Weekend Sunrise on Channel 7

I’ve been so grateful to have opportunities to sit down with Susan Davies, president and co-founder of Sharing with Friends, to talk about the different but complementary approaches we have taken to address the frightening increase in the number of older single women living in insecure housing.

Susan is bringing about change through her organisation by providing secure and affordable housing solutions for vulnerable older women and I’m raising awareness through my novel about an older woman who has lost her family home after a divorce and is now living in a caravan. But to have the opportunity to sit with Susan for an interview on Weekend Sunrise on Channel 7, was more than either of us could have hoped for!

Grab a coffee and join us if you can on Saturday 25 July at 8:45AM.

Hosts: Monique Wright and David Woiwod

Scrumptious Reads - Author Event

I’ll be sitting down with Anita Heiss (The Paradise Pact) to chat about PEOPLE LIKE US at Scrumptious Reads in their beautiful event space that allows for a more intimate conversation.

Numbers are limited for this ticketed event, which includes food and wine. To secure your place, you can book for the event here.

Venue: Scrumptious Reads

Address: 92A Arthur Terrace, Red Hill, Brisbane

Date: Tuesday 18 August 2026

Time: 6:30PM for a 7PM start.

Rosetta Books - The Red Room

I will be in conversation with Lea Dodd about my novel PEOPLE LIKE US in The Red Room at Rosetta Books.

Lea will be donating $5 from every book sale on the night to the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre to help in their work supporting homelessness in the area.

There is a $5 charge for the event, which includes a glass of wine and cheese/fruit platter. Bookings for the event can be made here.

Venue: The Red Room, accessed via the carpark behind Rosetta Books

Address: 30 Maple Street, Maleny, QLD

Date: Tuesday 28 July 2026

Time: 5:30PM for a 6PM start

Book events for People Like Us

I will be doing a number of author events throughout Brisbane to talk about my new novel PEOPLE LIKE US. I’d love to see you there.

30 June at 6PM for a 6:30PM start - The Official Book Launch at The Loft in West End, where I will be in-conversation with Susan Hocking. Royalties from my book sales on the night will be donated to Sharing with Friends, a not-for-profit organisation that is providing innovative housing solutions to older women living in precarious housing. It is a free event but you will need to register for it through the Avid Reader website.

3 July at 4-5PM - I will be on a Local Writers Panel, supported by the Copyright Agency, at the Association for the Study of Australian Literature Conference at University of Queensland, City Campus, Level 2, 308 Queen Street, Brisbane. Bookings for the event can be made here.

9 July at 6PM-7:30PM - I will be giving an author talk as part of the SPARK Ipswich Arts Festival at Ipswich Central Library, Nicholas Street Precinct, 11 Nicholas St, Ipswich. It is a free event but you will need to register for it here.

11 July at 10AM-11AM - I will be in-conversation with Susan Johnson at Indooroopilly Library, Level 4, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, 322 Moggill Road, Indooroopilly. It is a free event but you will need to register for it here.

16 July at 6PM for a 6:30PM start - I will be in-conversation with Kris Olsson at Books@Stones, 360 Logan Road, Stones Corner. It is a free event but you will need to register for it here.

29 September at 6PM for a 6:30PM start - I will be on a panel with fellow Brisbane writers Anita Heiss, Kris Kneen and Mirandi Riwoe where we will chat about Brisbane’s thriving literary landscape at Riverbend Books, 4/77 Oxford Street, Bulimba. You can book for this event here.

People Like Us Book Launch

Please join me for the launch of People Like Us, where I will be in conversation with Susan Hocking.

**I will be donating my royalties from book sales on the night to Sharing with Friends, a not-for-profit organisation committed to finding a solution to homelessness in older women.

Venue: The Loft, in association with Avid Reader Bookshop

Address: 100 Boundary Street, West End, Brisbane

Date: Tuesday 30 June 2026

Time: 6pm for a 6:30-7:30pm event

It is a free event but please register your attendance at Avid Reader Bookshop.

ABOUT THE BOOK

After Tina Lamb loses her family home in a bitter divorce, she finds herself living in a caravan on the city's fringes. Having raised four children and nursed her dying mum, she was not anticipating making a new start alone or from scratch. And while some of her new neighbours are welcoming, she soon finds herself getting far more attention than she bargained for.

When Tina finds work caring for a wealthy elderly woman, it is a welcome break from an ageist, sexist job market. But Mrs Bell is anything but predictable. Highly educated, acerbic and intimidating, she is not the straightforward charge that Tina had hoped for. As the two women form an unlikely friendship, they soon discover that financial security is about more than having money.

Topical and absorbing, People Like Us celebrates the power of female friendships and the promise of new beginnings found in unexpected places.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sally Piper is the author of four novels: Grace’s Table; The Geography of Friendship, which was shortlisted for the ABIA Small Publishers’ Adult Book of the Year; Bone Memories, a finalist in the Queensland Literary Awards for a Work of State Significance and the People’s Choice Book of the Year Award, and longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and a Davitt Award and her latest People Like Us. Her short fiction and non-fiction have been published in Australia and the UK, including Griffith Review, The Saturday Paper, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Weekend Australian. Sally holds a Master of Arts (Research) in Creative Writing from Queensland University of Technology. She is an active member of the Queensland writing community, where she presents workshops, leads in-conversations and mentors other writers.

Cover reveal

I am very excited to show you the cover for my new novel People Like Us to be published by University of Queensland Press on 30 June 2026.

The cover was designed by the very talented Christa Moffit of Christabella Designs.

