ACT
Tuesday 24 February, 6 pm: Canberra launch of Like Follow Die by Sydney Sisters in Crime member Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with Chris Hammer. This provocative psychological thriller dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. Kambri Cinema (Lowitja O’Donoghue Cultural Centre), 153 Tangney Road, Acton. Free, but please book.
New South Wales
Murders Most Foul Sydney True Crime Weekly Walking Tours. Sydney walking tours are guided by historians and archaeologists who take you off the tourist path, into the back streets, hidden bays and coves, and across the secret gardens, in search of forgotten stories, relics and mysteries. From $35. Book here.
Thursday 19 February, 3 pm onwards: An Afternoon with Tara Moss. Kick off your very BAD year with three linked sessions to celebrate the return of bestselling author Tara Moss to Australia and her new book The Italian Secret. Begin with a walking tour of locations haunted by Tara’s protagonist, war correspondent Billie Walker, before joining Sue Turnbull and Tara at Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts for a chat – and wine and nibbles – about her life as a bestselling author, human rights activist and model. Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney. Book here.
Note: 3.00 – 4.30 pm walking tour; 5.00-6.00 pm author talk; 6.15-7.15 pm drinks and nibbles. Please note: tickets to all three sessions in the afternoon are sold separately.
Fourth Wednesday of the month, February-November, 12.30-1.30 pm. BAD Sydney Crime Book Club at the Sydney Mechanics School of the Arts. At each session, the conversation will be led by a member of the BAD board, each an expert in various aspects of crime writing. $10 per session, bookings essential. Places are limited, and booking in advance is essential. See you there! BAD book-clubbers receive discounts from Abbey’s Bookstore in Sydney CBD for each month’s selected title after ticket purchase, plus the opportunity to meet the author at the session where we discuss their book. Every month there will also be a lucky door prize of your next great crime read! February booking here. March booking here.
Sunday 8 March, 4 pm: Join Sisters in Crime member Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with author Kylie Needham about her latest cybercrime thriller, Like, Follow, Die, praised by Claudia Karvan for its ‘chilling authenticity’. Dormie House, 38 Arthur Street Moss Vale. $25 entry includes glass of wine. Book here.
Friday 13 March, 6pm for 6.30 pm: Sydney Sister in Crime Natalie Conyer in conversation with Tim Ayliffe about her third novel, Finding the Bones, inspired by the true story of the disappearance of journalist and urban activist Juanita Nielsen in Sydney in 1975. It remains an unresolved case to this day. Upstairs at Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. Free, but please book.
Thursday 19 March, 6.00 pm: Wollongong launch of Like Follow Die by Sydney Sisters in Crime member Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with Hayley Scrivenor. This provocative psychological thriller dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. Wollongong Library, 41 Burelli Street Wollongong, details here.
Thursday 26 March, 6.00 pm: Join Sisters in Crime member Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with author Anna Downes about her latest cybercrime thriller, Like, Follow, Die, praised by Claudia Karvan for its ‘chilling authenticity’. The Hive, Erina Fair Shopping Centre, North South Road, Erina. Free, but please book here.
Tuesday 31 March, 6 for 6.30 pm: Join Claudia Karvan and Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with James McKenzie Watson for the Sydney launch of Ashley’s third psychological thriller, Like, Follow, Die. Claudia is the audiobook narrator for protagonist Corinne Gray, a mother who faces an impossible choice after her son is drawn to the darkest corners of the internet. Upstairs at Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. $15/$10. Book here.
Tuesday 14 April: The Changing Role of the Victim in Crime Fiction. The dead blonde on the slab has a voice. Over the last century, the victim has moved from the necessary pretext for a novel to playing a role centre stage. Sue Turnbull (Sister in Crime’s ambassador, crime reviewer, academic, and writer) and Felix Shannon (broadcaster, host of Flex and Herds, and crime fiction critic) will discuss this change in the books which show it best. Save the date! Bookings opening soon. The Women’s Club, 179 Elizabeth St, Sydney.
