In conversation:

Yannick Thoraval's The Marriage Gap Year 

Friday 25 October, 4:05 pm

The Capitol Theatre

Cover design by Bailey McGinn

Perhaps gen X and millennials were never destined for happily ever after. As these readers approach their 40s and 50s, stories of their fractured love lives have taken centre stage. There’s Miranda July’s All Fours and Hilary Harper’s podcast Dated; closer to home, Rachel Matthew’s Never Look Desperate examines the people who never expected a traditional journey through love and life. 

Odyssey Literary Festival 2024 is thrilled to launch Yannick Thoraval’s runaway success The Marriage Gap Year – a whip-smart romantic comedy that tackles the idea of whether taking a ‘gap year’ from the stress and responsibility of long-term love can help us find that spark again. 

Join Yannick in conversation with writer/editor/broadcaster Melissa Cranenburgh for the official Australian launch of Yannick’s international bestseller. 

Featuring

Yannick Thoraval

Yannick is an award-winning writer and creative writing teacher. He’s written three novels. His debut novel, The Current (Yannick Thoraval, 2014), was commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. His second novel, White Foam, was shortlisted for Hachette Publishing’s Richell Prize and highly commended for the Jim Hamilton Award. His latest novel, The Marriage Gap Year (Yannick Thoraval, 2024), is a feel-good romantic comedy and came out in September 2024. As a writer, he likes telling stories about relationships, not just romantic ones, but also exploring people’s relationships with their family, friends, their communities and their environment. His nonfiction work has been published in national publications such as The Australian Financial Review, The Big Issue, The Australian and The Conversation, and he has won the New Millennium International Writing Prize for nonfiction. He holds a master’s degree in history and a PhD in creative writing, and teaches fiction, creative nonfiction and communications at RMIT University. 

Find Yannick at yannickthoraval.com 

Melissa Cranenburgh

Melissa Cranenburgh is a writer, broadcaster, editor and educator. She spent more than a decade in senior editing roles including associate editor and acting editor of The Big Issue and co-editor of the magazine’s annual fiction edition. She was the creator and host of Triple R’s flagship weekly book show and podcast, Backstory, has been a regular festival and book-event chair and has judged a number of book prizes including the Victorian Premier’s Award for fiction and the SPN Book of the Year. She now teaches in RMIT’s professional writing and editing courses, regularly reviews books on Triple R’s Breakfasters, and runs a freelance writing and editing business.  

Find Melissa at melissacranenburgh.com