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Join celebrated journalist Jana Wendt as she unveils her debut collection of short stories in a special event held over a two-course dinner in The Restaurant at Montalto.
Beloved Gold Logie-winning journalist Jana Wendt offers insight into her extraordinary life and work: from her glittering career in Australian television and smashing the glass ceiling, to leaving it all behind and turning her hand to the written word.
In her new short story collection The Far Side of the Moon, Wendt brings her trademark curiosity, rigour, intelligence and generosity to bear with keenly written works that illuminate the human condition. A powerful observer of ordinary people and the moments that define them, Wendt’s stories offer poignant portraits of vital friendships, wenching tragedies and enduring loves.
This is a rare opportunity to hear from one of Australia’s most lauded journalists in discussion, after decades away from the spotlight.
Join Wendt, and host Virginia Trioli, at this unmissable edition of Books & Ideas at Montalto.
Jana Wendt is a journalist and writer. Her feature writing has appeared in a broad range of publications and she has worked for every Australian television network as a senior reporter and presenter, and as a contributing correspondent for the American CBS Network’s 60 Minutes. Wendt has interviewed many key newsmakers, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Muammar Gaddafi, Henry Kissinger, Rupert Murdoch, Conrad Black, Benazir Bhutto, Binyamin Netanyahu, and Yasser Arafat. In the arts, her subjects have included pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim; opera star Cecilia Bartoli; writer Norman Mailer and jazz diva Cleo Laine. Jana Wendt has published two books of non-fiction. The Far Side of the Moon is her first book of fiction.
Virginia Trioli is one of Australia’s most respected journalists, known for her sharp interviewing style, wit and versatility across television, radio and print. A multi-prize-winning reporter, she earned journalism’s highest honour – a Walkey Award – for her business reporting in 1995 and again in 2001 for her landmark interview with Peter Reith on the children overboard issue.
She has held senior positions at The Age newspaper and Bulletin magazine, and has hosted flagship programs for the ABC including7.30, Q&A, Lateline and News Breakfast, which she co-anchored for 11 years. On radio, she led ABC Melbourne’s Mornings during pivotal moments including the Black Summer fires and the COVID-19 pandemic. Virginia now hosts ABC’s prime-time Creative Types with Virginia Trioli, the podcast You Don’t Know Me and writes the popular Weekend Reads column for ABC News.
In 1996, Virginia authored Generation F, her celebrated response to Helen Garner’s The First Stone. Her latest book is A Bit on the Side, described by Trent Dalton as ‘utterly delightful’.
