An Evening with Crime Writer and UQ Alum Nikki Mottram

An Evening with Crime Writer and UQ alum Nikki Mottram

Explore this taut, atmospheric page-turner with Mottram, connect with fellow alumni and celebrate the launch of a powerful new chapter in Australian crime fiction.

About the book:

When a fatal shooting tears through the quiet town of Helidon, 19-year-old Savannah and her younger sister Maddie are caught in the crossfire, and child protection worker Dana Gibson is thrust into a dangerous clash between a commune and an outlaw motorcycle gang.

Event details

Date: Thursday 3 September 2026
Time: 5:30–7:30pm
Venue: The Atrium, UQ Brisbane City
Cost: $45 (includes a cheese box with tasting notes and one standard drink)

Copies of Helidon will be available for purchase on the night for signing, but tickets are limited.

We can’t wait to see you there.

Author

Nikki Mottram
Bachelor of Arts '01
Nikki Mottram is a crime fiction author and has a background in child protection, having worked in London and Australia in positions protecting and promoting the welfare of children at risk of harm.

She has been published in the Boroondara Literary Awards anthology and shortlisted for the Fish Short Story Prize and the Hal Porter Short Story Competition. In 2018, she was the recipient of a Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre Fellowship.

She grew up and resides in Toowoomba, and brings to her work an understanding of rural communities. Helidon joins Crows Nest and Killarney in the bestselling Dana Gibson series.

Moderator

Adjunct Professor Ian Kemish AM
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) '87
Adjunct Professor Ian Kemish AM is an author and former Australian diplomat who served as Australia’s ambassador to Germany, high commissioner to Papua New Guinea, and adviser to the Prime Minister. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for leading the emergency response to the 2002 Bali bombings.

Adjunct Professor Kemish AM now works as a strategic adviser and volunteer director in the homelessness and humanitarian sectors. His first book, The Consul (2022), explored two decades of diplomatic challenges, while Two Islands is his first work of fiction, inspired by his work in the Balkans and family ties to Scotland’s western isles.