EVENTS
Jaclyn regularly moderates events at writers festivals, literary organisations like The Wheeler Centre and Writers Victoria, as well as bookshops. She gives author talks about gardening and making pasta at libraries, community centres and food stores. Jaclyn also runs gardening workshops for children. She is regularly on ABC Radio reviewing books and making reading recommendations.
Veronica Sullivan, Festival Director,
Melbourne Writers Festival
“Jaclyn Crupi is one of my favourite people to program. Whether speaking with debut local writers or high-profile international guests, the hallmarks of Jaclyn’s interviewing style are her genuine warmth and passion for all things literary and/or culinary. Jaclyn invariably brings impeccable readerly acumen, wise and curious engagement with books, and infectious enthusiasm to every event she hosts.”
Jennifer Down, Miles-Franklin Award winning author of Bodies of Light
“Jaclyn is a shrewd and empathetic reader – traits that make her an excellent interviewer. Whether in conversation with Jaclyn myself, or watching her speak with another writer, I always feel I’m in the safe hands of someone who wants to share her passion and her intellectual curiosity with the reading public. She knows my books better, I suspect, than I do.”
Natalie Paull, Beatrix Bakes
“It’s an immense delight to be interviewed by Jaclyn. As soon as you are ushered through the discussion doorway with her generously flattering and impeccably researched introduction, the chat is like you are sitting with a close friend! Jaclyn makes you feel comfortable being yourself, encourages a giggle (or several) and gives you room to explore deeper emotions. She is a confident and charismatic conduit of conversation. ”
Sarah Krasnostein, multi-award winning author of The Trauma Cleaner and The Believer
“The depth of her reading and the breadth of her thinking make Jaclyn a rare and wonderful interviewer. Our conversation back in 2018 remains, for me, a highlight of my writing career.”
Upcoming Events
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Scran Launch
Wednesday 14 October, 6pm
HILL OF CONTENT
Join us for a conversation between Scottish chef Ali Stoner and Jaclyn Crupi!"This is more than a cookbook; its an invitation into Scotland's heart. Every page bursts with warmth & authenticity" - Sam Heughan
Scran is a new collection of more than 100 nostalgic and traditional Scottish recipes, seen through a modern lens. From celebrated Scottish home cook Ali Stoner (@rovinghaggis) come old favourites, classic bakery treats and creative new recipes inspired by Scotland, its landscapes and its traditions.
Ali Stoner or 'Roving Haggis' as she is known on social media, is a Scottish cook, previous Masterchef Australia contestant and social media influencer. Born in Glasgow, she currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband, family and two dogs. In 2022, she was a contestant on Masterchef Australia. On the show, her creativity and inventiveness were a stand out and the experience encouraged her to take her food journey further. In May 2023, Ali launched her Instagram and presence under the Roving Haggis moniker and has seen her audience grow rapidly with a large global following, particularly in North America, Canada and of course Scotland and the UK.
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Susan Orlean: Joyride
Wednesday 15 October, 6.30pm
THE WHEELER CENTREAcclaimed writer Susan Orlean returns to Melbourne to reflect on a remarkable career of curiosity and storytelling.
Susan Orlean is widely regarded as one of the great narrative non-fiction writers of her generation. Best known for The Orchid Thief – turned into the popular 2002 film Adaptation – and The Library Book, she has also spent decades as a beloved writer for The New Yorker. Guided by an insatiable curiosity, she has built a remarkable career finding extraordinary stories in unexpected places.
In Joyride, Orlean turns her keen eye towards her own life, reflecting on a body of work shaped by curiosity, observation and an enduring fascination with the people and world around her. Hailed by David Sedaris as ‘wise and exuberant’, the book is both a celebration of a life in writing and a testament to the wonder that comes from paying close attention.
Join Orlean in conversation with host Jaclyn Crupi as she reflects on the art of finding stories worth telling.
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Book Lover's Luncheon
Saturday 17 October, midday
MORRISON’S WINERYJoin celebrated, award-winning Tasmanian author Meg Bignell in conversation with well-known bookish moderator, author, judge, book editor and seller Jaclyn Crupi for a literary lunch at stunning Morrison's Winery Restaurant from12pm - 2pm. Note that Morrisons is in Moama, 6.2km from the Historic Port of Echuca.
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Storytelling Through the Seasons
Sunday 18 October, 12.30pm
WILDERGREEN MOAMAOn the Sunday of our festival we gather around the shared table at the stunning Wildergreen Moama for a celebration of food, country, stories and community.
