Collins Booksellers on Lydiard

Join us for an evening with Jaclyn Moriarty to celebrate her incandescent novel. At turns entertaining and illuminating, Time Travel for Beginners explores the moments, big and small, that shape our destiny. Jaclyn will be in conversation with Renee Price. ABOUT TIME TRAVEL FOR BEGINNERS On a bustling road in Sydney lies a nondescript storefront known simply as the Time Travel Agency. Inside, you’ll be welcomed by the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a selection of baked goods . . . and the question, Where in time do you wish to go? The guidelines are simple: you can go whenever you wish into the past, and there’s no fear of altering the present. Have tea with Jane Austen, scream at a Beatles concert, witness the Olympics in ancient Greece. Perhaps a more personal trip? Visit your long-lost grandmother, recapture the heady days of your youth, return to the idyllic time when your teen was a babbling baby—or watch yourself make the one decision that changed everything. Is it a hoax? And if it’s real, what’s the catch? When single mother Anna is offered a job at the agency, she glimpses the possibility of happiness. Meanwhile, Teddy’s a customer hoping to untangle his recently imploded marriage. And Jade, who has a deeply buried secret, despises the agency for offering false hope. ABOUT JACLYN MORIARTY Jaclyn Moriarty is the best-selling author of many novels for children, young adults and adults. She has been the recipient of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, the Queensland Literary Award, and the Aurealis Award for Fantasy. Her books have been named Boston Globe Honor Books, White Raven selections and Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association. Jaclyn grew up in Sydney, Australia with four sisters (including authors Liane and Nicola Moriarty), one brother, two dogs and twelve chickens. She has lived in the US, UK and Canada, but now lives in Sydney again, along with her son, Charlie. She is very fond of chocolate, blueberries and sleep.

Join us for an evening with award winning author Kate Forsyth to celebrate her latest release The Changeling. Kate will be in conversation with Renee Price. ABOUT 'THE CHANGELING' Set against Scotland’s first witch-hunt, a young woman with faery blood must defy two queens to survive love, magic and treachery. On her fourteenth birthday, Caiti NicNeven discovers her true mother is the queen of the Sidhe, the faery folk who dwell beneath Scotland’s hollow hills. Bound by ancient grievance, the faery queen demands Caiti become the instrument of her revenge against the mortal crown stolen a thousand years before. Drawing on a dangerous magic she barely understands, Caiti flees. She finds refuge at the treacherous court of Mary, Queen of Scots. As fear and religious fervour grip the country, Mary is pressured into passing an Anti-Witchcraft Act, placing every woman – and every whispered spell – in peril. Watching from the shadows, the faery queen tightens her hold. When Caiti falls in love with Robbie, the son of a local laird, her mother strikes, cursing him to dance himself to death beneath the faery moon. To save the man she loves, Caiti must cross into the faery realm and confront the mother who would destroy her – and claim a wild, dangerous magic of her own. Inspired by the true story of Scotland’s first witch-hunt, The Changeling is a spellbinding tale of witchcraft, forbidden love and defying fate. ABOUT KATE FORSYTH Kate Forsyth is an award-winning author and oral storyteller who grew up on tales of Scottish history and folklore told by her grandmother and great-aunts. Her books include Psykhe, a feminist reimagining of the ancient Greek myth; Bitter Greens, a retelling of Rapunzel which won the American Library Association award for Best Historical Fiction; and The Witches of Eileanan, a dark romantic fantasy which was named one of the Best First Novels by Locus. Kate has a Doctorate of Creative Arts in fairy tale studies, and runs writing retreats and literary tours in Greece, the Cotswolds and Scotland. She has sold more than 1.5 million books in twenty languages.

