Litbits: What's on in the Canberra literary scene from April 16, 2022

May 10: At 6pm, AI researcher Professor Toby Walsh will be in conversation with Andrew Leigh on Walsh's new book, Machines Behaving Badly: The Morality of AI. Cinema Kambri Cultural Centre ANU. Registrations at anu.edu.au/events.

May 11: At 6pm, former prime minister Kevin Rudd will be in conversation with Julie Bishop on Rudd's new book, The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China, which proposes a way forward for the US and China to avoid a superpower conflict. Manning Clark Auditorium, Kambri Cultural Centre, ANU. Registrations at anu.edu.au/events.

May 18: At 6pm, best-selling and award-winning crime fiction author Dervla McTiernan will be in conversation with Chris Hammer on McTiernan's new novel, The Murder Rule, her first standalone thriller. Cinema. Kambri Cultural Centre ANU. Registrations at anu.edu.au/events.

Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia's ARA Group has announced entries for the ARA Historical Novel Prize are now open. It has an Adult category and a Children and Young Adult (CYA) category and has $100,000 in prize monies. Historical fiction will be defined as a novel in which the majority of the narrative must have taken place at least 50 years before publication. A range of sub-genres are eligible, including historical mystery, historical romance, alternate history, historical fantasy, multi-time, time-slip, and parallel narrative novels. Entries close on June 15. The winners will be announced on October 20, 2022. See: hnsa.org.au.

Australian Catholic University is putting out the call to poets from around the nation to share a glimmer of hope in a world shaken by a global pandemic, worsening natural disasters and the threat of global conflict. The 2022 ACU Prize for Poetry is now open for all Australian residents to submit their finest works on the theme of "Hope", inspired by a line from Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous play about Robin Hood: "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'..." The winners of the $10,000 first prize, second prize of $5000, $3000 third prize, and two $1000 Highly Commended prizes will be announced on September 6 in Sydney. Entries close on July 4, 2022. More information: acu.edu.au.

Tuesdays: At 11am each Tuesday in Green Square will be stories, games and activities designed for babies and toddlers up to five years of age. More information: bookcow.com.au.

April 16: At 3pm, Nattie Kate Mason, fantasy author of The Crowning series and The Goddess of Blood and Bone, will conduct a Q&A session. More information: bookcow.com.au.

April 27: Adrian Caesar, author of A Winter Sowing, the story of a man in search of redemption through art and love, will be in conversation with former Canberra Times literary editor Robert Hefner at 5pm. RSVPinfo@paperchainbookstore.com.au or phone 6295 6723.

April 28: At Poetry at Manning Clark House, 11 Tasmania Circuit, Forrest, from 7pm, two books will be launched: The Ruby Red's Affair by Sandra Renew (Ginninderra Press 2022) and a chapbook on aged care, Please Add Your Signature and Date it Here, by Hazel Hall (Litoria Press, 2021). Bookings essential on Trybooking.com.

May 1: At Manning Clark House at 1pm, Dr Inga Simpson, author of the nature writing memoir UNDERSTORY: A life with trees, will discuss the intersection between our inner and outer landscapes. MCH members $10; concession (govt support and full-time students) $15, non-members $20. Bookings essential: trybooking.com/BYBSR.

April 29: Join Beejay Silcox for a discussion with Australian cult singer-songwriter and AFI-nominated actor Lo Carmen about her first book, Lovers Dreamers Fighters. National Library of Australia Theatre, 6pm. Free. At 7.30pm at Bookplate will be a two-course dinner (limited tickets are $98 each) with Carmen: booking for the dinner will secure a place at the 6pm event. Bookings for the talk and the dinner at nla.gov.au.

August 10-14: The Canberra Writers Festival will be back with a full program of more than 60 live events including the opening night dinner, panel sessions and more. The program will be announced on June 29. See: canberrawritersfestival.com.

Youth nature-writing prize Poem Forest is open for its second year. It invites students and teachers across Australia to use their words to create tangible climate action, planting a tree for every poem submitted to help heal critically endangered habitats, and create a forest of poems for future generations. It's open until September 23 and coincides with Poetry Month throughout August 2022. All submitted poems will be published on the Red Room Poetry website and go in the running for $5000 worth of prizes including a $500 cash prize, book packs, seeds and plants. See: redroompoetry.org/projects/poem-forest/.

April 19: Translations Book Club at 8pm travels with French-Senegalese author David Diop to the battlefields of World War I with his Booker Prize-winning novel, At Night All Blood is Black (translated by Anna Moschovakis). musecanberra.com.au.

April 27: At 6.30pm, the Ozlit Book Club's April pick is the winner of the inaugural Novel Prize, Jessica Au's Cold Enough for Snow. musecanberra.com.au.

The Tough Guy Book Club is back for 2022. It's a free monthly modern meeting place for guys of all walks of life to get together and discuss not just the works of literary greats, but any and all of the issues that men tackle on a daily basis. The Canberra chapter meets at King O'Malley's, 131 City Walk, Canberra, on the first Wednesday of every month from 7pm to 9.30pm: the next meetings are on May 4 and June 1. The president of the Canberra chapter is Adam Bartlett (phone 0468 942 182). See: toughguybookclub.com.