Author Talk with Marcia van Zeller
Join author Marcia van Zeller as she discusses her new novel, "Be a good girl, Valerie" in this special Q&A event with Ali Colvin.
About Be a good girl, Valerie
63-year-old Valerie has long accepted that she’s reached the age of invisibility. She works in a dull corporate communications job, wears loafers on her feet, trousers with elasticated waists, and her hair in an unassuming mid-length bob.
But when she learns her Gen Z co-worker, Anna, has been fired for rejecting her older boss’ advances, Valerie boldly steps up and becomes Anna’s champion. Through this process, long-suppressed traumatic memories surface for Valerie, of when she was sexually assaulted by her male boss in London in the late 1970s.
Decades later, will anyone believe Valerie’s story?
Set between retro 1970s London, Canada, and modern-day Perth, Marcia van Zeller tells a timely and confronting tale about intergenerational responses to sexual misconduct.
About Marcia van Zeller
Born in Canada, Marcia van Zeller settled in Perth in the 1980s to embark on her career in journalism, public relations and professional writing. Marcia has spent the past 12 years as a sessional academic at Curtin University, teaching Professional Writing and Publishing. After many years composing words to the specifications of others, Marcia decided she had a story or two of her own to tell. She completed a PhD and published an historical novel, The Capes, in 2015. With an urge to write something more contemporary and personal, she wrote Be a good girl, Valerie.
About Ali Colvin
Ali Colvin has been an ABC journalist, producer and reader in radio, television and online for more than 20 years.
Additional information
Getting to the event:
Subiaco Library has limited parking bays available at the rear of the building including two accessible parking bays. For more information on getting around Subiaco visit the city’s website.
Access and inclusion:
Subiaco Library is wheelchair accessible . For additional information please contact Subiaco Library on 9237 9300.
Ticket information:
You are not required to bring a ticket with you. Names will be checked at the door. Please note that space is limited and registration is essential. Please only register if you will definitely be attending.
More information:
For more events and programs at Subiaco Library visit the City of Subiaco events calendar, follow the Subiaco Library on Facebook or join the Cultural Services e-newsletter database by emailing library@subiaco.wa.gov.au.