Join popular Tasmanian author Mary-Lou Stephens as she launches her latest novel The Jam Maker in conversation with author Jodie Miller.
The book is set in Hobart in 1874 where young Harriet Brown is doing everything she can to survive. Even shearing off her hair and dressing as a boy to get work at the local jam factory.
Her successful ruse becomes harder to sustain as the years go by. As she starts a business partnership with her workmate, Henry Jones, her deception drives her to desperate choices.
Free. Bookings required. For adults. Arrive at 10:45 AM for an 11:00 AM start. Mary-Lou will sign copies of her book after the conversation. Book sales on the day courtesy of QBD The Bookshop North Lakes.
About the author
Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.
She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband. The Australian called her debut novel, The Last of the Apple Blossom (2021), "an outstanding historical novel about women and the secrets and burdens they carry". She is also the author of the bestselling novel The Chocolate Factory (2024).
Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia. Now she travels the world with her husband, slowly, and writes, mostly.
Image credit: Tracy Naughton.