There’s always more than meets the eye lurking just beneath the surface, especially on home turf.

Set in Bondi, Sophie Stern’s What Is Left For Us is a beautifully rendered portrait of sisterhood driven by a gripping mystery. Katie Hoskins’s When the Party’s Over is a tense family drama about what happens when a seemingly ordinary family celebration in the Eastern suburbs takes a shocking turn.

In conversation with fellow author Jessy Wu (Good Intentions), Sophie and Katie spill the tea on the complicated characters and riveting plots behind their page-turning debut novels – both deliciously set in our own backyard.

Katie Hoskins is a communications professional with a lifelong love of books. Originally from the south coast of England, she started her career in London, then travelled to Sydney in 2007 to study journalism. Easily seduced by sunshine and great coffee, she's still there. Katie loves exploring and writing about friendship and family dynamics in women's lives. As one of six siblings, and 30 first cousins, she's never short of inspiration. She lives with her husband and two young bookworms.

S​ophie Stern is from Sydney, where she lives with her husband and son. Her short fiction has been published in magazines and literary zines including Yen Magazine and Ellipsis Zine, and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. What Is Left For Us is her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize in 2024.

Jessy Wu published her debut novel Good Intentions in July 2026, receiving high praise from both readers and critics alike. The campus love story-meets corporate thriller was described as a ‘nuanced examination of the struggle between late-stage capitalism and modern responsibility’ and  ‘the salve we all need in this morally f**cked, wealth-obsessed world’. The novel is currently in development for the screen. Jessy holds degrees in Philosophy and English Literature from the Australian National University and is a regular contributor to media outlets The AFR and Inflection Points.

This Bondi Books & Ideas Weekend event is presented by Waverley Council, with support from Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore. With thanks to Pan Macmillan and Penguin Random House.