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Camp Cope's Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich Details Debut Book 'It's Not For You'

Mary Varvaris

Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich interviews Amy Taylor, Marcia Hines, Julia Jacklin, Courtney Barnett, BARKAA, and many others in her debut book.

Camp Cope's Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich at the Sydney Opera House
Camp Cope's Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich at the Sydney Opera House(Credit: Peter Dovgan)
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Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, the bassist of the Melbourne band Camp Cope, is releasing her debut book, It’s Not For You, this August.

The musician, Artist & Community Liaison at Bad Apples Music, and Western Sydney coordinator at MusicNSW, first announced that the book was on the way last June.

Today, she’s unveiled the impressive list of artists interviewed in the book: women and gender-diverse artists “who changed the Australian music industry on their own terms.”

It’s Not For You features interviews with a who’s who of Australian music. From the trailblazing careers of Marcia Hines and Vika & Linda Bull to Elly-May Barnes, who advocates for awareness of artists with disabilities, the book also features many of Hellmrich’s peers.

She speaks to her Camp Cope bandmates, Georgia Maq and Sarah Thompson, plus Amyl and the Sniffers’ Amy Taylor, Angie McMahon, BARKAA, Courtney Barnett, Fanny Lumsden, Julia Jacklin, Kira Puru, RVG’s Romy Vager, Sampa The Great, Sarah Blasko, music journalist Sosefina Fuamoli, and others. The book also features a foreword by acclaimed Australian broadcaster and journalist Zan Rowe.

A quote from Hellmrich on the official synopsis reads:

From our very first show in Brisbane in 2016, when we stopped mid-set to call out a guy who was pushing to the front and shoving women aside, we knew exactly what kind of space we wanted to build. One where women and queer people didn’t have to shrink themselves or brace for impact if they didn’t. And if you had a problem with that, it was not for you.

It’s Not For You will be released in paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats via Penguin Books on Tuesday, 11 August. You can pre-order your copy here.

Upon the book’s announcement last June, it was reported that It’s Not For You would cover a range of topics, such as “creative processes and starting out, sexual harassment and gender inequality, and motherhood, body image and representation” in music.

In January 2024, the pioneering Camp Cope released their final-ever show—filmed at the Sydney Opera House in October 2023—as a full-length concert film.

Drummer Sarah Thompson said of the surprise release, “Camp Cope fans have always been the reason we have loved playing live, and this night was no different. You made it a show (and career) we will never forget. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your support over the past eight years; none of this could’ve happened without you.”

In 2023, Camp Cope were nominated for the Australian Music Prize for their third and final album, Running with the Hurricane, released in 2022. King Stingray won the award with their debut self-titled album.