Dispatch #006
Sarah J. Maas returns, David Wenham tackles Homer's Iliad, plus the latest in books, events and launches.
The wait is over! Sarah J. Maas announced the news herself during an interview with Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast: she has completed both the sixth and the seventh book in the wildly successful ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) series!
There are five books so far, and Sarah has sold more than 75 million copies. ACOTAR is set in the imaginary world of Prythian, which was created by Sarah, and they are a little bit spicy! Here’s everything you need to know:
Book Six will be out on 27 October 2026.
Book Seven will be out on 12 January 2027.
A third book is also on the way, although Sarah says she hasn’t written it yet.
Books six and seven don’t yet have titles, but they will be BIG books in every sense of the word. Sarah says it has taken “more than a thousand pages to tell the story that needed to be told.”
In less encouraging news, the TV adaptation of ACOTAR seems to have hit a hurdle. Hulu, which has the rights, says it isn’t going ahead at this stage. But somebody else will pick it up, surely?
The gorgeous David Wenham will return to the Sydney Theatre Company for the first time in over two decades in April to tackle Homer’s Iliad.
He says An Iliad will bring Homer’s epic into contemporary focus, which may worry some purists, I know!
The Iliad is one of the oldest works in Western literature, and Wenham says he hopes to “interrogate the human cost of war” as he takes to the stage as “the wry, world-weary poet, compelled to retell the story of the Trojan War until humanity overcomes its violence.”
I don’t know about you, but I’d see him in anything, and this sounds intriguing. Tickets here.
Acquisition news: Australian television production company CJZ has optioned Dark Desert Road by former ABC-TV executive Tim Ayliffe.
The story follows a police officer, Kit McCarthy, who hasn’t seen her sister, Billie, in more than a decade (which makes sense, since Billie is pursuing a life of crime)
CJZ Head of Drama, Claire Tonkin said, “We are such fans of Tim’s work, and he has created another brilliant lead character in Kit who feels very real. We can’t wait to see her come to life onscreen.”
Tim said, “This is an Australian story with the harsh desert country of the NSW Riverina at its core. I can’t wait to see my characters and places on screen.”
Bravo!
Jeremy Clarke is a former Jesuit priest who quit the habit, as it were, to open a bookshop and wine bar in the gorgeous little town of Boorowa. Some years back, he decided a literary festival was in order! And I mean, why not?
The inaugural event was held in the wine bar, but it’s grown so much that they’ve had to move this year to the stately old courthouse, which is such great news. This year’s event will take place over 19-20 June.
I’m giving you plenty of notice because it’s a bit of a drive, but I’m going to be there, along with Kimberley Allsopp, Sulari Gentill, Sam Guthrie, Chris Hammer and Alli Parker.
It’s a beautiful part of the world, with superb parrots, merino sheep, wheat and canola, cool climate grapes and awesome wine.
Closer to home: bestselling author Natasha Lester will launch her new novel, The Chateau on Sunset, at Woollahra Library on 30 March.
The story is set in Hollywood’s most fabulous and famous hotel, the Chateau Marmont. It follows Aria Jones, an orphan sent to live there with her reclusive aunt, and Natasha says it may be her favourite story yet. In fact, she is already planning her Tour Wardrobe, which I’ve heard is pretty fabulous.
Steve Toltz's novel, A Rising of the Lights, is smart, wise, and funny. I’m reading it at the moment, and every now and then, I just burst out laughing. As if we all can’t do with more genuinely funny books. And we are hosting the launch! Tickets here.
Helen Pitt’s Luna Park: this book, by one of Australia’s best journalists, uncovers the “showmen, shysters and schemers who built Sydney's famous fun park.” We’re hosting the sold-out launch of this tonight (Tuesday, 10th March)!
Dear Madman by Edwina Shaw sounds great: it’s a true crime story, in which Edwina Shaw unearths a century-old murder that has haunted her family for generations. I absolutely loved Edwina’s post on the struggle that many writers face when they try to get published in Australia:
“I was first told about the man who killed my beloved Nana’s sister when I was a child. In 2010, I finally gave myself permission to start researching the truth behind the family myth. What I discovered took me down many deep rabbit holes.
“Over the past twelve years, my manuscript was submitted hundreds of times, but never quite made it over the line. As all writers know, rejection is part of the job description. What non-writers don’t know is just how much each rejection hurts. A LOT. I knew this project was good and couldn’t understand what was stopping publishers from taking that last step and accepting it for publication. But year after year, I kept scraping myself back up off the floor, and I held a copy of Dear Madman for the first time on my birthday last week!”
Good on you, Edwina. We can’t wait to see your book out in the world
Finally, the great Dr Peter Goldsworthy’s new collection of poetry, Tomorrow, will launch into the world on 24 March. Peter has been fighting cancer, and his confrontation with his own mortality has clearly influenced his work. He says: “These poems celebrate life—its mystery, its transience, its moments of quiet joy.”
His work is sublime. Don’t miss this one.
And that’s all for today, folks! Thank you for reading, and please do send it to your friends so we can build our community here.
Have something you’d like to include? Our newsletter is compiled by a Bondi local, Caroline Overington. You can follow her on Instagram or Facebook and get in touch here if you’ve got news to share.