As we sit down to eat, we’ll hear from local growers and foodies about the stories behind everything on our plates - the land, the people who tend it, and the communities built around it.
And when we’re done licking those plates, the main event begins.
An exploration of storytelling through the seasons featuring international speaker, author and wellbeing educator Kemi Nekvapil and regenerative farmer, author and podcaster Jade Miles in conversation with well-known bookish moderator Jaclyn Crupi.
In this empowering conversation we’ll learn how a deep connection to nature and the seasons of life can help us cultivate identity, self-compassion, wellbeing and belonging. -
Stephanie Alexander - The Cook's Companion, 30th Anniversary Edition
Thursday 22 October, 6.30pm
BRUNSWICK TOWN HALLStephanie Alexander joins us to celebrate 30 years of Australia's most iconic cookbook.
Stephanie Alexander reflects on thirty years of The Cook's Companion, fondly known across Australia as the "kitchen bible". Driven by her desire to break down anxieties about cooking, Stephanie's work emphasise the beauty of produce fresh from the garden and promotes the pleasures of sharing around a table. Stephanie believes that good food is essential to living well, and her book is a valuable resource for everyone, every day. Come along to hear more about Stephanie's incredible career and learn more about her new recipes.
Stephanie is joined in conversation by fellow writer, cook and gardener, Jaclyn Crupi. Jaclyn is the author of Planting for Native Birds, Bees and Butterflies, Pasta Love and Garden Like a Nonno.
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Pasta with Purpose: Fresh Pasta, Zero Waste
Sunday 25 October, 10.30am
FRANKSTON LIBRARYLearn how to make fresh pasta from scratch and discover how one of the world's favourite foods can also be a low-waste, budget-friendly meal.
Join Italian-Australian pasta maker Jaclyn Crupi for a hands-on workshop exploring simple pasta-making techniques using ingredients you likely already have at home. You'll learn how to use a pasta machine from Frankston Libraries' Library of Things, along with everyday kitchen items such as a fork, box grater and wooden skewer.
Along the way, discover practical ways to reduce waste, including how to repurpose pasta offcuts, make use of eggshells and reuse cooking water in the home and garden.
You'll leave with the skills and confidence to create delicious fresh pasta while saving money, reducing packaging waste and putting circular kitchen principles into practice.
You'll learn how to:
Make fresh pasta from simple ingredients
Reduce packaging waste by cooking from scratch
Get more value from ingredients you already have
Use leftover pasta offcuts creatively
Apply practical low-waste kitchen habits
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Planting for biodiversity - intergenerational workshop with Jaclyn Crupi
Wednesday 28 October, 10.30am
Eco-Living Display Centre, Mount MarthaBring your grandchildren to this hands-on workshop where you'll learn ways to invite more birds, bees & butterflies to your garden
Calling all grandparents! Bring along your grandchildren to this hands-on gardening workshop, where you can discover easy and engaging ways to enjoy gardening together and invite more birds, bees and butterflies into your garden. Leave this session with your very own seedlings to nurture and grow together.
This FREE event is brought to you by the Mornington Peninsula Shire in celebration of Children's Week and Seniors' Month 2026.
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New Releases Round-Up (& Industry Goss)
Wednesday 28 October, 7pm
SUBSTACKNew Release Roundup + Industry Fireside Chat with Jaclyn Crupi & Bri Lee
Allow us to help you cut through the noise and never-ending lists, and bring your attention to the best of book world each month.
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Eat the Book: Simple Pleasures
Thursday 29 October, 6pm
THE BRUNSWICK MECHANICS INSTITUTETicket includes one copy of Simple Pleasures, a cooking demonstration by Julia Busuttil Nishimura and a glass of wine from Organic Wines. A delicious meal will be served from recipes featured in the cookbook.
Join us at The Brunswick Mechanics Institute for a pleasurable evening with Julia Busuttil Nishimura. Julia will be giving a cooking demo and discussing her approach to cooking, food and developing recipes with Brunswick Bound’s Jaclyn Crupi.
Simple Pleasures is a book of recipes for you to fall in love with every day. With an emphasis on ease and enjoyment, Julia shows you how to turn household staples into something truly special. Weeknight dinner favourites include a punchy ginger and coriander one-pan chicken, lemony tomato and bean broth, and pasta with caramelised fennel and sausage, while side dishes like fennel gratin and a delightful nectarine, cucumber and feta salad are stars in their own right.
