Fullers is very excited to be hosting this incredible interactive author conversation, ‘Menopause is not a Use-By Date’, which has been met with resounding success. Menopause, once a whispered topic, is now entering mainstream through comedy, musicals, and, increasingly, literature. This shift reflects evolving societal attitudes, but more importantly, it prompts us to examine how these extra decades are truly being lived.

It’s time to discard the outdated notion that women are shelved as they grow older. Contemporary novels are embracing life, love, and sexuality in later years, proving that aging isn’t about fading away – it’s about soaring.

The panel will feature author Liz Evans, who will be speaking with Trish Bolton, and Dr Rachel Mathews.

Liz Evans is an award-winning British writer, journalist, author and novelist, currently based in lutruwita/Tasmania. A former music journalist who published two books on women and rock in the 1990s, she is also a qualified Jungian psychotherapist. Her debut novel, Catherine Wheel (Ultimo Press, 2024), was completed for her PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Tasmania where she has taught English & Writing and Media units and is now an Adjunct Researcher. Her fiction has been awarded fellowships from Varuna and the Katherine Susan Prichard Centre, as well as an Educational Residency with Arts Tasmania. She is represented by Curtis Brown and is currently working on her second novel about women in the rock industry for Ultimo Press.  Liz is also a regular cultural commentator on ABC Radio and a literary critic for The Conversation.

Trish Bolton’s debut novel Whenever You’re Ready was published by Allen & Unwin last year. Her writing has been published in The Saturday Paper, The Age, Sunday Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Pearls and Irritations, The Canberra Times, Overland, New Matilda, The Big Issue and Visible Ink. She has been the recipient of an Australian Society of Authors mentorship and has twice been awarded fellowships at Varuna, the National Writers’ House. She was joint-winner of a Fellowship of Australian Writers unpublished manuscript award and longlisted for the Virginia Prize for Fiction (UK) and the Mslexia Women’s Novel Competition (UK).

Dr Rachel Matthews is an Australian author and writing lecturer, known for her tragicomic social commentary. Her debut, Vinyl Inside, earned high commendation for the Australian Vogel Award, and her PhD novel, Siren, addressed sexual violence in Australian football. Her latest tragicomedy, Never Look Desperate, was named among 2023’s ‘Best New Australian Fiction’ by The Australian and The Guardian. Her work appears in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. A regular ABC radio contributor on writing, Rachel shares insights into storytelling, praised by Michael Pavlich for her vibrant communication. Matthews also leads Readers Are Writers workshops globally, including in Nepal. With extensive teaching experience at RMIT and ACU and secondary teaching and student welfare work, she’s dedicated to fostering inclusive literary spaces.

Join us at the Afterword Café.

This is a Free Event – seating might be limited but let us know if you will definitely need a chair