‘The truest and strangest poet of his generation.’ Nick Cave

Celebrating the debut novel of acclaimed singer-songwriter Robert Forster. Robert will recount the creation of his book and his own metamorphosis from musician to award winning author. He will deliver an analysis of the books characters. Read key scenes and sing songs central to the plot.

Robert Forster is a Brisbane-born and based musician and writer. In 1978 he co-founded, with friend and fellow singer-songwriter Grant McLennan, the internationally acclaimed rock band, The Go-Betweens.

Their sixth album, 16 Lovers Lane, was placed at number 12 on The 100 Best Australian Albums list, and their ninth and last, Oceans Apart, won the 2005 ARIA award for Best Adult Contemporary Album. In 2010, Brisbane honoured their cultural influence by naming a new river bridge the Go Between Bridge.

Robert’s parallel career as a writer began in 2005 when he was appointed music critic for The Monthly, and a year later he won the Geraldine Pascall Prize. A collection of his journalism, The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, was published in 2009. In 2015, his alma mater, the University of Queensland, awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters. Robert’s memoir, Grant & I, was published in 2016. ‘A comic odyssey, a crime thriller and a nuts-and-bolts account of making art. Not bad for one book!’ PAUL KELLY

Robert Forster, singer-songwriter and co-founder of the iconic and internationally acclaimed band, The Go-Betweens, has spent nearly five decades shaping the Australian music industry. Now, in his scintillating fiction debut, Robert takes readers into the netherworld of Australia’s independent music scene for a  rollicking rock-and-roll joyride.

Set in 1991, on the cusp of Nirvana’s grunge revolution, Songwriters on the Run follows Mick Woods and Drew Lovelock, two rock-star-wrecked handsome, not- quite-famous singer-songwriters touring Central Queensland. When a minor marijuana bust turns ugly, the two find themselves suddenly incarcerated in a low-security prison in the middle of nowhere. With the help of fellow inmates, they escape. While on the run, desperately trying to evade the law and clear their names, a major film star in Hollywood takes a liking to their music, unaware of the  chaos surrounding its creators.

Robert’s career has long been defined by writing – from the songs that made him a household name to his award-winning music commentary in The Monthly. A collection of his journalism, The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll, was published in 2009, followed by his memoir Grant & I in 2016, which offered an intimate portrait of his friendship with The Go-Betweens co-founder, Grant McLennan. In Songwriters on the Run, Robert draws on his experience as both musician and writer to capture a defining moment in Australian indie music, when bands built their followings the hard way: town by town, pub by pub, song by song. It recalls a pre-digital world of mixtapes, long drives, press clippings and whispered industry promises.

For generations of fans, from devoted listeners of The Go-Betweens to readers of his journalism and memoir, Robert Forster’s debut novel offers something deeply familiar yet newly electric, brought to life in thrilling fiction. It is a sharply funny love letter to creative persistence and artistic partnership that is as silly, profound and grand as the time and music it celebrates.