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Listen to new episodes of the Melbourne Writers Festival podcast!

Festival Program

Event

Queering the Canon

Sat 6 May, 4.30pm
The Capitol

Queer writing is more vital than ever, but what are the perspective-shifting texts that have inspired and uplifted today’s authors? Hear from a stellar line-up of local and international queer writers as they share insight into the stories that have shaped how they think and write about sexuality and gender.

Critically acclaimed Noongar writer Claire G. Coleman (Enclave, Terra Nullius), copy chief at Random House and author of Dreyer’s English Benjamin Dreyer, acclaimed photographer and writer Bill Hayes (Insomniac City), award-winning writer of poetry, fiction and memoir Kris Kneen (Fat Girl Dancing, The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen), and proud Gunai woman and award-winning multidisciplinary artist Kirli Saunders dip into the queer canon in conversation with host Maeve Marsden.

This event will have Auslan interpretation.

Duration

1 hour

20% early-bird discount until 11.59pm, Thursday 6 April
Flexible refund policy
Community tickets for First Nations peoples
Convenient public transport and parking options
Coffee, bars and dining options nearby
Readings bookshops available plus book signings
Over 80% of our 2022 guests felt MWF helped them gain new insights about the world, held their interest and were inclusive, well-produced and topical! (With more than 70% keen to attend again!)

Tickets

20% early-bird discount until 11.59pm, Thursday 6 April
Flexible refund policy
Community tickets for First Nations peoples
Convenient public transport and parking options
Coffee, bars and dining options nearby
Readings bookshops available plus book signings
Over 80% of our 2022 guests felt MWF helped them gain new insights about the world, held their interest and were inclusive, well-produced and topical! (With more than 70% keen to attend again!)

Event artists

Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar writer, born in Western Australia, and now based in Naarm. Her family have been from the area around Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun on the south coast of WA since before time started being recor...

Benjamin Dreyer is vice president, executive managing editor and copy chief, of Random House. He began his publishing career as a freelance proofreader and copy editor, joining Random House as a production editor in 1993...

The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction, Bill Hayes is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and the author of seven books, including The Anatomist, Insomniac City, and How We Live Now: Scenes from ...

Kris Kneen is the award-winning author of fiction, poetry and non-fiction including An Uncertain Grace which was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. They have written and directed broadcast television documentaries and wer...

Maeve Marsden is a writer and theatremaker based on Dharug and Gundungurra country, best known for curating national LGBTQI+ storytelling project, Queerstories.

Kirli Saunders is many things—a proud Gunai woman, a teacher, an artist and the 2020 NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year. She’s also the award-winning writer of novels, poetry and plays, and her latest book Bindi, writt...

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