December 8: In this ANU/Canberra Times meet the author event from 6pm to 7pm, Chris Hammer will be in conversation with Michael Brissenden on Hammer's latest book, Treasure and Dirt, an engrossing, standalone, outback noir thriller from the award-winning author of the international bestsellers Scrublands, Silver and Trust. Cinema, Kambri Cultural Centre, ANU. Registrations at anu.edu.au/events.

December 13: In this ANU/Canberra Times meet the author event from 6pm to 7pm, Andrew Leigh will be in conversation with ANU vice chancellor Brian Schmidt on Leigh's new book, What's the Worst That Could Happen? Existential Risk and Extreme Politics. Leigh looks at catastrophic risks and how to mitigate them, arguing provocatively that the rise of populist politics makes catastrophe more likely. Cinema, Kambri Cultural Centre, ANU Registrations at anu.edu.au/events.

The National Portrait Gallery and The Curatoreum in partnership with Penguin Books will host the official Canberra launch of Omar Musa's Killernova exhibition. Grappling with his heritage, Musa charts a journey through the colonial history of South-East Asia, environmental destruction, race in Australia, the isolation and addiction of COVID lockdown, family, lost love, and, ultimately, recovery. November 27, 1pm and 3pm. Bookings from portrait.gov.au.

A Brush with Poetry Bonus: Room and Zoom is on November 28. Hear contemporary and traditional voices at the free open mic soirée. Café on Queen. 15 Queen Street, Binalong. 1.30 for 2pm. Link to Zoom on Binalong Arts Group Inc Facebook page or email. Bookings essential via robynsykespoet@gmail.com or 0401 289 178. All welcome.

The National Library of Australia is reopening its locations and events in stages. From Monday, November 29, the Library's Main Reading Room and Special Collections Reading Room will be open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Normal operating hours will resume early in 2022. For more information and updates, visit nla.gov.au.

Join Lucy Neave along with Rosalind Smith and special guest Nigel Featherstone to celebrate the 2021 release of Neave's second novel, Believe In Me, on November 29 from 5.45pm, at The Street Theatre. Believe In Me is an unforgettable and profound novel about three generations of one family and the healing power of understanding where you've come from. It explores the relationships between mothers and their children across three generations of one family. The book questions what we can ever truly know of our parents' early lives, even as their experiences weave ineffably into our identities and destinies. Register at Eventbrite.

The Book Cow Bookshop brings you Hugh Watson in conversation with Philip Williams discussing Watson's latest book, The Silo, on December 1 from 5.30pm at Lava Espresso Bar. The Silo follows intuitive Sydney detective Susan Swift, who must solve a troubling series of murders. Barry Kingscliff, an ambitious politician rapidly ascending the rungs of power, appears to be at the centre of it all. Register at Eventbrite.

The Book Cow Bookshop launches Colly Campbell's latest novel, The Kyoto Bell, with Alex Sloan on December 2 at 6pm at Lava Espresso Bar. The Kyoto Bell is set in 2141, when the weather is savage, energy politics is brutal, and millions of climate refugees from Asia eke out an existence in a greening Australian desert. Todd, the teenage son of powerful Indigenous energy mogul Dr Madrigal Phipps, is kidnapped. A furious Dr Phipps gathers her old team from AuZgov Security Services and a renegade hacker, Andaman Marko, to hunt for Todd and his missing neo-Blues band. Register at Eventbrite.

Best-selling author Jack Heath will join the Dymocks Belconnen team and special guest Sam Hawke (author of the Poison Wars series) to celebrate the release of Heath's new standalone thriller, Kill Your Brother. December 5 at 9am. RSVPs are essential for this event so please indicate your attendance on the Facebook event or call 6251 2850.

Join Smith's Alternative for the launch of Bill Egan's book, African American Entertainers in Australia and New Zealand: A History, 1788-1941. It provides the only comprehensive history of more than 350 African American entertainers in Australia and New Zealand between European settlement in Australia in 1788 and the entry of the United States into World War II in 1941. It explains how and why they came, how they were treated and how that changed with the infamous White Australia policy. December 14 at 5pm. Register at smithsalternative.com.au.

Finally, the Lifeline Book Fairs are returning (with COVID restrictions, of course). The next one is scheduled for December 17-19 at Thoroughbred Park; then comes the 50th birthday celebration Lifeline Book Fair on February 11-13, 2022. lifelinecanberra.org.au.

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