Steve Albini was a legendary audio engineer and musician. The frontman of Big Black and Shellac, Albini saw the machinations of the industry up close and from multiple vantage points, working with huge international acts including PJ Harvey, Nirvana and Pixies. Despite recording with some of the biggest names in the business Albini continued, throughout his career, to collaborate with countless experimental bands. He passed away last week, aged 61.

On the eve of Meredith Music Festival in December 2015 – where he played with his band, Shellac – Albini joined host Woody McDonald at The Wheeler Centre to reflect on his storied career, his thoughts on the current state of music and predictions for the future.

This event was recorded on Thursday 15 December 2015 at The Wheeler Centre.

Featured music is 'Riding Bikes' by Shellac.

Steve Albini was a legendary audio engineer and musician. The frontman of Big Black and Shellac, Albini saw the machinations of the industry up close and from multiple vantage points, working with huge international acts including PJ Harvey, Nirvana and Pixies. Despite recording with some of the biggest names in the business Albini continued, throughout his career, to collaborate with countless experimental bands. He passed away last week, aged 61.
On the eve of Meredith Music Festival in December 2015 – where he played with his band, Shellac – Albini joined host Woody McDonald at The Wheeler Centre to reflect on his storied career, his thoughts on the current state of music and predictions for the future. This event was recorded on Thursday 15 December 2015 at The Wheeler Centre.
Featured music is 'Riding Bikes' by Shellac.

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Steve Albini

Sam Elkin’s Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga, recounts his bumpy journey from lesbian to transgender lawyer in the aftermath of the 2017 marriage equality postal survey. Set against the backdrop of a growing moral panic about the ‘trans agenda’, Elkin’s debut book is part-love letter and part-cautionary tale. Honest and unflinching, it’s sure to spark many prickly and productive conversations.

Join Elkin as he launches Detachable Penis with host Yves Rees at an intimate and relaxed evening at The Wheeler Centre.

This event was recorded on Monday 6 May 2024 at The Wheeler Centre. 

The official bookseller was Hares and Hyenas.

Featured music is 'No One There' by Ava Low.

Please note this episode contains coarse language.

Sam Elkin’s Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga, recounts his bumpy journey from lesbian to transgender lawyer in the aftermath of the 2017 marriage equality postal survey. Set against the backdrop of a growing moral panic about the ‘trans agenda’, Elkin’s debut book is part-love letter and part-cautionary tale. Honest and unflinching, it’s sure to spark many prickly and productive conversations.
Join Elkin as he launches Detachable Penis with host Yves Rees at an intimate and relaxed evening at The Wheeler Centre.
This event was recorded on Monday 6 May 2024 at The Wheeler Centre. The official bookseller was Hares and Hyenas. Featured music is 'No One There' by Ava Low.
Please note this episode contains coarse language.

Sam Elkin: Detachable Penis

Bestselling author Dervla McTiernan discusses her suspenseful new novel about two families at war with host J.P. Pomare at Geelong Library.

Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.

Dervla McTiernan is the critically acclaimed author of five novels, including The Murder Rule, which was a New York Times thriller of the year. Dervla has won multiple prizes, including a Ned Kelly Award, Davitt Awards, a Barry Award, and an International Thriller Writers Award. She is also the author of four novellas, and her audio novella, The Sisters, was a four-week number one bestseller in the United States.

This event was presented in partnership with Geelong Regional Libraries. It was supported by Sorrento Writers Festival. The official bookseller was Torquay Books.

It was recorded on Wednesday 24 April 2024 at Geelong Library and Heritage Centre.

Featured music is ‘Different Days’ by Chill Cole.

Bestselling author Dervla McTiernan discusses her suspenseful new novel about two families at war with host J.P. Pomare at Geelong Library.
Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.
Dervla McTiernan is the critically acclaimed author of five novels, including The Murder Rule, which was a New York Times thriller of the year. Dervla has won multiple prizes, including a Ned Kelly Award, Davitt Awards, a Barry Award, and an International Thriller Writers Award. She is also the author of four novellas, and her audio novella, The Sisters, was a four-week number one bestseller in the United States.
This event was presented in partnership with Geelong Regional Libraries. It was supported by Sorrento Writers Festival. The official bookseller was Torquay Books. It was recorded on Wednesday 24 April 2024 at Geelong Library and Heritage Centre. Featured music is ‘Different Days’ by Chill Cole.

Dervla McTiernan: What Happened to Nina? [Geelong]

Paul Auster was a true giant of American literature. Acclaimed for his best-selling works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, including The New York Trilogy, Invisible, and The Brooklyn Follies, Auster wrote complex and daring tales of humans experiencing, anticipating or searching for something lost, something they are struggling to comprehend. 

In his 2021 book, Burning Boy, he turned his eye to the 19th-century bad boy of American literature, Stephen Crane. Crane is known for popularising American naturalism, a literary movement that has influenced generations of writers (including Auster himself). But he was as daring off the page as he was on it. 

Throughout his short life, Crane cavorted from one high-stakes situation to the next: from engaging in political journalism that disrupted the course of the 1892 presidential campaign, to entering a common-law marriage with the proprietress of Jacksonville’s most elegant bawdyhouse, to surviving a shipwreck that nearly drowned him, and eventually relocating to England, where Joseph Conrad became his closest friend and Henry James wept over his tragic, early death. 

In November 2021, Auster joined host Corrie Perkin for a conversation about Burning Boy and the nature of creative legacy. What are the questions one master chooses to ask of another? And what is there to learn from a life lived so bright it burned?

This conversation was originally released as a digital event as part of The Wheeler Centre’s 'Postcard’s From Abroad' series on Wednesday 3 November 2021.

The official bookseller was Hill of Content bookshop.


Featured music is 'Traveling again' by Sarah the illstrumentalist.

Paul Auster was a true giant of American literature. Acclaimed for his best-selling works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, including The New York Trilogy, Invisible, and The Brooklyn Follies, Auster wrote complex and daring tales of humans experiencing, anticipating or searching for something lost, something they are struggling to comprehend. 
In his 2021 book, Burning Boy, he turned his eye to the 19th-century bad boy of American literature, Stephen Crane. Crane is known for popularising American naturalism, a literary movement that has influenced generations of writers (including Auster himself). But he was as daring off the page as he was on it. 
Throughout his short life, Crane cavorted from one high-stakes situation to the next: from engaging in political journalism that disrupted the course of the 1892 presidential campaign, to entering a common-law marriage with the proprietress of Jacksonville’s most elegant bawdyhouse, to surviving a shipwreck that nearly drowned him, and eventually relocating to England, where Joseph Conrad became his closest friend and Henry James wept over his tragic, early death. 
In November 2021, Auster joined host Corrie Perkin for a conversation about Burning Boy and the nature of creative legacy. What are the questions one master chooses to ask of another? And what is there to learn from a life lived so bright it burned?
This conversation was originally released as a digital event as part of The Wheeler Centre’s 'Postcard’s From Abroad' series on Wednesday 3 November 2021. The official bookseller was Hill of Content bookshop. 
Featured music is 'Traveling again' by Sarah the illstrumentalist.

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