March 31

A conversation with

Bob Carr

Maleny Community Centre

Tuesday 31st March

6 for 6.30pm

Tickets $30 and $20 for students

Bookings essential

And, introducing,

Emily Lighezzolo

At Outspoken we are delighted - honoured in fact - to open our 2026 series of  conversations with former journalist and State Premier, Bob Carr, speaking about his new memoir, Bring Back Yesterday.

In October 2023 Bob’s wife of more than fifty years, Helena, died suddenly. In this memoir he records his attempt to deal with his grief, switching between the present time, with him pacing the night-time streets of Sydney, and reflections on his shared past with Helena, including ruminations on travel, conversations and cultural curiosity. Books & Publishing puts it this way: these memories ‘form a mosaic of a relationship rather than a linear account of grief… shifting from first to third-person narration, offering an almost observational distance, as though he is watching himself from afar, his grief rendered universal. There is a gentle melancholy running through Bring Back Yesterday, but it is never indulgent… rather it is… comparable in tone and subject to Geraldine Brooks’s Memorial Days and Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking. Bring Back Yesterday is a memoir that feels possible only after a full life that has been well lived.

Bob Carr was the longest serving Premier of NSW. A committed conservationist, he used his term in power to create literally hundreds of National Parks, preserving vast areas of wilderness. He later held the position of Foreign Minister under Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. He is the author of four books, including The Diary of a Foreign Minister.

 'A soul-searing portrait of love and loss ... This unsparing account of a powerful man unravelled by grief is a brave gift to all who have suffered, and will suffer, the inevitable tragedy of being human.' Geraldine Brooks

'A memoir of raw and extraordinary power' David Marr

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear one of Australia’s most remarkable men in conversation.

Introducing author to be confirmed.

Mr Carr will be in conversation with Steven Lang.

And, introducing

Emily Lighezzolo

We’re very pleased to be able to have Emily Lighezzolo as our introducing author. Emily’s debut novel, Life Drawing, won the Glendower Award in the Qld Literary Awards.

Emily has been working in the publishing industry for over a decade (and has attended Outspoken events as a companion to other authors) This time she’s here in her own right! We couldn’t be more pleased, especially when her book is so good.

May 12

A conversation with

Lisa Wilkinson AM

in conversation

Maleny Community Centre

6 for 6.30pm,

Tickets $30 and $20 for students

Bookings essential

And, Introducing:

David Carlin & Peta Murray

speaking about their book

How to Dress for Old Age

Would you like to support what we do?

We receive no external funding - it’s how we maintain our independence. You can give a tax deductible donation by clicking on the Support Us button, this arrangement if facilitated through the Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation. They pass on all funds received to us.