Lit Live
Lit Live is an evening of imaginative stories and poetry produced and performed live by local authors. Follow the entire Maleny Trail or drop in and out, and be transported to different times and places throughout the evening.
Lit Live is a collaboration between Maleny book providers and local authors (see individual author Bios).
Full programme below…
Brendan O’Shea – The Mindfulness Poet
The Mindfulness Poet and author of the poetry collection, Chooks and Chakras, is Brendan O’Shea, ex-Buddhist monk and now a colourful performance poet. He tells stories and original poems based on his life experience of coming out of depression by getting into mindfulness. It’s a light-hearted journey of spoken word that goes into some profound topics, with plenty of laughter along the way.
Leigh Robshaw
Leigh Robshaw is the author of the 2019 memoir, You Had Me at Hola: In Search of Love & Truth in South America. Her first book, it won the High Country Indie Book Award 2020 and in 2022, received a $5000 RADF grant from Arts Queensland and the Sunshine Coast Council to be produced as an audiobook. A former journalist, Leigh works as a content manager for a Sydney-based content marketing agency and runs her own editing business, Stellar Words. In 2022 she received a publishing contract with Hay House to write her second book, to be published in 2024. Originally from Sydney, Leigh has lived in Maleny for 19 years.
Peta Miller
Peta Miller has been in the book trade for over thirty years, in both publishing and retail. When not writing, she works part-time at Berkelouw Books in Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast. In November 2018, Peta received the Charlotte Waring Barton Award for her unpublished manuscript, Sing Us Home, the prize being a mentorship with a HarperCollins author. After development, this manuscript has become The Ship’s Midwife published in 2023 with HarperCollins.
R. Lennard
R. Lennard discovered she could be all she dreamed of and more if she wrote the book. Rebecca enjoys learning about ancient civilisations, cosplaying and endless cups of tea. An avid fantasy and sci-fi reader, she fell in love with dragons, space travel, discovering fantastical history and stepping through a cupboard. Fantasy became her home away from home, and she loves to share the worlds she’s created with her readers in the YA series, Lissae. When Rebecca isn’t writing, she’s masquerading as one of the librarians on the Sunshine Coast.
Karen Joy
As a counselling psychologist for decades as Karen Nixon, Karen was a contributing writer to the Courier Mail. Now as Karen Joy, she practices as a hypnosis regressionist. Karen’s books include cases from her clients that illuminate the issues we face in life and how to overcome them through understanding our deep personal history and our shadow self. Her recent books include Other Lives, Other Realms: Journeys of Transformation 2015 (MediaLuna), Llewellyn’s Little Book of Life Between Lives, (co-author) 2017, Wisdom of Souls, (co-author) 2020 (Amazon best seller), Lost Soul, Wise Soul 2022 (Llewellyn). She also produces the podcast: Exploring Past Lives with Karen Joy.
Joanna Talberg
Writing as Joanna Talberg, Beerwah writer Joanna Barrett’s first published book with Ginninderra Press is called They said we were isolated: my life at Top Farm on Tasmania’s west coast. The memoir tells the story of Joanna’s and husband Peter’s dream of turning neglected property Top Farm back into a thriving cattle enterprise – and why they had to leave after two and a half years.
Joanna’s unpublished books number four. Yes, four! But she believes one may have a future. It’s called What Eddy does for Louis, an Aussie gothic historical novel.
Kevin Smith
Poet, Kevin Smith lives in Maleny, Queensland. He has worked as a teacher, writer, actor, director and workshop facilitator in theatres, high schools and tertiary institutions. His debut collection of poetry, Awake to the Rest of My Days, was published by Birdfish Books in 2021.
His latest collection, Another Day, was published in 2023 by Flying Island Press. His poems have been shortlisted in four major poetry prizes: the ACU (placed 2nd), The Newcastle and The Bridport, Fish Poetry Prize.
Lit Live Programme
4pm – Maleny Library – readings by Peta Miller (historical fiction), R. Lennard (YA fantasy), Joanna Talberg (memoir), Karen Joy (new age)
5pm – PS Books – readings by Kevin Smith (poetry), Leigh Robshaw (memoir)
6pm – The Maleny Bookshop – readings by R. Lennard, Jodie Lang (fantasy), Mark McDonough (sci-fi), Cara Loconte (romance)
7pm – Rosetta Books – Brendan O’Shea – The Mindfulness Poet will cap the evening off with a half-hour performance full of enlightenment and laughter