Julia Baird in conversation on 'Bright Shining'

Boffins Books, State Library of Western Australia and Writing WA are delighted to co-host Julia Baird discussing her new book Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything. Julia will be in conversation with literary editor, facilitator, festival director and Writing WA CEO, William Yeoman. 

Following on from her bestselling memoir, Phosphorescence, Julia Baird's latest book Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything is another lesson in living well. What does grace look like in our world, and how do we recognise it, nurture it in ourselves, and express it, even in the darkest of times?

About the Book

Bright Shining by Julia Baird book cover

From award-winning journalist Julia Baird, author of the acclaimed national bestseller Phosphorescence, comes Bright Shining, a luminously beautiful, deeply insightful and most timely exploration of grace. Grace is both mysterious and hard to define. It can be found when we create ways to find meaning and dignity in connection with each other, building on our shared humanity, being kinder, bigger, better with each other. If, in its crudest interpretation, karma is getting what you deserve, then grace is the opposite: forgiving the unforgivable, favouring the undeserving, loving the unlovable. But we live in an era when grace is an increasingly rare currency. The silos in which we consume information dot the media landscape like skyscrapers, and our growing distrust of the media, politicians and public figures has choked our ability to cut each other slack, to allow each other to stumble, to forgive one another. So what does grace look like in our world, and how do we recognise it, nurture it in ourselves and express it, even in the darkest of times? 

About the author

Julia Baird

Julia Baird is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist. She hosts The Drum on ABC TV and writes columns for a range of publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the New York Times. Her first book, Media Tarts (2004, revised edition 2021), was based on her history PhD about the portrayal of female politicians. Her biography of Queen Victoria was published in 2016 to critical acclaim and was one of the New York Times' top ten books of 2016. Her third book, Phosphorescence (Fourth Estate, 2020), was a critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning international bestseller. Julia lives near the sea with two children and an abnormally large dog.