Please note that this event will be happening in August 2026 and is presented by the festival team.
As a special Bathurst Writers’ and Readers’ Festival fundraising event, we welcome Bruce Pascoe to Bathurst to speak about his new book Big Sky: When The Emu Left The Earth published on 7 April 2026.
Big Sky: When The Emu Left The Earth is an exquisite conversation of sky knowledge between Aboriginal farmer and award-winning writer Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Professor Ray Norris. This meeting of science and philosophy, tempered by holistic knowledge gained from deep observation over a millennia offers a philosophy of peace for our age. It reframes astronomy not only as a science but as ethics and Law in our heavens. This dialogue places First Nations beliefs as rigorous, enduring knowledge, offering ecological and astronomical insights which could help navigate current climate threats. From Magabala’s First Nations, First Knowledges series.
Bruce Pascoe is a writer and farmer. He has published 36 book including Dark Emu which won the NSW Premier’s Award for Literature in 2016 and Young Dark Emu which won the both the Booksellers Association Prize and the CBCA Non-fiction award in 2020. He has published numerous essays and journalism both in Australia and overseas. he is also a farmer and grows Australian Aboriginal Grains and tubers. He is a Board Member of First Languages Australia, Black Duck Foods and Twofold Aboriginal Corporation.
“Everything has two witnesses, one on Earth and one in the sky. This tells you where you came from and where you belong — to your mother’s Country, your father’s or grandfather’s Country or whichever place.” Bruce Pascoe
This exquisite study of sky knowledge, Big Sky: When The Emu Left The Earth, is the meeting of science with holistic knowledge, gained from deep observation over thousands of years. In conversation between Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Professor Ray Norris, two ways of knowing overlap and interweave to bring our skies alive.
First Nations, First Knowledges
Event and Ticket Details
All tickets: $20
