Book launch

What Fear Was

Online ticket sales for this event have closed. You can purchase tickets at the door.

From vanishing islands to talking flathead and nightmarish bushfires, Ben Walter’s visionary Tasmanian fictions are unique in the landscape of Australian writing. An unemployed man chooses only to apply for jobs advertised in The Economist; a failed mountain expedition is mocked by the dead bodies of past climbers; and a father and son travel urgently to witness the miracle of Lake Pedder emptying. In What Fear Was, Walter combines beautiful, mesmerising writing with surreal discomfort and absurdist hilarity to completely upend the idea of an Australian short story.

Ben will joined in conversation by Robbie Arnott, author of Flames and The Rain Heron.

Join Ben and Robbie at Hobart Town Hall.

You can purchase tickets below.

When buying multiple tickets, please be sure to fill in the correct name and email address for each attendee (you can do this at the Checkout) to facilitate contact tracing.