In Conversation with Rosalie Ham

The heritage-listed location of ‘Collins Booksellers on Lydiard’ is a book lover’s paradise. With the wooden ﬂoors, old style bookcases, heritage style counter and open ﬁreplaces, adults and children alike are able to step back in time and enjoy the simple pleasure of browsing the pages of their next favourite book.The historic building, belonging to the Old Colonists Association of Ballarat, dates from 1888. It is glorious to look at and to wander into with a façade of architectural significance derived from Renaissance design.Set over four historical shop fronts with internal walkways connecting each, there are sections dedicated to fiction, non-fiction and children’s/young adult respectively. A place for everyone!

Collins Booksellers on Lydiard

Join us for an evening with Rosalie Ham to celebrate ‘Molly’,  the prequel to Rosalie's international bestseller ‘The Dressmaker'.

Seminar Theatre, Federation University Technology Park, SMB Campus

We are delighted to be hosting the wonderful Rosalie Ham in Ballarat to celebrate the release of her latest novel Molly. With the dark humour, richly detailed settings and vividly drawn characters we've come to expect from Rosalie Ham, this prequel to the international bestseller The Dressmaker is an unforgettable story of hopes lost, love found - and corsets loosened.Rosalie will be in conversation with Renee Price.<a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/google-preview?isbn=1761563920" title="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/google-preview?isbn=1761563920" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> </a>About 'Molly'It's 1914 and Molly Dunnage wants to see change: at home, at work and in underwear. Her burgeoning corsetry business is starting to take off, thanks to some high-profile supporters. She's marching with Melbourne's suffragists for better conditions for women everywhere. And her family - her eccentric, confounding, adored father and aunt - are turning their minds to country retirement. But as the clouds of war gather and an ominous figure starts skulking in the shadows of her life, Molly's dreams begin to falter. Then, when true love drops out of the sky and into her arms, her hopes for her life and the world are entirely upended.About Rosalie<h4>Rosalie’s novels have now sold over 300,000 copies in Australia and internationally.</h4>Rosalie Ham was born and raised in Jerilderie, New South Wales population 800. Returning to Australia after seeing the world, Rosalie ‘rushed to university because Gough Whitlam made it possible’, enrolling in Drama and Literature.But it was the story that ignited her flame and, having moved on to creative writing, Rosalie ‘skewed a few accumulated secrets’ and wrote her first novel, <a href="https://rosalieham.com/the-dressmaker/" title="https://rosalieham.com/the-dressmaker/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Dressmaker</a> (published in 2000). Further novels are <a href="https://rosalieham.com/summer-at-mount-hope/" title="https://rosalieham.com/summer-at-mount-hope/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Summer at Mount Hope</a> (2005), <a href="https://rosalieham.com/there-should-be-more-dancing/" title="https://rosalieham.com/there-should-be-more-dancing/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">There Should be More Dancing</a> (2011) and <a href="https://rosalieham.com/the-year-of-the-farmer/" title="https://rosalieham.com/the-year-of-the-farmer/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Year of the Farmer</a> (2018).<a href="https://rosalieham.com/the-dressmakers-secret/" title="https://rosalieham.com/the-dressmakers-secret/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Dressmaker’s Secret</a>, a sequel to The Dressmaker, followed (November 2020).Described as a ‘gifted storyteller’ with ideas that are ‘fresh, unusual and entertaining,’ Rosalie’s stories are new, but recognisable beyond Australia. Using the stereotype to subvert the cliché, and always seeking to surprise the reader, she sheds new light on universal verities.<a href="https://rosalieham.com/the-dressmaker/" title="https://rosalieham.com/the-dressmaker/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Dressmaker</a> was brought to life on screen in 2015. The <a href="https://rosalieham.com/portfolios/dressmaker-film/" title="https://rosalieham.com/portfolios/dressmaker-film/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">film</a>, produced by Rosalie’s Jerilderie friend, Sue Maslin, won five <a href="https://www.aacta.org/" title="https://www.aacta.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">AACTA awards</a> including:<ul><li>Best Actress for Kate Winslet</li><li>Best Supporting Actress for Judy Davis and;</li><li>Best Costume for Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson.</li></ul>It was adapted for the screen and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and also stars Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving along with a many other fine Australian performers including Sarah Snook, Sacha Horler and Rebecca Gibney. It was also voted People’s Choice Award for Favourite Australian Film.The Dressmaker is a long-standing popular presence on the VCE Literature List and the English Studies reading list, but when asked, Rosalie cites her third novel, <a href="https://rosalieham.com/there-should-be-more-dancing/" title="https://rosalieham.com/there-should-be-more-dancing/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">There Should be More Dancing</a>, as her favourite.Rosalie lives in Melbourne and, when she is not writing, addresses students and study groups on her books and writing in general. She holds a BA in Education and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing.

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