With sweet and savoury bakes such as potato, onion and gruyère tart and coconut and lemon cake with passionfruit icing, plus a whole chapter of desserts including Julia's classic chocolate mousse, Simple Pleasures is an essential book for the modern home cook. -
Chris Macheras in conversation
Thursday 5 November, 6pm
BRIGHTON LIBRARYTake a delicious trip through Melbourne's culinary history with Chris Macheras as he celebrates the city's most beloved restaurants, cafés, bars, pubs, and markets. Chris will be joined in conversation with Jaclyn Crupi.
Drawing on original research, rare historic photography, and stories shared by the venues and their families, Chris's latest book profiles around 120 institutions that have helped define Melbourne's rich food culture. From enduring icons such as Grossi Florentino, Pellegrini's, and France-Soir to much-missed favourites including Café Scheherazade, Coles Cafeteria, and the unforgettable Dine-In Pizza Hut, this is a nostalgic and richly illustrated celebration of the places where Melbournians have gathered to eat, drink, and connect for generations.
Join Chris Macheras as he explores the stories behind these iconic establishments, reflects on Melbourne's evolving food scene, and shares the remarkable history of the city's dining culture. Chris is also the author of Old Vintage Melbourne and Old Vintage Melbourne 1960-1990. -
New List Item
Friday 13 November, 7pm
STORIES BY THE SEA BOOKSHOPJoin us in our bookshop for an evening of seasonal food and inspired stories. Celebrated chef, Guy Mirabella will host dinner & conversation
with Jaclyn Crupi.
Inspired by Guy’s latest cookbook, Pranzo, Guy will prepare a generous celebration of Italian food, to be shared around a communal table.
Places are limited. -
The Whole Picture
Sunday 15 November, 10.30am
SQUISHY MINNIEFrom graphic novels to picture books, telling a story through words and visual art is quite an adventure. If you’ve ever been curious about the process of pulling together your own graphic narrative, come along to hear from Trace Balla, Simon Howe and Jasper Peach with host Jaclyn Crupi, followed my some acitivities. Suitable for all ages (including grown ups!)
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New List Item
Sunday 15 November, 1pm
MACEDON COMMUNITY HOUSEFrom plant practitioners practicing abundance, expect a combination of practical tips around how to grow productively, sustainably and to foster beauty and play in your garden - no matter the space. Hear from plant practitioner, director of the award-winning Super Bloom and author of Flower Power Jac Semmler, landscape architect, urban designer and author of The Productive Garden Companion Natasha Morgan, and herbalist, gardener, award-winning tea blender, author of The Medicinal Garden and the passionate voice behind The Cottage Herbalist Caroline Parker in conversation with gardener, garden educator, editor, bookseller and author of Planting for Native Birds, Bees and Butterflies Jaclyn Crupi.
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GarnerRama on Tour
Tuesday 24 November – Thursday 26 November
SYDNEY BRISBANE MELBOURNEWelcome to the literary event of the season! Our first ever live GarnerRama at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival this year sold out in 12 hours, so we’ve decided to take this show on the road. Your favourite feisty hosts, Bri Lee and Jaclyn Crupi are getting together to disagree about everything.
This is a cocktail party (get dressed!) and drinks will be for sale at the bar (have a martini and yank someone’s ponytail!). There will be generous lucky door prizes, and cakes with Helen’s face on them.
The plan for each show is:
Arrive at 6pm to mingle and enjoy an environment in which everyone is smart but nobody is a wanker.
At 6:30pm the show will begin! Act 1 is recorded, and will be a discussion about a theme in Helen Garner’s work.
Intermission and face cake cutting and drinks refreshing at 7:10pm.
When we return for Act 2 at 7:30pm there will be no more recording! A totally live and off-the-record session where we answer your questions and get into the real gossip.
SYDNEY: Tuesday 24 November at The Vanguard - Tickets Here
BRISBANE: Wednesday 25 November at Avid Reader - Tickets Here
MELBOURNE: Thursday 26 November at The Brunswick Mechanics Institute - Tickets Here
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Eat the Book: Baking and the Meaning of Life & Pickling and Fermenting
Saturday 28 November, 10.30am
BRUNSWICK MECHANICS INSTITUTEJoin us at The Brunswick Mechanics Institute for an invigorating session with James Beard Award winners Helen Goh and Yoko Nakazawa. Helen and Yoko will be giving a cooking demo and discussing their prizewinning cookbooks with Brunswick Bound’s Jaclyn Crupi.
