Crime writing events around the country
ACT
Friday 16 October, 6.00 pm: Canberra Writers Festival. Women of Crime with Jane Caro, Näima Brown and Petronella McGovern. Fiction can tell powerful stories about women standing together to solve crimes against other women. Is there anything more page turning than an everyday hero taking justice into her own hands? Hyatt Hotel Canberra. Wine & nibbles. $50. Book here.
Saturday 24 October, 5 pm – 6:30 pm. Light Rail Local Reads – on board! An exclusive and free onboard reading event with authors bringing their books to life while readers travel through Canberra. Hear from Sisters in Crime award-winning author, Sulari Gentill, plus Jack Heath, Robert Macklin, Chris Hammer, Karen Viggers and Andra Putnis. Starts at Gungahlin Place Light Rail Stop. Please book here.
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.
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.
Wednesday 21 & Friday 23 October, 10:00 am – 5:30 pm AEDT. Virtual Literary Speed Dating. Have a completed manuscript ready for the submission process? The Australian Society of Authors successful Virtual Literary Speed Dating event gives writers a unique three-minute opportunity to pitch to Australian publishers and agents. $30 for ASA members. Book here.
Wednesday 28 October, 12.30-1.30 pm. BAD Sydney Crime Book Club at the Sydney Mechanics School of the Arts. Discussion of Petronella McGovern’s Every Time She Wakes. Petronella will be in conversation with host Sue Turnbull. BAD book-clubbers receive discounts from Abbey’s Bookstore in Sydney CBD for each month’s selected title after ticket purchase. Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney. $10. Book here.
Friday 6 November-Sunday 8 November: Berry Writers’ Festival. Includes Kirsty Manning, and Dervla McTiernan. More info and bookings here.
Friday 20-Saturday 21 November: 10th BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival. Info here.
Queensland
Saturday 17 October, 1:30 pm-3:50 pm: Sisters in Crime QLD 2026 Crime Writing Showcase featuring Harrie Blake, T.M. Clark, January Gilchrist, Georgia Harper, Joanna Jenkins, Tess Merlin, Nikki Mottram, Chris Robbins, Carla Salmon, Edwina Shaw and Shailee Thompson. Brisbane Square Library, 266 George Street, Brisbane. Free, but please book.
South Australia
Wednesday 14 October, Case Files: Life in the Police Force, with former Detectives Kelly Clarke and Debbie Shearer. Host Samantha Battams. Seven Stars Hotel, 186/187 Angas St, Adelaide. $21 (concession); $25 (members/Writers SA); $30. Bookings here.
Keep up to date with South Australian activities on Sisters in Crime’s dedicated Facebook group.
Tasmania
Victoria
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 7.30 pm: Melbourne’s True Crime Tour. ‘Enjoy a leisurely guided walking tour revisiting historic true crime spots that will leave you speechless.’ $35. Book here.
Wednesday 7 October, 6.15 pm: Suzie Miller and Marieke Hardy, about her new book Inter Alia, “a searing, intimate examination of modern masculinity, motherhood, and systemic justice, revealing the fragile compromises women must make to survive under enduring patriarchal structures”. Readings event. Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton. $10; Book and ticket – $35, including a signed copy of Inter Alia. Book here.
Thursday 8 October, 6.00 pm: All crime fans are invited to the launch of Something He Did, by S K Lynch. In the gridlocked heart of Melbourne, a split-second of road rage changes everything. Detective Sergeant Claudia Russo doesn’t care about the insurance claims – but the girl’s father, a man defined by entitlement and influence, is playing a dangerous game. . . Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St., Carlton Free, but please book here.
Friday 16 October, 8.00 pm: Sisters in Crime – the comfort of cosy crime. Penny Tangey (What Rhymes with Murder), Kate Solly (The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Bust-Up), and A.M. Stuart (Christmas at the Convent) will be exploring the joys (and challenges) of cosy crime with Alison Goodman, the multi-award-winning novelist and New York Times best-seller. Followed by a brief Annual General Meeting. Dinner from 6.30 pm. Show at 8 pm. Rising Sun Hotel, 2 Raglan St., South Melbourne. Book here.
Wednesday 28 October, 6.30 pm: Vikki Petraitis in conversation with Robert Gott about her latest novel, The Reckoning, an unflinching, morally uncompromising crime novel about thwarted justice, institutional failure, exacted revenge, and the price paid when the system looks away. Beaumaris Library, 96 Reserve Road, Beaumaris. Free, but please book.
Thursday 12 November, 6.15 pm–7.15 pm: Hear world-famous author Liane Moriarty in conversation about her highly anticipated new novel, Big Little Truths, with beloved Melbourne author Toni Jordan. Union Theatre, University of Melbourne, 15 Monash Road, Parkville. Presented by Readings, UMAC and The Wheeler Centre. $40; Under 30s/concession $35. Book here.
Saturday 14 November, 10:30 am-12:00 pm: Seymour Crime Lovers Festival – Crime Writing Workshop with Vikki Petraitis. A practical, engaging workshop on writing compelling crime fiction. Seymour Customer and Library Service Centre
125 Anzac Avenue, Seymour. Free, but please book here.
Saturday 14 November, 1.00-2.00 pm: Seymour Crime Lovers Festival – From True Crime to Fiction. Join Emily Webb and Vikki Petraitis for a compelling conversation about true crime, podcasting and the journey from real cases to crime fiction. Seymour Customer and Library Service Centre, 125 Anzac Avenue, Seymour. Free, but please book here.
Saturday 14 November, 2.30-3.30 pm: Seymour Crime Lovers Festival. Small towns. Dark secrets. Big crimes. Emily Webb chairs a conversation with Vikki Petraitis, Bronwyn Hall and Lyn Yeowart about why rural and regional Australia provide such rich territory for crime fiction. Seymour Customer and Library Service Centre, 125 Anzac Avenue, Seymour. Free, but please book here.
Wednesday 18 November, 6.00 pm: All crime fans are invited to the launch of Dark Days Hotel, the new twisty thriller by Anna Downes. It starts with a young woman – barefoot, in silk pyjamas and holding a hotel room key – collapsing in the carpark of a Tasmanian hospital. . . Readings Hawthorn, 687 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn. Free, but please book here.
Saturday 21 November, 6 for 6.30pm: 33rd Scarlet Stiletto Awards. Presented by Vikki Petraitis and hosted by Kerryn Mayne. Sit-down dinner. The Stamford Plaza, 111 Little Collins St, Melbourne. Booking details coming soon.
Western Australia
Friday 9 October, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Totally Lit – Adventures in the Port City. Prime Crime with authors Jane Caro and Sara Foster who are best-selling crime/thriller writers known for their strong, complex female characters. They will be in conversation with Gillian O’Shaughnessy. Fremantle Prison East Workshops. $50.00 (includes wine and light catering). Book here.
Saturday 10 October, 10.00 am – 6.00 pm: Totally Lit – Adventures in the Port City. Crime Time – Full Day Pass. Featuring Ruth McIver, Emma Pignatiello, Sophie McNeill, Samiha Olwan, Meg Caddy and various male authors. Individual session tickets are also available. Fremantle Prison East Workshops. $50.00. Book here.