Wednesday 22 April, 12.30-1.30 pm: BAD Sydney Crime Book Club. Natalie Conyer in conversation with Michael Burge re her new novel, Finding the Bones. Natalie won the 2020 Ned Kelly Best Debut award. Finding the Bones is her third novel and features Detective Jackie Rose on the hunt to solve a very old cold case from Sydney’s crime-riddled 1980s. Garry Disher called this ‘a compelling crime novel about corruption, compromise and the persistence of the past.’ Tom Keneally Centre, Level 3, Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street Sydney. Bring a sandwich to eat beforehand, from 12pm. $10 per session. Please book here.
Thursday 7 May: Women & Crime. Feminist, columnist, and crime novelist Jane Caro puts women at the centre of her books and sits down with two authors who do the same. Georgia Harper will introduce her second gripping novel Dove, joined by Mercedes Mercier whose third twisty story is The Couple’s Retreat. Stay for a drink afterwards with the speakers. Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney. Save the date! Bookings opening soon.
Queensland
Friday 13 February, 6 for 6.30 pm: Celebrate Shailee Thompson’s How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates. A hilarious, swoony and downright terrifying horror romance in which a cinephile gets caught in the middle of a murder spree at a speed-dating event and must use her a knowledge of the rom-com and horror genres to make it as a real-life Final Girl. $15.00; Book and ticket deal $45.00. Avid Reader, 193 Boundary Street, West End. Book here.
Wednesday 11 March, 6.00 pm for a 6.30 pm start: Brisbane launch of Shellybanks by Louise Milligan, in conversation with Mirandi Riwoe, bothSisters in Crime members. Concerns a violent crime in Melbourne, and buried trauma in Ireland. Avid Reader, 193 Boundary Street, West End. $15.00; Book and ticket deal $40.00. Book here.
Saturday 14 March, 2 pm for a 2.30 pm: Launch of Like Follow Die by Sydney Sisters in Crime member, Ashley Kalagian Blunt, in conversation with Mikki Fisher. It’s a provocative psychological thriller that dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. Avid Reader, 193 Boundary Street, West End. $15.00. Book and ticket deal $45.00. Book here.
Friday 15 May, 6.00 pm for a 6.30pm start: Join Georgia Harper and Mercedes Mercier for a conversation about their new crime novels – The Dove and The Couples Retreat – which explore of coercive control as seen through a genre lens. Georgia won the 2025 Davitt Award for debut crime fiction. Avid Reader, 193 Boundary Street, West End. $15.00. Book and ticket deal $79.99. Book here.
Keep up to date with Queensland activities on Sisters in Crime’s dedicated Facebook page.
South Australia
Tuesday 14 April, 6 pm: Join Ashley Kalagian Blunt for her first-ever Adelaide launch, in conversation with Michelle Prak about her new psychological thriller, Like, Follow, Die. Praised by Claudia Karvan for its ‘chilling authenticity’, the story explores the impossible choice a mother is forced to make after her son is drawn to the darkest corners of the internet. Read Between the Wines, The Strathmore, 129 North Terrace Adelaide. $25 includes glass of wine, and book, and dinner discounts. Book here.
Keep up to date with South Australian activities on Sisters in Crime’s dedicated Facebook group.
Tasmania
Monday 9 March, 4.30 pm: Hobart launch of the new psychological thriller by Sydney Sister in Crime Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with Jo Dixon. Like, Follow, Die explores the impossible choice a mother is forced to make after her son is drawn to the darkest corners of the internet. The Hobart Bookshop, 22 Salamanca Square, Battery Point. Free, but please book.
Tuesday 10 March, 5.30 pm: Join Sydney Sister in Crime Ashley Kalagian Blunt for her first-ever Launceston event, in conversation with Maggie MacKellar about Like, Follow, Die, her provocative psychological thriller that dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. Launceston Library, 71 Civic Square Launceston. Free, but please book here.
Victoria
Friday 20 February, 8:00 pm: Sisters in Crime. Feuding & fatal families. Families may be related by blood – but they can also involve blood-letting, sometimes with fatal consequences. Three Victorian authors – Tanya Scott (Still Water), Fiona Lowe (The Drowning), and Kirstyn McDermott (What the Bones Know) – will dissect the institution of the family and its criminal complexity in different ways. They will reveal all to fellow author, Lyn Yeowart. Dinner from 6.30 pm. The Rising Sun Hotel, 2 Raglan Street, South Melbourne. Book here.
