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DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260715T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260715T193000
DTSTAMP:20260521T214404
CREATED:20260313T024204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260511T072228Z
UID:71265-1784138400-1784143800@ballaratmi.org.au
SUMMARY:In Conversation with Benita Bensch
DESCRIPTION:July 15\n@\n6:00 pm\n–\n7:30 pm \n$11.78 \nHumffray Room \n\nGet Tickets\n \nSeen Again: Light On Matrescence \nBenita Bensch \n \nSeen Again is a modern companion through matrescence\, the profound transition\nof becoming a mother. \nMatrescence is a biological\, psychological\, emotional\, social and spiritual transformation that can leave mothers without the language or support to make sense of who they are. Many feel disconnected or  invisible\, wondering: Who am I now? Is it normal to feel this way? \nBlending intimate memoir\, eighteen real-life stories and years of coaching into a compassionate framework\, Benita Bensch explores the inner landscape and seismic shift of matrescence with unflinching honesty. If you have ever felt lost\, remember: you are not broken\, you are evolving. This is an invitation to reimagine your next season of life\, free of shoulds. \nSeen Again: Light on Matrescence is a return to the inner campfire\, where the dark is honoured\, the light is reclaimed\, and your true self is waiting to be seen again. By you\, first. \n \nAbout the author \nBenita Bensch\, author\nBenita Bensch is an Australian author\, coach and speaker whose work explores identity\, transition\, purpose and visibility through storytelling and the creative life. She is a certified Motherhood Studies Practitioner with over a decade of coaching experience\, drawing on narrative therapy principles in her work with women in rural and regional communities. \nShe is a certified Motherhood Studies Practitioner with over a decade of coaching experience\, drawing on narrative therapy principles in her work with women in rural and regional communities. \nBenita lives and farms near Moama\, New South Wales\, with her husband and four sons. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \nThis event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n$11.78 per person includes booking fee & gst\, also includes light refreshment. All proceeds go to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to support the staging of our author events. \n\nBook on-line or contact Rosemary at the Libary via email library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042 \n\nGet Tickets\n\n \nThis event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land.
URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/benita-bensch/
LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sp-promo-talks-benita-bensch-FINAL.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260720T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260720T193000
DTSTAMP:20260521T214404
CREATED:20260420T042351Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260507T043115Z
UID:72345-1784570400-1784575800@ballaratmi.org.au
SUMMARY:In Conversation with Petronella McGovern
DESCRIPTION:July 20\n@\n6:00 pm\n–\n7:30 pm \n$11.00 \nHumffray Room \n\nGet Tickets\n \nEvery Time She Wakes \nPetronella McGovern \nPetronella will be in conversation with local author Paula Gleeson \n \nAn unputdownable thriller from the bestselling author of  Six Minutes  and The Last Trace. \nEvery Time She Wakes is a taut\, time-bending thriller about family\, identity and defying fate. \nWhen careers counsellor Suze and her family are evacuated from their home during a bushfire emergency\, she suddenly realises they’re being kidnapped. The van crashes and Suze thinks it’s the end.\nBut she wakes up two weeks back in time. No one else remembers the terror that came before. Is it all in her own mind?\nThen it happens again. And again. \nWith every loop\, her world twists into a new version of itself. Suze must discover why it’s happening and who is behind the kidnappings. She’s running out of time to save her family and wake up in a world she recognises. \n \n‘Every Time She Wakes is gripping\, unsettling and impossible to put down. With each time loop\, the tension escalates and the stakes become heartbreakingly personal. A brilliant race against fate and time. I’ll be adding this to my ‘most often recommended’ list.’ \n Sally Hepworth\, bestselling author of Mad Mabel \n‘Every Time She Wakes is a clever\, propulsive thriller that plays brilliantly with time and tension.’  \nChristian White\, author\, The Long Night \nAbout the author \n \nPetronella McGovern grew up in a large family on a farm in New South Wales\, Australia. Farmland and the bush feature strongly in her debut psychological thriller\, Six Minutes. Her second novel\, The Good Teacher\, is set on the sparkling beaches of Sydney\, with a dark undercurrent. \nShe has also co-written two non-fiction books – a travelogue of the 1960s\, For Love and a Beetle with Ivan Hodge; and an Olympic memoir\, Trailblazers: Australia’s First Olympic Equestrians with Wyatt Thompson. \nPetronella is fascinated by people – what makes us tick\, how we view the world\, and the lies we tell others and ourselves. She’s interested in the complexities of relationships and the dynamics in families. \n\n\n\n\n\n \nAbout Paula Gleeson \nPaula writes mysteries and thrillers for all ages\, usually with multiple twists and complicated females at the helm.  \nShe is an award-winning filmmaker\, screenwriting finalist\, and nominated non-fiction writer. Her thrillers Original Twin and Boney Creek are out now. \nShe is local to Ballarat and is often found in her pj’s\, drinking tea (wine)\, and watching horror movies snuggled with a big cheese pizza. \nPaula Gleeson\, author\n$11 per person plus booking fees\, also includes light refreshment. All proceeds go to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to support the staging of our author events. \n\nBook on-line or contact Rosemary at the Libary via email library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042 \n\nGet Tickets\n\n \nThis event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land.
URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/petronella-mcgovern/
LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/sp-promo-talks-petronella-mcgovern-v3.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260729T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260729T193000
DTSTAMP:20260521T214404
CREATED:20260416T050939Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260417T012750Z
UID:72260-1785348000-1785353400@ballaratmi.org.au
SUMMARY:In Conversation with Phillipa Nefri Clark
DESCRIPTION:July 29\n@\n6:00 pm\n–\n7:30 pm \n$11.78 \nHumffray Room \n\nGet Tickets\n \nLest Angels Weep \nPhillipa Nefri Clark \nPhillipa will be in conversation with local actor Kate Atkinson \n \nThe new case is cold. Stone cold. Until another murder with striking similarities rocks a remote outback town. \nDetective Liz Moorland is desperate to get out of Melbourne. Away from the aftermath of shocking events surrounding her team and her father. The heat of the red dirt is a welcome distraction. \nBut was this murder done by a copycat or is the original killer still living within the small community? What is the secret which keeps everyone away from the old church? Almost everyone. And why is the team’s request for cold and current case reports and forensics meeting resistance from the local police? \nThe discovery of an angel-shaped pendant on a grave leads to a rumoured fourth death – from even longer ago. How the pieces connect is proving to be the most complex puzzle Operation Nobody has encountered. \nSomeone is watching their every move. Someone is protecting the scene of the crimes. And someone is ready to kill again. \nBook five in the atmospheric Detective Liz Moorland series\, with books 1-4 optioned for screen. \n \nAbout the author \nPhillipa Nefri Clark\, author\nA USA Today bestselling author\, Phillipa lives in the Macedon Ranges in Victoria. She also lives in the many worlds of her imagination and stockpiles stories beside her laptop. \nShe writes from the heart about love\, dreams\, secrets\, discovery\, the sea\, the world as she knows it… or wishes it could be. She loves happy endings\, heart-pounding suspense\, and characters who stay with the reader long after the final page. \nWith a passion for music\, the ocean\, nature\, reading\, and writing\, she is often found in the vegetable garden pondering a new story. Phillipa is both an indie author and traditionally published by Storm Publishing. \n  \nAbout Kate Atkinson \nIf you have watched any Australian television in the last 30 years\, you are bound to know Kate Atkinson’s face; her work as an actress ranges from Seachange and Blue Heelers many moons ago to\, more recently\, Wentworth and Jack Irish and many other much-loved shows like Offspring and Kath and Kim in between. \nShe has also worked regularly in theatre and film. Kate moved to regional Victoria three years ago and now occasionally produces radio for ABC Ballarat. She is a big fan of books and reading so was delighted to discover the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute and the treasures of its library! \nKate Atkinson\, host\n$11.78 per person includes booking fee & gst\, also includes light refreshment. All proceeds go to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to support the staging of our author events. \n\nBook on-line or contact Rosemary at the Libary via email library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042 \n\nGet Tickets\n\n \nThis event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land.
URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/phillipa-nefri-clark/
LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/sp-promo-talks-v2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260803T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260803T193000
DTSTAMP:20260521T214404
CREATED:20260520T044923Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260520T232801Z
UID:73049-1785780000-1785785400@ballaratmi.org.au
SUMMARY:In Conversation with Margaret Hickety
DESCRIPTION:August 3\n@\n6:00 pm\n–\n7:30 pm \n$11.00 \nHumffray Room \n\nGet Tickets\n \nCold River \nMargaret Hickey \nMargaret will be in conversation with author Gregory Flood \n \nDeep in the mountains\, secrets grow deadly… \nDetective Constable Sally White knows how easily hikers can go missing in Victoria’s high country. But there’s something about the disappearance of Louis Taylor\, a young man lost up Mount Viking\, that’s not sitting right with her. \nLouis was an aspiring journalist\, researching the illegal tobacco trade – also known as chop chop – that was once so prevalent in the area. And the last person he interviewed before his hike has just met a gruesome end . . . \nBut with no other leads\, and with the search winding down\, Sally is forced to accept the young man died in a tragic accident. \nUntil she learns of another missing person case that bears striking similarities. Astrid Marlowe\, a young lawyer\, vanished in the same mountains two years before. \nWere Louis and Astrid simply unlucky hikers lost in the treacherous terrain? Or did they both stumble into something – or someone – they shouldn’t? \n \nAbout the author \nMargaret Hickey\, Author | Image: Colin Usher\nMargaret Hickey \nMargaret Hickey was born in London to Australian parents and grew up in small country towns across Victoria. She studied in Melbourne and has travelled extensively through the Middle East\, South America\, Asia and Europe. \nMargaret has been shortlisted and has won prizes in awards including the Grace Marion Emerging Writer’s prize and the Victorian Regional Writing prize. Her plays have been performed in Melbourne (La Mama)\, Brisbane\, New York and regional Victoria. Margaret holds a PhD in Creative writing\, specialising in depictions of landscape in Australian literature. Her new novel\, Cutters End will be published by Penguin Random House in Sept\, 21. A La Trobe valedictorian\, Margaret’s PhD was nominated for the Nancy Millis award for excellence in thesis writing. She works as a lecturer\, teacher\, public presenter and is a regular guest on ABC regional radio. \nMargaret lives in the North East of Victoria with her husband and three sons in a house on the edge of a gorge. \nAbout the host \nGregory Flood \nGregory Flood is a writer\, lawyer and musician based in Ballarat. \nFor the past twenty-five years\, he has balanced his musical career with his work as a lawyer providing advice to authors\, publishers and musicians and has been a director of numerous companies in the music and arts sectors. \n \n$11 per person plus booking fees\, also includes light refreshment. All proceeds go to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to support the staging of our author events. \n\nBook on-line or contact Rosemary at the Libary via email library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042 \n\nGet Tickets\n\n \nThis event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land.
URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/in-conversation-with-margaret-hickety/
LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/sp-promo-talks-margaret-hickey.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260812T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260812T193000
DTSTAMP:20260521T214404
CREATED:20260324T234500Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260331T033956Z
UID:71535-1786557600-1786563000@ballaratmi.org.au
SUMMARY:In Conversation with Sophie Green
DESCRIPTION:August 12\n@\n6:00 pm\n–\n7:30 pm \n$11.78 \nHumffray Room \n\nGet Tickets\n \nThe Frock Shop \nSophie Green \n \nMeet the Ladies of The Frock Shop \nWhere clothes are just the start of the story \nAustralian bestseller Sophie Green returns with a sparkling story about the beauty of the second-hand\, the power of second chances\, and becoming who you were always meant to be (with a little help from your friends). \nOn Sydney’s lower north shore\, in the harbourside suburb of Mosman\, there is a charity frock shop. For decades\, it has clothed the women of this suburb\, through good times and bad\, for richer\, for poorer. \nLocal resident Daphne has always worked at the frock shop. And she knows better than most how clothes are used by women as talismans\, as armour\, as beauty. Clothes are essential parts of women’s stories\, and those stories are now part of Daphne’s life. \nDaphne has her own stories\, too. Some involve her old friend Adelaide\, who still bears the devastating secret that caused her to flee Australia in her youth. Some involve a new friend\, Christina\, who has been forced to leave her glamorous Los Angeles life to rebuild in her childhood city. Then there is Margot\, living a life that is far from what she had dreamed it would be\, and Lucy\, desperate for escape and the promise of tomorrow. \nNot only does the frock shop give them purpose\, but the clothes will help them become the women they were destined to be\, because it is never too late for a transformation. \n \nAbout the author \n \nSophie Green – ‘I’m  an author and publisher living in Sydney\, Australia. I’ve written several novels and I love exploring the art of storytelling in all its forms. \nWhen I’m not writing novels\, I’m often writing about Australian country music—a genre I adore—on my website\, Sunburnt Country Music. I also love practising yoga\, exploring creativity in its many forms\, and losing myself in music that tells a great story. \nMy Books: \nLessons in Love at the Seaside Salon – Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel  – Weekends iwth the Sunshine Gardening Society – The Bellbird River Country Choir – Thursdays at Orange Blossom House – The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle – The Inaugural Meeting o fthe Fairvale Ladies Book Club. \n\n\n\n\n\n \nThis event will be supported by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard \n \n$11.78 per person includes booking fee & gst\, also includes light refreshment. All proceeds go to the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to support the staging of our author events. \n\nBook on-line or contact Rosemary at the Libary via email library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042 \n\nGet Tickets\n\n \nThis event takes place on Wadawurrung Country. Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute acknowledges the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we work\, learn and create. Always Was\, Always Will Be\, Aboriginal Land.
URL:https://ballaratmi.org.au/event/sophie-green/
LOCATION:BMI – Humffray Room\, 117-119 Sturt Street\, Ballarat Central\, VIC\, 3350\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Author Talk,Library
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ballaratmi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/sp-promo-talks-sophie-green.jpg
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