Join us on Tuesday 14th January at 6.30pm to hear local author Steve Capelin speak to Bianca Millroy about his novel, Paradiso, and learn how family history can be the inspiration for great stories.

About the Book….

This true story begins in the fields of Veneto in 1880 where three hundred Italian peasants abandon everything to follow a dream. They join an expedition to establish a utopian colony in the islands of the Pacific. Wealth, independence and liberty await them. The venture is a disaster. The expedition leaders deliver them to the jungles of New Guinea. For three months they struggle to survive, eventually escaping to the penal colony of Noumea. Australia beckons but unseen events threaten to frustrate their quest for liberty.

The story is told through the eyes of two children. It is a tale of emigrant hope, betrayal and resilience, and Australia’s response to a group of refugees. It is one of the great stories of migration and survival from the 19 th century.

About the Author…

Steve Capelin is a descendant of the peasants who escaped the poverty of late 19th century Italy. He has more than thirty years experience working in the creative industries as a teacher, actor and community arts practitioner. He has written for theatre, been published in arts journals and was a founding member of Brisbane’s innovative Street Arts Community Theatre Company. His short stories have appeared in anthologies including All We Could Do (2019), Our Inside Voices (2020) and Brisbane Bookshops (2023). He is currently negotiating with an Italian publisher to have the noveltranslated into Italian.

Steve lives and writes in West End, Brisbane (Meanjin).