Tuesday 24 February, 6.00 pm: Invitation to crime fans to celebrate the launch of The Cursed Road by Laura McCluskey, in conversation with Brooke Michie. In a mountainous region of the Scottish Highlands, a young woman’s body has been found on a remote stretch of road . . . DIs Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to investigate. Readings at Crystal Palace and Courtyard, 743–745 Nicholson St, Carlton North. Free, but please book.
Tuesday 3 March, 6.30 pm: Sisters in Crime@Readings. Vikki Petraitis in conversation about her book on the Phillip Island mystery, The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron, with Vice-president Lindy Cameron (no relation). Readings State Library, 285-321 Russell St, Melbourne. Free, but please book.
Wednesday 4 March, 6.00 pm: Join Katherine Collette as she launches Old Games by Fiona Hardy, the follow up to Unbury the Dead. A pacey, off-beat Aussie crime story about two best female friends and investigators unravelling the private lives of Melbourne’s celebrity sportspeople. Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St, Carlton. Free, but please book.
Thursday 5 March, 6.00 pm: Louise Milligan in conversation with Marieke Hardy re her latest novel, Shellybanks, about a violent crime in Melbourne, and buried trauma in Ireland. $10 or $35 plus a signed copy of Shellybanks. A Readings event at Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton. Book here.
Monday 16 March, 6.00 pm: Open invitation to the launch of Sydney Sisters in Crime member, Ashley Kalagian Blunt’s Like, Follow, Die, a provocative psychological thriller that dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St, Carlton. Free, but please book.
Monday 16 March, 6.00 pm: Open invitation to the launch of Sydney Sisters in Crime member, Ashley Kalagian Blunt’s Like, Follow, Die, a provocative psychological thriller that dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St, Carlton. Free, but please book.
Tuesday 17 March, 11 am: Join author Ashley Kalagian Blunt, in conversation with Fiona Taylor, to discuss her new psychological thriller praised by Claudia Karvan for its ‘chilling authenticity’. Like, Follow, Die explores the impossible choice a mother is forced to make after her son is drawn to the darkest corners of the internet. Mornington Library, Vancouver St, Mornington. Free, but please book here.
Saturday 21 March, 10:00 am: Hear Me Roar: Fearless Female Characters in Crime with Fiona Hardy, Vikki Petraitis, and Christian White. Chair Jacqui Horwood. Clunes Booktown Festival, Tin Shed, 67 Fraser Street Clunes. $25. Book here.
Tuesday 31 March, 6.00 pm: Celebrate the launch of Click by Sarah Bailey. Melbourne is gripped by fear after a backpacker’s body is found with a cryptic note, and two more women vanish without trace . . . Readings Emporium, Level 1, Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Free, but please book.
Thursday 2 April, 5.00 – 6.30 pm. Sarah Bailey in conversation with Cecile Shanahan about her latest thriller, Click (Allen & Unwin), where the city is on edge, a killer is playing games, and two women are determined to bring him down. Bendigo Library, 251 Hargreaves St, Bendigo. Free, but please book.
Tuesday 28 April, 6.00 pm: Global best-seller and Sisters in Crime member, Dervla McTiernan,in conversation with J.P. Pomare about her new stand-alone thriller, Three Reasons for Revenge. Readings’ event at Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton. $35 includes a signed copy. Book here.
Western Australia
Thursday 26 February, 6.45 pm: Perth launch of Like Follow Die by Sydney Sisters in Crime member Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with Chris Hammer. This provocative psychological thriller dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. AH Bracks Library, 431 Canning Highway, Melville. $7. Book here.
Tuesday 3 March, 7.00 pm: Sydney Sisters in Crime member, Ashley Kalagian Blunt, in conversationwith fellow Sister in Crime Holly Craig about Like, Follow, Die, her provocative psychological thriller that dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children. Hosted by Books in the Brewery, Ambrose Estate. Join the waitlist here.
Thursday 23 April, 6.00-9.00 pm: Crime with Wine Vol. 3: Tanya Scott, Lisa Ellery, Sara Foster, and Dawn Farnham, all Sisters in Crime authors. They’ll be discussing their new books and all things crime. Hosted by Books in the Brewery. The Red Room Leederville. $10.00 [Early Bird]; $35.00 Early Bird [Event Ticket & Book Deal ticket]; $100.00 [Crime Lovers Deal – Event Ticket & All 3 Books ticket]. Book here.