Songs by four of the greatest American music stylists - Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Lucinda Williams and Linda Ronstadt – will be performed in the library by Tanya-Lee Davies and guitarist Sam Lemann.

In the time-honoured tradition of country storytelling, expect heartbreakers, heart racers and heart-stopping romantic thrillers, road trip tales and odes to triumph and tragedy.

We are fortunate to have Tanya-Lee and Sam performing instead of previously-scheduled Xani Kolac.

Friday 4 September 2026
Doors open at 5:40pm for a 6:00pm start.
This event is free for members and $25 for non-members.
Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link

Join author Maxine Beneba Clarke as she reflects on a career that has spanned spoken word, poetry, memoir, non-fiction, journalism, fiction and writing for theatre.

Maxine is the author of many books for adults and children, including the ABIA and Indie Award-winning short fiction collection Foreign Soil, critically-acclaimed memoir The Hate Race, the Kate Greenaway Medal longlisted When We Say Black Lives Matter, and The Patchwork Bike, which won the Boston Globe/Horn Prize for Best Picture Book.

Her poetry collections include the Victorian Premier’s Award-winning collection Carrying the World, How Decent Folk Behave, It’s the Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for young people (which won an ABIA for Book of the Year for younger readers), Stuff I'm (Not) Sorry For: 99 more poems for young people and the recently-released Beautiful Changelings.

Thursday 20 August 2026
Doors open at 6:40pm for a 7:00pm start.
This event is free for members and for non-members.
Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link

Celebrating 26 years on the world stage, Flinders Quartet is one of Australia's most celebrated ensembles.

The quartet is known for its insightful interpretations and depth of understanding, particularly in the string quartet greats of Mozart and Beethoven.

Mozart's Adagio and Fugue in C minor is a work of dark intensity, its intricate counterpoint pointing toward Beethoven's world even as it crowns Mozart's mastery of classical form. That world arrives in full with Beethoven's String Quartet in E flat, Op. 127 - the first of his visionary late quartets, opening with majestic chords before unfolding into one of the most expansive and profound journeys in all of chamber music.

Friday 21 August 2026
Doors open at 5:40pm for a 6:00pm start.
This event is free for members and $25 for non-members.
Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link

The comic book form is used as a narrative medium by creators to tackle social, historical and personal histories: protesting about the Vietnam War in Mirranda Burton’s Underground; Napoleon Bonaparte’s Tasmanian imprisonment in Jamie Clennett’s The Diemenois; and growing up with an autistic sibling in Gina Chadderton’s Oh Brother.

Join these creators, along with chair Bernard Caleo, as they present illustrated readings from their work and engage in a spirited discussion about comics and the real world.

Presented by Rare Books Melbourne in partnership with The Melbourne Athenaeum Library.

Thursday 30 July 2026
Doors open at 5:40pm for a 6:00pm start.
This event is free for members and for non-members.
Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link