The book is available for pre-order at UQP, all good bookstores such as Avid Reader Bookshop, or online at Booktopia or The Nile.

About the book

After Tina Lamb loses her family home in a bitter divorce, she finds herself living in a caravan on the city’s fringes. Having raised four children and nursed her dying mum, she was not anticipating making a new start alone or from scratch. And while some of her new neighbours are welcoming, she soon finds herself getting far more attention than she bargained for.

When Tina finds work caring for a wealthy elderly woman, it is a welcome break from an ageist, sexist job market. But Mrs Bell is anything but predictable. Highly educated, acerbic and intimidating, she is not the straightforward charge that Tina had hoped for. As the two women form an unlikely friendship, they soon discover that financial security is about more than having money.

Topical and absorbing, People Like Us celebrates the power of female friendships and the promise of new beginnings found in unexpected places.

In conversation with Jane Harper

HOSTED BY SALLY PIPER

Join bestselling author Jane Harper to celebrate the release of her new standalone crime novel, Last One Out – a compelling, suspenseful portrait of a grieving family and a struggling country town, unable to let go of the past, what they’ve lost, and each other.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering her work for the first time, this is a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of Australia’s most celebrated storytellers.

Last One Out Blurb

He had been here, that was clear from the marks in the dust. And he had been alone.

In a dying town, Ro Crowley waits for her son on the evening of his 21st birthday.

But Sam never comes home. His footprints in the dust of three abandoned houses offer the only clue to his final movements. One set in. One set out.

Five long years later, Ro returns to Carralon Ridge for the annual memorial of Sam’s disappearance. The skeletal community is now an echo of itself, having fractured under the pressure of the coal mine operating on its outskirts.

But Ro still wants answers. Only a few people remain. If the truth is to be found in that town, does it lie among them?

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jane Harper is the author of the international bestsellers The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man, The Survivors, and Exiles. Her books are published in forty territories with more than 3.5 million copies sold worldwide. She has won numerous top awards including the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year, The Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year, the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, and the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year. The Dry and Force of Nature have been adapted into major motion pictures starring Eric Bana, with The Survivors released as a Netflix series. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne with her husband, two children, and two cats. Last One Out is her sixth novel.

Venue: Brisbane Powerhouse

Address: 119 Lamington Street, New Farm, QLD 4005

Date: Tuesday 21st October

Time: 7:30pm

Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

Crime Fiction Literary Dinner

Wine and Crime with Ben's Book Club: A Crime Fiction Literary Dinner

Bookings have opened for the next Brisbane Crime Fiction Literary Dinner, organised and emceed by the unstoppable Poppy Gee (Vanishing Falls) and the panel moderated by Ben Hobson (The Death of John Lacey), of Ben’s Book Club fame.

The panelists are Sally Piper (Bone Memories), Rohan Wilson (Daughter of Bad Times) and P.A. Thomas (The Beacon).

Doors open at 6pm and dinner is served at 6:45pm with the author panel running from 7:30-8:30pm.

The authors’ books will be available for purchase on the night courtesy of Books@Stones Bookstore.

These events always sell out quickly, so to secure your place, make your booking here.

Date: Wednesday 26th February

Time: 6:00-9:00pm

Venue: Darling and Co, 157 Given Terrace, Paddington, Brisbane, QLD

Witnessing Landscapes: Nature Writing Masterclass with Sally Piper

TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO YOUR CONNECTIONS WITH THE NATURAL WORLD IN THIS INTERACTIVE MASTERCLASS, AND SHIFT YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF NATURE FROM A SENSORIAL EXPERIENCE TO A FELT EXPERIENCE, AND ULTIMATELY BE GUIDED IN WAYS TO IMAGINE NATURE BEYOND THE HUMAN.

Humans are often the only actors in a story, with place and landscapes little more than a stage upon which human activity is performed. This generative three-hour masterclass aims to redress this. Through a series of targeted prompts, writing exercises, readings and discussions, participants will be encouraged to re-imagine their relationship with the natural world and be guided in new ways to think and write about place and landscapes so that they become drivers of a story and not a passive or barely seen background presence.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

In this workshop, participants will:

• Be introduced to a variety of diverse readings to assist them in thinking and writing about the natural world in new and imaginative ways

• Learn practical strategies for making place and landscapes a driver of story and not just a barely seen background presence

• Be guided in ways to reimagine human relationships with the natural world beyond a sensorial experience to a felt experience

• Be empowered to develop their own unique and authentic voice when writing about the natural world.

FORMAT

This is an in-person workshop with a focus on writing craft; it will be held at State Library of Queensland. This workshop is suitable for writers of all levels and writing backgrounds.

DATE: Sunday, 19 May 2024

TIME: 10:30 am - 1:30 pm

VENUE: Queensland Writers Centre, State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101

To secure your place, please book here.

Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance

BONE MEMORIES is a finalist in the 2023 Queensland Premier’s Award for a Work of State Significance.

Open to all Australian authors, this award is for a work primarily focused on documenting and increasing the awareness of Queensland stories, history or voices.

Judges' comments: 

Bone Memories is a deeply considered and multi-layered examination of the way trauma is held in Australian soil. Through the prism of one near-shattered family, the novel shows that healing is possible when radical listening is at the heart of what we do, so we might move towards radical living.  

The winner will be announced on 6 September at a ceremony for the Queensland Literary Awards held at State Library of Queensland.

To view all finalists across the 12 categories of the awards, visit the State Library of Queensland website here.