Book Talk: Matt Rogers & Michael Brissenden

Strap in, thriller junkies! Matt Rogers, Australia’s hottest young action writer, is hitting the SMSA to talk about his latest high-stakes page-turner, The Forsaken. Think rogue operatives, brutal betrayals, and pulse-pounding action that’ll leave you breathless. If you love books that hit like a roundhouse kick, you need to be here.

And he won’t be alone – Matt will be in conversation with none other than Michael Brissenden, the award-winning journalist and crime writer, to unpack what makes a great thriller and how to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

📅 Date: Thursday 10 July | 6PM
📍 Location: SMSA, Henry Carmichael Theatre, Level 1, 280 Pitt Street
🎟️ Tickets: Free for SMSA members, $10 for Friends and Non-Members

ABOUT THE BOOK

For ten years, Logan Booth served as a contract killer for the CIA – he just never knew it. The first book in a blockbuster thriller series from Matt Rogers, a million-copy bestseller and ‘a bright new talent shaking up the genre’ (Candice Fox).

In the twilight of his career, Logan learns he has been a vessel for furthering government interests, not a rogue hitman for a band of vigilantes. The revelation destroys him.

But when Jorge Romero – an investigative reporter and Logan’s oldest friend – is brutally and inexplicably murdered, Logan allows his fury to deliver him from despair.

With an ally in Alice Mason, a homeless witness with a target on her back, Logan goes to war. Against whom, he isn’t sure, but he knows powerful forces are at work behind the scenes.

Now, to deliver justice, Logan and Alice must confront their demons and win a savage battle that could destroy their lives… even if they survive.

‘Logan Booth is a character who is impossible to look away from and difficult to forget.’ Kyle Mills

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt Rogers is the internationally bestselling author of the Dante Jacoby series. Matt began self-publishing at the age of eighteen, and in the following eight years he single-handedly wrote and marketed more than thirty-five thriller novels.

His books have collectively sold over one million copies. His stories weave stimulating philosophy with relentless, page-turning action, and he aims to educate and entertain in equal measure.

As an ultramarathon runner and mountain trekker, Matt enjoys exploring the capabilities of the body and mind, lending experiential weight to his visceral writing.

You can follow Matt on Facebook and Instagram @mattrogersauthor.

ABOUT MICHAEL BRISSENDEN

Michael Brissenden is an author and journalist. His first book of fiction – The List was published in 2017. A second thriller – Dead Letters also features the Federal investigator Sidney Allen and was published by Hachette Australia Books in March 2021. His latest novel, Smoke, is out now.

Michael was a journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for 35 years. He was posted to Moscow, Brussels and Washington and worked in Canberra for many years in various roles – including as the Political Editor for the daily television current affairs program – The 7.30 Report, as the ABC’s defence and security correspondent and as the presenter of the ‘AM’ Current Affairs program on ABC radio. From 2017 to 2021 he was a reporter with the ABC’s investigative television documentary program – Four Corners.

Michael has also written non fiction. In 2012 American Stories: Tales of Hope and Anger was published by UQP. The book was a personal account of a country on edge that chronicled the undercurrents of division and anger that surfaced during the first term of the Obama presidency. Divisions that would later be exploited to such devastating effect by Donald Trump.

He has contributed to a number of essay collections over the years and written for The Bulletin, The Canberra Times and New Matilda.

Before he turned to journalism and writing Michael dabbled in art and music. He has a degree in Visual Art from the Sydney College of the Arts and continues  to believe he might one day master the double bass.