In Conversations: Peter Mitchell

Join us in store with author Peter Mitchell, in conversation with historian & writer Michael McKernan.

Launching his new book, I'll Walk Beside You, Peter gives us a vivid portrait of the most desperate chapter in our nation’s history. Written from never seen before letters, diaries and oral histories this book weaves a story of soldiers against a parallel story of love between real life couple Jean and Cal.  

Told through the perspective of ordinary men drawn into the heart of war, I’ll Walk Beside You is an ode to heroism, the unyielding human spirit, and enduring resilience that shaped Australia’s military history. 

Peter is the author of Under the Same Moon (Big Sky Publishing, 2025). He is a lawyer by training and was a partner in a major law firm. After leaving the law, he ran a regional non-profit organisation for many years, based in Singapore. History is his passion. He has an extensive library (and music collection) and has read widely on the Second World War and other periods of history after growing up listening to his father and his friends regularly talk about their own wartime experiences. He lived in Singapore for twenty years and has travelled and worked extensively throughout Asia, visiting most of the locations written about in I’ll Walk Beside You.  

Michael McKernan is an historian and writer with extensive experience in teaching and research, management, the media and the practical presentation of history. He is a leading commentator on commemoration in Australia. He has worked closely with successive Governors-General and Prime Ministers on matters of national significance. At the Australian War Memorial he continued to write and to publish, including the first substantial history of one of Australia’s most cherished institutions, Here Is Their Spirit: a history of the Australian War Memorial 1917-1990.

The evening will start with a Q&A conversation followed by the opportunity to have your book signed by Peter. Ticket includes admission & light refreshments.

Copies of I'll Walk Beside You will be available to purchase at the event.