A Night of True-Crime with Podcaster Rachael Brown

Sunshine Coast Council Libraries invite avid true-crime readers to enjoy an evening with award winning journalist Rachael Brown at Venue 114 from 6pm on Thursday August 8.

This special literary event is part of a series of Sunshine Coast Libraries author events hosted at various locations across the region.

Rachael is the creator, investigator and host of ABC’s first true-crime podcast, Trace.

The hit podcast revived the murder cold-case of Melbourne mother Maria James, reviewing old suspects and uncovering new leads.

This mesmerising account gave a voice to the forgotten and the abused as well as serious implications for two of the state’s most powerful institutions.

The findings inspired the Victorian Coroner to reopen the investigation into 38-year-old cold case of Maria James, who died in her Melbourne shop in 1980.

Trace won the 2017 Walkley Award for Innovation, in recognition of the way the podcast tapped into community grapevines and attracted vital tips from the public that were then rolled into subsequent episodes, allowing Trace to evolve as it went to air.

The podcast also won two 2017 Quill Awards for Innovation and Best Podcast.

In 2008, Rachael won her first Walkley Award for Best Radio Current Affairs Report for her investigation into the Victorian Medical Practitioners Bard whose negligence contributed to the sexual assaults of a dozen women.

She released a book based on the Trace podcast in 2018 which was nominated for the 2018 Walkley Book Award. Rachael’s book will be available for purchase at the event.

Tickets are $25 per person and bookings are essential via council’s library website.

Rachael will be joined by special guest, Sunshine Coast radio personality, Caroline Hutchinson.

Enjoy live music by talented local artist Shannon Sol Carroll.

Light refreshments will be provided and a cash bar is available from 6pm.

Venue 114 is located at 114 Sportsman Parade, Bokarina.