a naturally gifted player with spectacular skills, arrives, the tension within the team reaches boiling point. But who is going to crack first – the parents or the players?
about the author
Karen Viggers is the author of five novels: The Stranding, The Lightkeeper’s Wife, The Grass Castle, The Orchardist’s Daughter and Sidelines. She writes contemporary fiction set in Australian communities and landscapes. Her work explores connection with the bush, grief and loss, healing in nature, death, family pressures, marriage and friendship. And tackles contentious issues including empowerment at the end of life, domestic violence (both physical and psychological), whale rescue, kangaroo culling, scientific research on animals, logging of native forests, and now, parental behaviour in kids’ sport.
Karen is a wildlife veterinarian who has worked and travelled in many remote parts of Australia, from Antarctica to the Kimberley. Her novels are known for their evocative portrayal of Australian people and landscapes. Her books have been translated into French, Italian, Norwegian, Slovenian, Spanish, Dutch, Romanian and Croatian.
Karen hosts a podcast with fellow author, Irma Gold, called Secrets from the Green Room. In each episode Irma and Karen chat with a writer about their experience of the writing and publishing process in honest green room-style, uncovering some of the plain and simple truths, as well as some of the secrets – whether they be mundane or salubrious – and having a lot of fun in the process.