Join Melbourne novelist Tony Birch in conversation with Laura La Rosa as he discusses his new novel The White Girl. A searing story that explores the lengths we will go to in order to save the people we love.

ABOUT THE BOOK

‘Odette, be sensible. Sissy cannot leave this town.’ Shea threw his hands in the air. ‘Listen to me, please, Odette. It’s not as if your Sissy is a white girl.’

Odette Brown has lived her whole life on the fringes of a small country town. Raising her granddaughter Sissy on her own, Odette has managed to stay under the radar of the welfare authorities who are removing Aboriginal children from their communities. When the menacing Sergeant Lowe arrives in town, determined to fully enforce the law, any freedom that Odette and Sissy enjoy comes under grave threat. Odette must make an impossible choice to protect her family.

In The White Girl, Tony Birch has created memorable characters whose capacity for love and courage are a timely reminder of the endurance of the human spirit.

TONY BIRCH

Tony Birch is the author of Ghost River, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and Blood, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Tony is a frequent contributor to ABC local and national radio and a regular guest at writers’ festivals. He lives in Melbourne and is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University.

LAURA LA ROSA

Laura La Rosa is a proud Darug woman, originally from Western Sydney, now living on Wurundjeri land. She is the founder of creative collective, Woolf Communications, as well as a writer, producer, and graphic designer.

Passionate about grassroots collectivism and storytelling, Laura's work is focussed on fostering disruptive discourse and the elevation of vital voices through various mediums. A dabbling columnist, Laura has appeared in The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Real, and Eureka Street. 

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