We publish books that matter — narrative and literary nonfiction on important topics, and the best of local, international, and translated fiction.

Join Readings to celebrate the release of Jay Carmichael’s Marlo.

Marlo is a beautiful new novel from the author of Ironbark. It’s the 1950s in conservative Australia, and Christopher, a young gay man, moves to ‘the City’ to escape the repressive atmosphere of his tiny hometown. Once there, however, he finds that it is just as censorial and punitive, in its own way. Then Christopher meets Morgan, and the two fall in love — a love that breathes truth back into Christopher’s stifled life…

This event is free to attend but bookings are essential.

Jay Carmichael is a writer and editor whose first novel, Ironbark, was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction in 2019, and whose writing has been published by Beyond Blue and appeared widely in print and online, including in Overland, The Guardian, SBS, and The Telling Tree project. Jay lives and works in Melbourne.