Celebrated and controversial, Lionel Shriver, event at Bookoccino.

The author of 13 novels, including the international best-selling We Need to Talk About Kevin, which was made into a movie of the same title with Tilda Swinton, Lionel’s latest, The Mandibles: A Family 2029-2047, has been heralded as a “disquieting new genre – dystopian finance fiction.”

Described as “slight, wry and precise” by The New York Times, Lionel, long-time friend of Bookoccino co-owner Ray Bonner, made headlines with her provocative talk at the Brisbane Writer’s Festival three years ago about culture and identity.

“Inviting a renowned iconoclast to speak about ‘community and belonging’ is like expecting a great white shark to balance a beach ball on its nose,” she said.

In what was a lively evening, Lionel was in conversation with Helen McCabe, founder of Future Women and former editor of Australia Women’s Weekly.

Photo Credit: Jordan Roach