Ben’s Book Club

Sunshine Coast Libraries are excited to participate in Ben's Book Club, a monthly online event hosted by Ben Hobson best-selling author of Snake Island.

Join Ben Hobson in conversation with author Ella Baxter to discuss her novel ‘Woo Woo’.

During this digital book club, guests will have the opportunity to ask questions, interact with the authors, and enjoy a well-rounded bookish discussion.

Ben’s Book Club is a free monthly digital book club – hosted by Ben Hobson – brought to you via Libby, the library reading app.

Date and time	Registration
Tuesday 28 January, 7.30-8.30pm (AEST)	Bens Book Club featuring Ella Baxter A Zoom link will be sent via email upon registering

About the book

A thrilling and eccentric novel about what it means to make art as a woman, and about the powerful forces of voyeurism, power, obsession, and online performance. Woo Woo follows Sabine, a conceptual artist on the verge of a photo exhibition she hopes will be pivotal, as she plunges deeper into her neuroses and seeks validation in relationships—with her frustratingly rational chef husband, her horde of devoted Gen Z TikTok followers, and even a mysterious, potentially violent stalker. Accompanying her throughout are Sabine’s strange alter egos, from hyperrealistic puppets of her as a baby to the ghost of conceptual artist Carolee Schneemann, who shows up with inscrutable yet sage life advice. Ella Baxter approaches the desire to see and be seen that defines both the creative and romantic act with humor, empathy, and a good dose of wildness, driving Sabine to an surreal and compelling climax that forces her—and us—to reconsider what it means to be an artist and a partner.

About the author

Ella Baxter has had poetry published in Spineless Wonders, Gargouille Literary Journal, and Bowen St Press. Her sculptures have been exhibited in site specific locations around Victoria, and in her spare time, she runs a small business making bespoke death shrouds. Her debut novel, New Animal, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2021. Woo Woo is her second novel.

Ben Hobson

The monthly online book club host, Ben Hobson is a teacher and author, based in Brisbane. To Become a Whale, his debut novel, was released in 2017. It was longlisted for the ABIA Debut Fiction award and shortlisted for the Courier-Mail’s People’s Choice Award. His second novel, Snake Island, a literary thriller, was released in 2019. The Death of John Lacey is his third novel, which was released in February 2023. He also runs the Burgers, Beers and Books podcast.