Join us for an evening with writer, broadcaster, podcaster and TV presenter, Myf Warhurst to celebrate the release of her latest book 'Middle Rage'. ABOUT 'MIDDLE RAGE' Life is messy and people are complicated (and sometimes more than a bit bloody annoying), but Myf Warhurst thought she was navigating it all okay. Sure, sometimes she had to smile and stay silent when she saw something that didn't sit right, because rocking the boat wasn't her style. After all, she was a woman who'd grown up thinking it was her job to keep the peace.? But, around the time Myf turned fifty, things shifted. Almost immediately, her usual sunny disposition disappeared into the lost property box, joining other items from her youth like her waistline, temperature regulation and a good night's sleep. Middle Rage set in. And it wasn't pretty. For a while there, all she could feel was angry. She had to work on it. And to save you from some of that angst, in this stunningly honest and completely relatable book she gets deeply personal about her own experience of this complex midlife stage. Maybe channelling her newfound rage about the glaring injustices of the world into something positive will help you, and help her find her sense of humour again (even though she still has no time right now for anyone's shit!). Part confessional, part manifesto, ‘Middle Rage’ is full of Myf Warhurst's humour, warmth and wisdom, with some tips thrown in to help women live their best middle-aged lives, and recognise when things are not as they should be. Myf asks the real questions: without the shackles of life's often unnecessary expectations and arbitrary rules, who are we, and what can we hope to become? ABOUT 'MYF WARHURST' Myf Warhurst is a writer, broadcaster, podcaster and TV presenter, best known and beloved as a team captain on the long-running ABC TV show Spicks and Specks. One of the most recognisable voices in Australian entertainment (Myf lends her voice to the popular ABC Kids show Bluey as Aunt Trixie, no less), she has been a constant presence on national radio stations such as Triple J and Double J, and now fronts her own successful podcast, The Moment. Myf has presented many TV documentaries, including Back Roads and the award-winning Keep on Dancing. She has also appeared on the reality TV shows Who Do You Think You Are? for SBS and I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!, becoming the first woman in South Africa to bungee-jump out of a helicopter (not by choice). She played The Narrator on the last Australian tour of The Rocky Horror Show, and for eight years was the Australian commentator for the most-watched cultural event in the world, the Eurovision Song Contest, with co-host Joel Creasey. Her first book, published in 2022, was the bestselling Time of My Life.

We are delighted to be hosting internationally best selling author Holly Ringland in Ballarat! Many readers will know Holly from her previous work including 'The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart' and it is an honour to host an author of Holly's calibre. Holly will be in conversation with Renee Price. ABOUT HOLLY Holly Ringland is the author of two internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning novels, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding, and one nationally bestselling work of non-fiction, The House That Joy Built. She writes a beloved and bestselling Substack, The Joy Rise, on the intersection of creativity and connection. Her books have sold more than 600,000 copies globally and have been published in over thirty international territories. In 2021, Holly made her TV debut co-hosting the ABC TV factual series Back to Nature, which aired in prime time and to critical acclaim. In 2023, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart was adapted into an award-winning seven-part series starring Sigourney Weaver. ABOUT 'THE WORLD BENEATH HER FEET' In her late thirties, Maggie Byrd lives a charmed life in London. She works with fossils and gems at the Natural History Museum and shares a home with the two people she loves most: her best friend, Harriet, and her partner, Joe. However, beneath this carefully constructed façade lies a past Maggie buried deep inside herself and resolved never to unearth: the story of a guilt-ridden, heartbroken girl who left Australia in her early twenties and swore never to return. But when she learns that she's inherited her beloved uncle's rewilded land in a lush valley of southeast Queensland, Maggie's London life begins to fracture. In the nineties, this wild, vivid place shaped Maggie when she was an angry, lost teenager. It was her home and sanctuary, where she experienced the intoxicating powers and limitations of friendship, first love, desire and loyalty – until she betrayed everyone she loved there and fled. When the same land that Maggie turned her back on comes into her care, she is forced to face what we all cannot bury, abandon or forget. From the international bestselling author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding comes a luminous, deeply emotional and utterly absorbing novel about belonging, memory and the loves and landscapes that make us – and what it takes to come home to ourselves and each other. The World Beneath Her Feet is immersive Australian storytelling at its finest.

