Michael Burge in conversation with Catherine du Peloux Menagé

In Dirt Trap, Michael Burge delivers rural noir at its most urgent. The book is a fearless reckoning with queer history, institutional failure and the human cost of silence in small-town Australia. With sharp prose and a taut plot, Burge asks: can justice ever be found in a community that doesn’t want it?

Join Michael Burge in conversation with crime queen Catherine du Peloux Menagé as they lead us into the shadows of a small town, unpacking the story behind Dirt Trap. Together, they’ll explore the importance of queer voices in Australian crime fiction, and how rural noir can both challenge and entertain.

📅 Tuesday 18 November | 12.30 PM – 1.30 PM

📍 SMSA, Henry Carmichael Theatre, Level 1, 280 Pitt Street

🎟️ Free for SMSA members, $10 for Friends and Non-Members

Don’t miss this powerhouse duo in conversation — fresh from the stage at

Michael Burge is a journalist, author, publisher and artist who lives at Deepwater on Ngarrabul Country in the New England region of NSW.

His debut novel and its sequel Dirt Trap (both released by MidnightSun Publishing) are a rural noir storytelling cycle about homophobia and justice in the bush.

His non-fiction debut lifted the lid on familial and institutional homophobia in Australia and was selected for the first LGBTIQ+ panel at Brisbane Writers Festival.

Michael is publisher at High Country Books, an imprint of The Makers Shed, the creative hub he co-manages at Deepwater, NSW.

Journalist James Brandt has spent two decades avoiding the shadows of his rural hometown - the site of brutal homophobic attacks and the death of his cousin. But when a state inquiry into gay-hate crime reopens old wounds and a member of the notorious Jones family turns up dead, James finds himself the prime suspect.

"Michael Burge's Dirt Trap is everything you love about classic rural noir but with diverse characters who better represent the complexity of Australian country towns. His compelling plot will have you racing to the finish and leave you wanting more. What a breath of fresh air!" Gabrielle Chan author of Rusted Off

"Crime fiction at its most vital. A fearless reckoning with queer history and institutional failure. Dirt Trap lays bare the human cost of silence within the closed ranks of a rural Australian town and what it takes to break it. Can justice be found in a community that does not want it?" R. W. R. McDonald author of The Nancys

Host or Publisher Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA)