Kate Halfpenny: Midlife - What the hell happened?
Join Kate Halfpenny for an honest conversation about midlife, identity and the unexpected twists that come with it. Kate reflects on work, ambition and the moments that make us pause, reassess and sometimes laugh at how life really turns out.
Event #17 – RACV Torquay Resort
3:30pm-4:15pm
Cost: $25
Kate Halfpenny
Kate Halfpenny has been an award-winning writer, editor, and commentator for four decades, covering celebrities, controversies, and newsmakers for iconic titles including Who, Vogue, and Marie Claire, as well as ABC Radio. Since 2021, her popular weekly columns for The Age have explored the complexities of midlife, relationships, and aging – themes that also drive her debut book, Boogie Wonderland.
A mother of three and a former synchronised trampoline champion, Kate is madly in love with her husband and has maintained a daily Tetris habit since 1991.
Moderator – Janet Brown
Janet Brown is an award-winning writer whose work across theatre, fiction, and nonfiction is deeply rooted in lived experience. Her plays have been staged by independent companies since 2004, with notable works like The Hope Song illuminating personal mental health journeys. A prolific author, Janet’s titles include the novel The Shaded Side and the nonfiction books In the Company of Strangers and Honouring Carers. She was recently commissioned to write Dancing into Freedom, a memoir of an East German defector. Based on a farm in the Surf Coast hinterland, Janet mentors emerging writers and continues to craft stories that celebrate remarkable lives. Her work is published by Currency Press and Ginninderra Press, earning acclaim in Australia, England, and Canada.
Take a look at our other sessions
This year’s line-up also includes bestselling and award-winning authors including Sarah Bailey and J.P. Pomare, who will take to the stage for a special live recording of their podcast, “He Read, She Read”, alongside acclaimed writers Alli Sinclair, Antoun Issa, Melissa Manning, Mark Smith, Tanya Scott, Brendan Cullen and Paul Mitchell, Emma Hardy, Kate Halfpenny and many more.