With the current political climate, there’s never been a better time to get stuck into post-apocalyptic fiction.

Closing Down by Sally Abbott, the winner of the inaugural Richell Prize for Emerging Writers, conjures a dark future for Australia, giving us a glimpse into a world fractured by a financial crisis and the effects of global climate change. Daniel Findlay’s Year of the Orphan evokes a post-apocalyptic future, where survivors scavenge in the harsh Australian outback and an orphan with her own brutal past must decide if what’s left of humanity is worth saving.

Join these debut Australian novelists for a lively discussion about dystopian futures and their pathways to publication with Readings bookseller Stella Charls.

Free, but please book here.

This event is part of the Emerging Writers’ Festival, which runs from Wednesday 14 June to Friday 23 June. Find the full Festival program here.