Late one afternoon in 2014, out near Croppa Creek, New South Wales, things came to a head. An 80 year old farmer, Ian Turnbull, took out a gun and shot Glen Turner, an environmental officer, in the back. He stood over the wounded man until he was dead, despite the pleas of his companion. 

This is the point at which Kate Holden starts her remarkable book. But don’t be confused. Holden is not interested in writing a true crime story. She wants to understand the forces at play here: the way we view land, who owns it, what it’s for, what our responsibility to it entails. And to comprehend that she discovers she needs to delve into our philosophical and cultural roots, to drill down into a lot of our assumptions. 

Holden says she’s not a journalist, but the book won a Walkley Award. She says she’s not a historian, but the book won the NSW Premiers non-fiction award 2022 and is short-listed for the Regional History award. This is an important book, written by one of our finest writers. 

‘A gripping account of our land and ourselves,’ Tara June Winch

Kate Holden is the author of two best-selling memoirs, In My Skin and The Romantic. She writes a bi-weekly column for the Saturday Age. 

Our introducing author will be Katie McMahon, speaking about her second novel, The Accident. 

This time Katie reveals the inner lives of Grace, Zoe and Imogen, whose worlds are linked through shared but not always obvious connections. The Accident explores the ways in which our formative years shape our future, examining the influence of unrequited love and the healing power of friendship.

• The event is Thursday September 15, 6 for 6.30pm at Maleny Community Centre.  Tickets: www.outspokenmaleny.com