Dervla McTiernan and Louise Milligan in Conversation [Hawthorn]

Dervla McTiernan is the number-one internationally bestselling and award-winning author of six novels, including the much-loved Cormac Reilly series and two number-one bestselling standalone thrillers, The Murder Rule and What Happened to Nina?, both New York Times ‘Best Thrillers of the Year’.

Her books have sold over 1 million copies around the world and What Happened to Nina? is currently in development for screen adaptation. Her latest book is Three Reasons for Revenge.

Jaclyn Crupi is a book editor, event moderator, awards judge and bookseller. She has worked in publishing since 2002. Jaclyn has written numerous books for both children and adults. Her book, Garden Like a Nonno, was shortlisted for an Indie Book Award and longlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award. Her most recent children’s book, The ABC Kids Guide to Loving the Planet, won the Environment Award for Children’s Literature.

Jaclyn’s writing has appeared in The Guardian, SBS Voices, At Home, The Canberra Times, PIP Magazine and Frankie, as well as the anthology, Family, published by Text Publishing. Her most recent book is Planting for Native Birds, Bees and Butterflies.

Louise Milligan is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist for ABC TV's Four Corners, the Australian national broadcaster's flagship current affairs documentary program. Louise's first novel, Pheasants Nest, was published in 2024 to wide acclaim, and was shortlisted for the Best Debut Fiction, Indie Book Awards and the Best Crime Fiction, Danger Awards. She also is the author of two bestselling non-fiction books: Cardinal, The Rise and Fall of George Pell and Witness, An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice. Her books have been awarded multiple prizes, including the Walkley Book Award, the Davitt Awards Best Non-Fiction Crime Book, the Melbourne Prize for Literature People's Choice Award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award's People's Choice prize, the Sir Owen Dixon Chambers Law Reporter of the Year Award, a Press Freedom Medal and a shortlisting for the Stella Prize.  

Louise's journalism, particularly her coverage of historical institutional child abuse and the experience of women in the criminal justice system and parliament, has broken national and international news, sparked government inquiries and led to profound cultural change and law reform. She started her career in newspapers and is a former High Court correspondent and political reporter. Born in Ireland to an Irish mother and Scottish father, Louise moved to Australia as a child. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children. Shellybanks is her second novel.