Book Launch - Holden Sheppard

Holden Sheppard in-conversation with Matt Tinney 

Joondalup Libraries and Dymocks Joondalup are excited to announce Holden Sheppard in-conversation with Matt Tinney from Channel 7's Sunrise for the official launch of Holden's new novel, King of Dirt. 

Holden Sheppard is a West Australian author whose debut novel Invisible Boys won multiple awards, including the 2019 WA Premier’s Prize for an Emerging Writer. Invisible Boys has now been adapted as a ten-episode television series with Stan Australia which premiered in 2025. Holden’s second book The Brink won several accolades, including the 2024 Ena Noël Award.

Matt Tinney is a familiar face on Channel 7's Sunrise. The father-of-two has been the Perth Correspondent for Australia's #1 breakfast show for more than 10 years. Matt is multi-talented, juggling the roles of news presenter, journalist and producer. 

King of Dirt

A gritty and heartfelt gay coming-of-age story from the author of the bestselling Invisible Boys.

Giacomo Brolo, aka Jack, is a mess. He works piecemeal construction gigs in remote WA, drinks himself to oblivion and is estranged from his family and friends. 

But then Jack returns to his regional hometown of Geraldton for a family wedding. He hasn't been back since he fled at the age of eighteen, and his past soon catches up with him.

Turns out Jack's deeply conservative Italian family would prefer he remained in the closet. Then he finds out he may have conceived a son with his teenage girlfriend, and now Jack needs to convince her and her new husband that he's fit to be a father figure. And whatever happened to Xavier, the former schoolmate who Jack was in love with and whose rejection spurred him to leave Geraldton in the first place?

Is Jack doomed to live a dead-end life – or can he open himself up to the possibility of love, found family and connection?