In The Japanese Art of Pickling and Fermenting, preserving expert Yoko Nakazawa shares her lifelong passion of pickling and fermenting ingredients using age-old techniques that have been passed down the generations. Yoko grew up in rural Japan and helped her parents preserve the glut of their vegetable patch every season using ancient Japanese fermenting techniques. Upon moving to Australia, Yoko started to grow and preserve her own vegetables and began sharing her knowledge and recipes for pickling and fermenting all kinds of produce. In this book Yoko explains the difference between pickles and ferments, and guides us through the preserving process, from salt ratios and chopping techniques to fermenting times and storage.
In this, her first solo cookbook, Helen draws on her upbringing in Malaysia and Australia, her acclaimed work with Ottolenghi and her psychology training to share her distinctive approach to baking with 100 delicious sweet and savoury bakes. With recipes like Chocolate Tahini Cake with Sesame Brittle, Plum and Pistachio Bars, Pandan and Coconut Chiffon Cake, and many other shareable treats that offer both tried-and-true and creative flavours, this book is a celebration of community, connection and pleasure through baking. Helen's Champagne and Blackcurrant Celebration Cake will become your new go-to for a special occasion, while a batch of Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes for a picnic or charity bake sale is a small but powerful building block of community and solidarity.
PAST EVENT
New York Times-bestselling author Sloane Crosley was live in conversation with Jaclyn Crupi exploring the sharp comic edges of reality, writing the surreal and the fear of running into your ex.
Jaclyn in conversation with Sloane Crosley
Jaclyn has four author talks based on her book Garden Like a Nonno: Soil and Seeds, The Winter Productive Garden, The Autumn Productive Garden and The Spring Productive Garden. In each talk she shares wisdom and gardening knowledge taught to her by her grandfathers.
PAST EVENT
Jaclyn in conversation with Stephanie Alexander
Hear Stephanie Alexander reflect on her unparalleled five-decade career as a cook, writer and restaurateur, and the legacy she has built for generations of professionals and amateurs in kitchens around the country.
PAST EVENT
Jaclyn moderated several panels at the inaugural Sorrento Writers Festival and interviewed Chris Hammer, Sofie Laguna, Megan Rogers, Andre Dao, Saman Shad, Pirooz Jafari, Armando Lucas Correa, Joelle Gergis, Sam Vincent and Simon Holmes a Court.
Sorrento Writers Festival
PAST EVENT
Over a seasonal lunch prepared with Indigenous Australian ingredients, a panel of culinary superstars met at Big Esso to discuss their approaches to cooking and sharing food, and the intersections and impact of multiculturalism, immigration and First Nations cuisine on Australian food culture. Inspired by Griffith Review: A Matter of Taste, the event featured Mabu Mabu owner and head chef Nornie Bero and author and broadcaster Alice Zaslavsky with host Jaclyn Crupi.
On the Table: A Matter of Taste
PAST EVENT
Super Bloom: Jaclyn in conversation with Jac Semmler
Jaclyn Crupi visits Heartland, the home garden of Jac Semmler, author of Super Bloom: a field guide to flowers for every gardener to talk gardening, beauty, the book and of course maximum flowers in a special one off podcast.
PAST EVENT
Jaclyn in conversation with Anna Krien and Favel Parrett
For October’s Double Booked Club, we’ll hear from two acclaimed Australian authors, whose new works of fiction take readers to distant corners of the globe … and back again.
PAST EVENT
Jaclyn has programmed and hosted many events at Hill of Content Bookshop
The Writers on the Hill event program began in 2018 and has gone from strength to strength. Authors interviewed include Sarah Krasnostein, Helen Goh, Chloe Hooper, Laura Elizabeth Woollett, Jennifer Down, Paul Kelly, Alice Robinson, Guy Grossi, Jane Lopes, Charlotte Wood, David Holmgren, Kirsten Bradley, Nick Ratar, Belinda Jeffery, Natalie Paull, Scott Pickett, Lesley Harding and Kendrah Morgan.
Jaclyn was interviewed by The Age journalist Cara Waters at Basils Farm as part of Queenscliffe Writers Festival
PAST EVENT
This lunch event sold out in record time. Diners enjoyed Italian dishes, some of them from recipes in Jaclyn’s books, and good conversation about the Italian art of living well.
PAST EVENT
Soil and Seeds
The Winter Productive Garden
The Autumn Productive Garden
The Spring Productive Garden
