Canberra Book Launch

Sally Piper

23 August 2026

I’ll be in conversation with Karen Viggers, a writer whose work I admire, about PEOPLE LIKE US at The Book Cow in Canberra. It’s a free event but you will need to secure your spot, which you can do here. I’d love to see you there, so come along if you can.

Venue: The Book Cow

Address: 47 Jardine St, Kingston, ACT 2604

Date: Tuesday 22 September 2026

Time: 5:30PM for a 6PM start.

Sally Piper on Instagram

Susan and I paired up for another interview, this one for ABC RN Nightlife. You can listen back if you fancy via the link to my website in my bio. Thank you to ABC Radio National for your support in helping us raise awareness about the important issue of housing insecurity of older women and to provide us with an opportunity to talk about what that might look and feel like for a woman and to discuss the innovative solutions being undertaken by Sharing with Friends Queensland. @abcradionational @uqpbooks @sharingwithfriends_foundation

Floral foragers. 🌈🦜

I love a book club visit and I especially love King St Book Club for the robust and in-depth conversation led by veteran book club facilitator Jennifer Stephens. If you’d like to drill down into the themes of PEOPLE LIKE US to a plot spoiler level, then you might like to join us on Tuesday 8 September at 6pm in the Library at Rydges, Bowen Hills. Included in the price of the ticket is a copy of the book, King St Eats, a glass of wine and a shared conversation. Tickets can be purchased through the link in my bio. @uqpbooks @jenniferjstephens @kingstreetbrisbane @avidreader #peoplelikeusnovel #kingstreetbookclub

I’m very excited to be going to Canberra where I’ll be sitting down with Karen Viggers, a writer whose work I admire, to chat about PEOPLE LIKE US at Book Cow in Kingston on Tuesday 22 September at 6pm. It’s a free event but you will need to secure your spot, which you can do through the link in my bio. Come along if you can. I’d love to see you there. @karen_viggers @uqpbooks @thebookcowkingston #peoplelikeusnovel #securehousingforall

I know I’m not going to regret my shiny new subscription to literary journal Meanjin because of fabulous articles like this one by Miles Franklin short-listed author Steve MinOn. Steve always has a camera round his neck at literary events but I had no idea the photos he takes are such an integral part of his writing process. Through them he sees an “accidental narrative…a slight kink in a moment or a situation that I haven’t seen in my own words before.” Photos as a catalyst for words. Love it!♥️📸 I can’t wait for more articles like this one. You can subscribe to the once again Brisbane-based Meanjin, coming to you out of Queensland University of Technology, here: https://meanjin.com.au @meanjin_ @steveminon @qutrealworld #meanjin #literaryjournal

I’m absolutely thrilled to share that the audiobook for PEOPLE LIKE US is now available through @audible_au and that it has been narrated by Helen O’Leary. Helen is an incredibly talented voice artist and actor. She narrated my previous novel, BONE MEMORIES, and did a superb job in bringing that novel’s characters to listeners, so I was stoked that she was available to take the story of Tina from the page to your ears. Here she is at the mic with sound engineer @vlad_audio. I couldn’t be happier with the final results from these two. And I’m so happy that PEOPLE LIKE US is now available to readers unable to access books via text.🎧🗣️🎙️ @uqpbooks #peoplelikeusnovel #audiobook

I’m kind of literally off to Grandma’s house with baked goods in the morning. My mum’s aged care home has an EKKA stall for residents and I figured those lovely older folk, many of whom don’t have the memory they once had, might recall some of the flavours from when they were younger and just about every Australian household had an Australian Women’s Weekly cookbook (or ten) on the shelf. There’s no publication page in this one, but I reckon I’ve had it since the 1980s. I haven’t opened it for years.

We both look a bit stern with our arms crossed but I can assure you we’ll aim for a robust but also playful conversation. Come along if you can, I’d love to see you there. It’s a ticketed event to include food and wine and you can book your place at the link in my bio. @dranitaheiss @uqpbooks @scrumptiousreads

Huge thanks to @kaitlynhudsonofarrell_ and Saturday’s Sydney Weekend magazine for interviewing Susan and I about how we came to work together in our mission to address the issue of the 400,000 older single women in Australia who are at risk of homelessness - me by writing about the issue in my novel PEOPLE LIKE US and Susan by providing solutions through her work with @sharingwithfriends_foundation 🏘️ @uqpbooks @dmcprmedia @susandavies9232 #homelessnessweek2026 #affordablehousingforall #housingisahumanright #cohousing

When I talk to people about insecure housing experienced by older single women, these are some of the statistics I mention, along with some of the factors that contribute to the problem and some of the solutions that would help make a difference. Homelessness Australia’s slogan for Homelessness Week 2026 (3-9 August) is “Homelessness action NOW!” The statistics would agree. @uqpbooks @dmcprmedia #homelessnessweek2026 #securehousing #affordablehousingforall #endhomelessness #peoplelikeusnovel