All Things Austen! Jane Austen Anniversary Special
Schedule
Sun Oct 26 2025 at 05:00 am to 06:00 am
UTC+11:00Location
National Library of Australia | Canberra, CT
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Be part of this major event as we celebrate all things Austen! Over 200 years since Jane Austen's works were first published, her insights into daily life, manners, love and tragedy are more relevant and recognisable than ever. Popular Secret Life of Books podcasters Sophie Gee and Jonty Claypole moderate an amazing international panel, including Wild for Austen author Devoney Looser (joining us all the way from the USA!), Emily Maguire (author of acclaimed Rapture), and President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia (and authorial cat lover), Susannah Fullerton. But the most important member of this event is you! Clip on your imaginary bonnet or slip into your breeches and join your Jane Austen-loving community for this once-in-a-lifetime celebration; for as Mr Darcy would say, "My feelings will not be repressed!" Devoney Looser, Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University, is author or editor of twelve books, most recently Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane. Her previous books include Sister Novelists (2022) and The Making of Jane Austen (2017). Looser has published essays in The Atlantic, New York Times, Salon, Slate, The TLS, and the Washington Post, and her series of 24 30-minute lectures on Austen is available through The Great Courses and Audible. In addition to being a quirky Janeite book nerd, Looser has played roller derby under the name Stone Cold Jane Austen.
Susannah Fullerton is the longtime President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia. She has written several books about Jane Austen, including Jane Austen and Crime, A Dance with Jane Austen and Happily Ever After: Celebrating Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and also Brief Encounters: Literary Travellers in Australia. Her new book is Great Writers and the Cats who Owned Them. She leads popular literary tours around the world for Australians Studying Abroad.
Emily Maguire is the author of seven novels and three non-fiction books. Her novel An Isolated Incident was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award, and her 2022 book Love Objects was shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year. She was the 2018 Writer-in-Residence at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney and the 2023 HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellow at the Australian National University. Emily has an MA in literature and works as a mentor to young and emerging writers. Her latest book is the novel, Rapture.
General admission tickets: $30
Concession tickets: $26
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Where is it happening?
National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Parkes,Canberra,ACT,AustraliaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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