Karen Brooks - bestselling, award-winning author - will be in Ballarat to celebrate her latest release 'The Extraordinary Florence Stoker', a compellingly realised story of an enigmatic figure, the beautiful 19th century muse and brilliant social powerhouse, Florence Stoker, whose life, in spite of her many gifts, was overshadowed by one of the most abiding and terrifying of contemporary culture's monsters, the vampire Dracula - her own husband's creation. Reserve your place now.

Tricia Stringer, bestselling and multiple award-winning author, will be in Ballarat this October to celebrate her latest book 'The Paradise Resort'. Who doesn't love a luxurious holiday? But even paradise can have an off day... A funny, warm and wise insight into the joys and challenges of finding community in the most unlikely places. Reserve your place now! ABOUT TRICIA STRINGER Tricia's books include contemporary fiction, rural romances and historical sagas set in Australian communities past and present.Tricia grew up on a farm in country South Australia and has spent most of her life in rural communities as the owner of a post office and bookshop, and as a teacher and librarian. She lives on the traditional lands of the Narungga people in the beautiful Copper Coast region and shares her passion for the country and its people through her authentic stories and their vivid characters. ABOUT THE PARADISE RESORT As manager of a luxurious Kimberley resort, Nelda has a lot on her plate. So when Beatrice Foreston, a wealthy friend of the owner, arrives in fragile health to recuperate from an unpleasant battle with cancer, Nelda is not happy. Beatrice will need special treatment, and isn't it enough that some of the clientele are particularly obnoxious this season, and new staff Kathleen and Omar are clearly out of their depth? Worse, Nelda has heard there is a spy in their midst - and they will have to be dealt with. Because a spy could uncover Nelda's secret, and if that happens, it could ruin the resort and destroy the livelihoods of all who depend on it. When Kathleen starts to investigate something amiss, Nelda has no choice but to confess what she is hiding, and Beatrice, determined to get her mojo back, joins forces with them to try and put things right and save the community they all love - before it's too late.

We are delighted to be hosting million-copy bestselling author Fiona McIntosh in Ballarat this October. Fiona will be promoting her heart-stopping new historical adventure 'The Art Lovers'. ABOUT THE ART LOVERS While war rages across the city of Valletta, a local barkeeper’s daughter Valentina Camilleri is on the cusp of womanhood when Flight Lieutenant Peter Fox falls out of the sky from his spitfire and into her world. In that fateful moment, he captures not just her imagination and her dreams, but also her young heart. As he convalesces, Peter, an art historian, becomes captivated by Malta’s spectacular cathedral and its treasure, the famed artwork of Caravaggio. His passion for the subject ignites Valentina’s ambition and sparks the dream of a life far from her dreaded destiny. A dozen years on, Peter returns to the island as an art expert for newly crowned Queen Elizabeth’s forthcoming visit. When he reconnects with Valentina, a woman now, he is horrified to see what has become of her. Facing a war of her own within her heart, Valentina must find the courage to fight for her son and her future – but will freedom come at a cost? By the bestselling author of The Soldier’s Daughter comes a moving and unforgettable story about the power of love and the beauty of art to illuminate the dark. ABOUT FIONA MCINTOSH Fiona McIntosh is an internationally and million-copy bestselling author of novels for adults and children across several genres. Alongside her highly successful historical fiction titles, for which she has been nominated at the Australian Book Industry Awards for commercial fiction book of the year, her popular Detective Jack Hawksworth series has recently been released across the UK and the US. Several of her historical titles as well as the ‘world of Hawksworth’ crime novels have been optioned for the screen. Her debut children’s picture book, Harry and Gran Bake a Cake, was published in 2025 and shortlisted for an Indie Book Award. Fiona roams the world for her research and lives between Adelaide in South Australia and Wiltshire in England.