Past events | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Past events

Showing 1 - 12 of 302 results
A book cover with illustrations of two women in Victorian era dress with blue and purple accents with a dotted background
Author talk: Marie & Marie
02 Jul 2026 | 12:30pm - 1:30pm

Join poet Adrienne Eberhard and novelist Catherine de Saint Phalle for a special In Conversation event about their serendipitous collaboration on the French translation of Marie & Marie.

Ferguson Room
Books and authors
Author talk
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Portrait of Melanie Saward next to a the covers of a various Papunya readers, with the TQI accredited program logo 2026.
Wangka Wakanutja - Teacher Professional Development with Dr Melanie Saward
01 Jul 2026 | 3:30pm - 5:30pm

Dr Melanie Saward and the National Library Education team explored the inclusion of First Australians’ history and culture in the classroom.

Teachers and Educators
Ferguson Room
Education/learning
Past event
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Black background, with the white text 'My Life in 100 Objects', white line art of various objects surrounds the text as a boarder to the left and Nerra Mahajan to the right
Workshop: Writing the book only you can write - Session 2
01 Jul 2026 | 2:00pm - 4:00pm

In this workshop, Writing the Book Only You Can Write, participants were introduced to a unique and accessible approach to writing their personal story. 

Book lovers
Friends of the Library
Friends Lounge
Friends of the Library event
Past event
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Black background, with the white text 'My Life in 100 Objects', white line art of various objects surrounds the text as a boarder to the left and Nerra Mahajan to the right
Workshop: Writing the book only you can write
01 Jul 2026 | 10:00am - 12:00pm

In this workshop, Writing the Book Only You Can Write, participants were introduced to a unique and accessible approach to writing their personal story. 

Book lovers
Friends of the Library
Friends Lounge
Friends of the Library event
Past event
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Book cover titled 'Geigi the stubbon boy' and authors Elliot and Michael Passi to the right of the cover
NAIDOC Week Online Author Talk ‘Geigi the Stubborn Boy’
30 Jun 2026 | 2:00pm - 2:45pm

Ahead of NAIDOC Week 2026 we celebrated Torres Strait Islander tradition and culture.

Kids and families
Online
Author talk
Education/learning
Webinar
A group of people sitting in a forest, listening to a speech

Future Library forest, Nordmarka, Norway

2026 Future Library Handover Ceremony - Livestream
28 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 8:30pm

We joined the Future Library project, Tommy Orange and Amitav Ghosh online as they delivered the 2026 Handover Ceremony.

Academics
Culturally active
Library professionals
Online
Past event
A blond-haired woman wearing courtroom robes with blue, yellow and white ribbons on the right shoulder
Winter Tales presents Justice Verity McWilliam
28 Jun 2026 | 2:00pm - 4:00pm

The National Foundation for Australian Women presented Justice Verity McWilliam reflecting on her life and work.

Conference Room
Past event
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A man and woman wearing dark suits are pictured standing in front of Australia's Parliament House. The cover of their book is shown on the right of the image.
A Funny Thing Happened...with Robbie Swan and Fiona Patten
25 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

After decades spent on the fringes of politics, publishing and Australia’s sex industry, Robbie Swan and Fiona Patten finally told the stories they could never quite leave behind. We joined them for the launch of their book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sex Party.

Online
Theatre
Author talk
Past event
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Young girl and older woman browsing at the Bookshop
2026 National Library Bookshop sale
18 - 20 Jun 2026 | 9:00am - 5:00pm

We celebrated the end of the financial year with great savings on Australian literature and unique gifts with discounts up to 50%*. 

NLA Bookshop
Books and authors
Bookshop event
Past event
Shelves of books in the National Library's repository are pictured alongside speaker Susannah Fullerton
10 novels that changed the world
18 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Which novels have had a universal impact on our world? Author and leading literary authority Susannah Fullerton delivered this engaging lecture presented by the Friends of the Library.

Book lovers
Friends of the Library
Library professionals
Online
Theatre
Books and authors
Friends of the Library event
Past event
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A sepia photograph of a man opening a drawer in a caravan

Caravans for the polio immunisation campaign. Health, Australia: photographs collected by the National Library of Australia. Box 57, Health – Polio, nla.cat-vn6185856 

Experiences of polio in 1950s Australia
18 Jun 2026 | 12:30pm - 1:30pm

Prof Catharine Coleborne presented her recent Fellowship research, focussed on her discoveries about the health and illness experiences of poliomyelitis (polio) in regional Australia across the 20th century.

Academics
Online
Theatre
Past event
Fellowship talk
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A painting of navy ships with blue skies and green hills in the background

William Bradley, Drawings from his journal A Voyage to New South Wales (c. 1802). Source: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW. Out of copyright.

The artwork and handwritten journals of the first fleeters
16 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:45pm

ArtsNational Canberra and Paul Brunton OAM presented a lecture focusing on the eyewitness accounts of the voyage to Sydney during the First Fleet of 1787 - 1788.

Foyer
Theatre
Past event
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible

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