SYNDEY – 6 September 2022 – Readers all over the country are invited to take part in Together We Read: AU, Australia’s biggest online digital book club, through their local library this September. This unique program allows readers to enjoy the title on most devices and connect with others across the country through an online discussion. Together We Read is facilitated by OverDrive, the leading digital platform for ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, and the creator of the award-winning Libby app.

Together We Read: AU’s  selection for 2022 is Jacquie Byron’s refreshingly uplifting and wonderfully written novel, Happy Hour. From 6-20 September, all public library members can enjoy Happy Hour as an ebook or audiobook for free on the Libby app or via browser. Book clubs, families and individuals can all participate and enjoy the same book at the same time.

As a native of Melbourne, Jacquie Byron is delighted that Happy Hour will feature in this year’s Together We Read: AU initiative. She said, “As a devoted library girl myself I don’t think there could be a greater honour for me than to have Happy Hour chosen as the 2022 Together We Read book. The serious power and sheer fun of books cannot be overstated, in my opinion.” Jacquie continued, “Books have made me laugh, cry and learn, especially in the book club I wrangled for a decade. As an audiobook junkie and a newcomer to ebooks, I am thrilled and a little overwhelmed to think people around Australia will be reading along to Happy Hour together this September. Cheers to that!”

The Together We Read: AU digital book club is a community program run by public libraries all over Australia. Libraries continue to provide all members with digital items online. People are spending more time online than ever before and so is your local library which offers a wide range of easily accessible ebooks, audiobooks, digital magazines and more.

To join Australia’s biggest digital book club, you will need –

  • A current library membership. Not a member? No problem. You can now join your local library online.
  • The free Libby app on your device. Happy Hour can be downloaded as an ebook or an audiobook with no holds and no waiting between September 6-20.

Join the online discussion with other readers and Jacquie Byron.

Happy Hour is published by Allen & Unwin. Through an exclusive licensing arrangement for Together We Read: AU, Happy Hour can be borrowed from hundreds of participating libraries in Australia between 1-15 September. The ebook and audiobook can be read and listened to without waitlists or holds on most devices including iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, Chromebook™, and Kobo® tablets and eReaders.

Learn more about Together We Read: AU at https://togetherweread.com/aunz/.

 

About Jacquie Byron

Jacquie Byron’s early love of reading morphed into a love of writing and led her to study journalism. Collecting and sharing stories has kept her busy professionally for more than twenty-five years and seen her fulfil roles as a motoring writer, jewellery editor, fashion publicist and more. In 2015 she was awarded a Glenfern Fellowship, helping her to complete her first fiction manuscript, Trouble Sleeping, which subsequently went on to achieve a highly commended in the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. Now represented by Grace Heifetz of Left Bank Literary, Jacquie’s first novel – Happy Hour – was published through Allen & Unwin in September 2021. It was longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2022 and voted into the Better Reading Top 100.

About OverDrive Australia/New Zealand

OverDrive is a mission-based company that stands with libraries. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive has a dedicated team in Australia with offices in Sydney and Melbourne. The company serves more than 81,000 libraries and schools in 106 countries with the industry’s largest digital catalogue of ebooks, audiobooks, video and other content. OverDrive’s commitment to empower every library and school includes expanding access for all, tireless industry advocacy and consistently innovating. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading app, Kanopy, the leading video streaming app for libraries and colleges, and TeachingBooks.net, which offers one of the largest catalogues of supplemental materials that enhance literacy outcomes. Founded in 1986, OverDrive’s world headquarters is in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com