Introducing The Readings Big Book Club!
Bringing thinkers and readers together to explore great works of literature – in partnership with Cinema Nova and the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne.
Our inaugural five-part Big Book Club series will explore Homer's The Odyssey with weekly sessions from 18 June to 16 July 2026.
Each session will be held at Cinema Nova and will be guided by one of The University of Melbourne's leading academics, who will provide a 35-minute lecture, followed by conversation and audience discussion – hosted by Michael Williams, editor of The Monthly. Then, in the final session, members will enjoy an opening day screening of Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of The Odyssey.
Session One: The Odyssey: The Original Hero's Journey with Dr Seth Robinson
From the moment Odysseus set foot on deck to when he blinded the Cyclops and escaped Circe's island – these are moments and archetypes that are engrained in our storytelling consciousness.
Dr Seth Robinson will dissect the story beats of The Odyssey and how they form the foundational 'Hero's Journey'.
Thursday 18 June, 6.45pm
Session Two: The Women in The Odyssey with A/Prof K.O. Chong-Gossard
The Odyssey might be named after Odysseus and his decade-long homeward journey, but the epic also tells the stories of many important women, including Penelope, Helen of Sparta and Nausicaa. Associate Professor K.O. Chong-Gossard discusses how Homer's women are also making journeys, navigating their roles in society.
Thursday 25 June, 6.45pm
Session Three: Who was Homer? with Dr Tom Hercules Davies
Homer wrote The Odyssey … or did he? Dr Tom Davies explores the author of one of literature's most enduring works.
The poem was a thousand years in the making, set in a world with an anachronistic mix of ancient technologies and languages. If no single author created it, how did Homer get the credit and who did the Greeks think he was?
Thursday 2 July, 6.45pm
Session Four: The Afterlives of The Odyssey with A/Prof Ika Willis
The Odyssey has never stopped travelling. Like Odysseus himself, this nearly 3,000-year-old poem has crossed continents, languages and art forms. It has inspired translations, novels, dance, paintings and films. Associate Professor Ika Willis explores the poem's extraordinary afterlife and asks what each new retelling reveals about why The Odyssey still speaks to us today.
Thursday 9 July, 6.45pm
Session Five: Screening of Christopher Nolan’s 2026 film adaptation of The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is a mythic action-epic adapting Homer’s foundational saga, with a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya.
Thursday 16 July, 6.45pm
Membership
Live, In-Cinema Membership: $250, or $200 before Monday 25 May!
Attend all four seminars and the movie screening at Cinema Nova in Carlton. Membership includes a copy of Homer’s The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson.
For a limited time, Readings subscribers, Cinema Nova subscribers and University of Melboune Alumni can join the Big Book Club at a special Early Access price. Please note Early Access pricing is only available until midnight on Monday 25 May 2026. After that date, all in-person memberships will be full price, at $250.
Find out more and book your place.
Online Membership: $100
Join the four seminars via live video stream and receive a copy of Homer’s The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson.
Find out more and book your place.
Conditions of membership:
By purchasing a membership to the Live or Online Big Book Club you agree to receive email correspondence regarding the event by the presenting partners. Email correspondence will include full information about the event including collection of your copy of The Odyssey as well as cinema ticket information, once tickets to the film go on sale.
Please note that once The Readings Big Book Club has commenced (Thursday 18 June 2026), refunds and changes to your membership cannot be made.
