Rite of Spring | Kris Kneen in Conversation

Name: Rite of Spring | Kris Kneen in Conversation
Start: 2026-06-25T17:30:00+10:00
End: 2026-06-25T17:30:00+10:00
Location: Fullers Bookshop

About

‘And here you are. You, who might feel the itch of an uncomfortable identity hanging heavy on your shoulders like a hair shirt. It is you I sing to. You who are tempted by the possibility of something more.’

In the hope of salvaging their relationship, Miranda and Richard become caretakers of a remote island lighthouse off the coast of Tasmania. Richard wants to shake up the malaise that had him falling into an affair, Miranda wants to understand what has changed and to recover from a diving accident that almost took her life. Both are excited about the renewal and adventure that the mysterious lighthouse promises. But what begins as a reuniting, quickly turns for Miranda in to an untamed journey back to the ocean that swirls at the core of her being.

Few write so vividly about bodily intimacy and spirit as Kneen. Rite of Spring beautifully fuses place, psychological drama, the primordial nature of the ocean and the personal search for a centre. It is a mind-blowing novel about a woman on the cusp of menopause that transcends our expectations about who and what we can be.

Kris Kneen is the award-winning author of memoir—Affection—and fiction: An Uncertain Grace, Steeplechase, Triptych, The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine, Wintering, as well as the Thomas Shapcott Award-winning poetry collection Eating My Grandmother. They have written and directed broadcast documentaries for SBS and ABC Television. Rite of Spring is their latest book.

Kris will be in conversation with Rachel Edwards. Rachel is a former editor of Island Magazine, and was a senior producer for ABC local radio. She is currently the Events Coordinator at the State Library and Archives Tasmania.

Join Kris and Rachel at the Afterword Cafe.