Author talk: Riley Knight
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Hear from hit podcast host and author Riley Knight as part of our Star-Studded Spring showcase! Whether you’re a fan of his podcast Half-Arsed History or just love a great story, you’ll be enchanted by Riley’s book The Most Interesting People You’ve Never Heard Of.
Free event. Bookings required.
About the book:
Untold true stories of fascinating lives throughout history to the modern day from the host of the popular Half-Arsed History podcast. With 7.5 years and 650+ episodes of his podcast, Riley’s new book shines a light on fascinating figures from history whose stories 'don’t' deserve their current obscurity.
History is just a collection of the stories we’ve decided are worth remembering. Of the 100 billion people who have lived, only a tiny proportion of their stories have survived; to make things worse, of these surviving stories we have a bad habit of remembering the same few over and over again.
Maybe this is fair enough; often these are the stories of people who conquered vast continents, ruled great empires, invented exciting things that flash or beep.
This book isn’t about them. This book is about those found on the margins of history: those whose stories are not quite forgotten, but nowhere near as well-remembered or well-known as they should be. People whose lives were strange, fascinating, remarkable, or entertaining, but who fell short of securing the correct combination of timing, publicity, and suitable moral instructiveness for their stories to achieve widespread, global fame. They’ve instead been overshadowed by those who were larger, louder, or simply better when it came to commissioning portraits.
From the ancient Greek philosopher who lived in a jar to the first person to fly (naked) over the English Channel; from the jester who was gifted a grand manor for the quality of his farts to the Pope who hosted orgies before selling the papacy for money; from the opera singer who burnt down a nunnery to rescue her girlfriend to the prime minister who was killed and eaten by his people - history is littered with little-known stories that are amusing, astonishing, absurd, and, above all else, interesting.
About the author:
Riley Knight is the host of Half-Arsed History, a weekly podcast highlighting absurd and entertaining stories from history. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Riley became a primary school teacher after finishing his mostly-useless Arts degree, and began Half-Arsed History as a hobby while teaching grade three. The podcast has only grown since then, with millions of downloads across the world, live shows across Australia, and now a growing series of books.
After spending almost a decade living in Europe, Riley now lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, and consistently produces new episodes of Half-Arsed History every week (except when the cricket is on, at which time he produces them inconsistently). He enjoys reading, long-distance running, and collecting little historical artefacts.
Free event. Bookings required.
About the book:
Untold true stories of fascinating lives throughout history to the modern day from the host of the popular Half-Arsed History podcast. With 7.5 years and 650+ episodes of his podcast, Riley’s new book shines a light on fascinating figures from history whose stories 'don’t' deserve their current obscurity.
History is just a collection of the stories we’ve decided are worth remembering. Of the 100 billion people who have lived, only a tiny proportion of their stories have survived; to make things worse, of these surviving stories we have a bad habit of remembering the same few over and over again.
Maybe this is fair enough; often these are the stories of people who conquered vast continents, ruled great empires, invented exciting things that flash or beep.
This book isn’t about them. This book is about those found on the margins of history: those whose stories are not quite forgotten, but nowhere near as well-remembered or well-known as they should be. People whose lives were strange, fascinating, remarkable, or entertaining, but who fell short of securing the correct combination of timing, publicity, and suitable moral instructiveness for their stories to achieve widespread, global fame. They’ve instead been overshadowed by those who were larger, louder, or simply better when it came to commissioning portraits.
From the ancient Greek philosopher who lived in a jar to the first person to fly (naked) over the English Channel; from the jester who was gifted a grand manor for the quality of his farts to the Pope who hosted orgies before selling the papacy for money; from the opera singer who burnt down a nunnery to rescue her girlfriend to the prime minister who was killed and eaten by his people - history is littered with little-known stories that are amusing, astonishing, absurd, and, above all else, interesting.
About the author:
Riley Knight is the host of Half-Arsed History, a weekly podcast highlighting absurd and entertaining stories from history. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Riley became a primary school teacher after finishing his mostly-useless Arts degree, and began Half-Arsed History as a hobby while teaching grade three. The podcast has only grown since then, with millions of downloads across the world, live shows across Australia, and now a growing series of books.
After spending almost a decade living in Europe, Riley now lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, and consistently produces new episodes of Half-Arsed History every week (except when the cricket is on, at which time he produces them inconsistently). He enjoys reading, long-distance running, and collecting little historical artefacts.
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Where is it happening?
Capalaba Library, Capalaba Town Centre, Noeleen St,Capalaba,QLD,Australia
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherLibraries - Redland City Council
