Litbits: What's on in the Canberra literary scene from August 6, 2022

August 10: Holden Sheppard, author of the novel The Brink, exploring subjects such as masculinity, sexuality, mental health, drug and alcohol use and sex, will be in discussion with Ainslie Football Club co-captain Matt Teasdale at Muse at 6pm. Tickets $10. musecanberra.com.au.

August 10: At the National Library of Australia Theatre at 6pm is the launch of the new National Library publication, Ice Bound. Author Dr Joy McCann will share stories of the intrepid Australian Antarctic explorers. Free, bookings essential: nla.gov.au.

August 12: At Paperchain Bookstore in Manuka at 5pm, Christine Sykes will discuss her new novel, The Tap Cats of the Sunshine Coast. Free, space limited. RSVP: info@paperchainbookstore.com.au or phone 6295 6723.

August 12: At Book Cow at 5.30pm, Cadance Bell, author of The All Of It: A Bogan Rhapsody will be in conversation with Kaya Wilson. bookcow.com.au.

August 14: Former head of Australia's consular service, Ian Kemish, will discuss The Consul, his book about recent Australian foreign affairs challenges, with former Australian ambassador Richard Rigby at Muse at 3pm. Tickets: $10 general/$40 (entry and a copy of the book). musecanberra.com.au.

August 16: Translations Book Club will discuss Maragarita Liberaki's Three Summers (trans. Karen Van Dyck) at 8pm. musecanberra.com.au.

August 20: At the National Gallery of Australia at 2pm in the ACT Poetry Month Showcase, poetry as a political act takes the stage with Andrew Cox, Zhi Yi Cham, former winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Awards for Poetry Melinda Smith, and poet and academic Jeanine Leane. $5 suggested donation. nga.gov.au.

August 22: At 6pm, in an ANU/Canberra Times meet the author event, Professor James Curran will be in conversation with John McCarthy on Curran's new book, Australia's China Odyssey - From Euphoria to Fear, which explores Australia's relationship with China through the prism of prime ministers from Whitlam onwards. Registrations at anu.edu.au/events.

August 25: At Paperchain Bookstore in Manuka at 5pm, Richard White, co-editor (with Melissa Harper) of Symbols of Australia: Imagining a Nation, will be in conversation with historian Frank Bongiorno. Free, space limited. RSVP info@paperchainbookstore.com.au or phone 6295 6723.

August 27: Sisters in Crime - featuring some of Australia's most popular female crime writers - returns to Cobargo on Saturday, August 27.The line-up includes Candice Fox, Vikki Petraitis, and Fleur Ferris. See: headlandfestival.com.au.

August 28: At Muse at 3pm, a panel of political correspondents, including Stela Todorovic and Matthew Doran, will discuss the first 100 days of the Albanese government. Tickets $10. musecanberra.com.au.

August 29: At 6pm, in an ANU/Canberra Times meet the author event, Vikki Petraitis will be in conversation with Chris Hammer on The Unbelieved, in which Petraitis gathers her considerable true crime experience in a debut novel which won the Allen & Unwin Crime Fiction Prize. Cinema, Kambri Cultural Centre, ANU. Registrations at anu.edu.au/events.

August 31: The OzLit Book Club at Muse focuses on the 2022 Vogel Prize-winning novel, A Place Near Eden by Nell Pierce. 6.30pm. musecanberra.com.au.

September 4: Three (female) observers of war - pacifist Biff Ward, anthropologist and academic Christine Helliwell, and journalist Karen Middleton - discuss whether women approach or write war stories differently and how writing about war differs from writing about other topics. Muse, 3pm, $10. musecanberra.com.au.

September 10: Jayne Tuttle, author of My Sweet Guillotine, a book about life, death and reinvention, will be in conversation with Canberra Times features editor Sally Pryor at Muse at 4pm. $10 or $40 with book. musecanberra.com.au.

September 11: Peggy Frew, author of the sibling drama novel Wildflowers, will be in conversation with Canberra Times features editor Sally Pryor at Muse at 3pm. $10 or $40 with book. musecanberra.com.au.

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

The Canberra chapter of the Tough Guy Book Club meets at King O'Malley's, 131 City Walk, Canberra, from 7pm to 9.30pm. Future dates are September 1, October 5, November 2 and December 7. President of the Canberra chapter is Adam Bartlett, phone 0468 942 182. See: toughguybookclub.com.

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. See: canberrawritersfestival.com

Youth nature-writing prize Poem Forest invites students and teachers across Australia to use their words to create tangible climate action, planting a tree for every poem submitted. It's open until September 23. See: redroompoetry.org/projects/poem-forest/