There's more to being queer than coming out and getting married. In this national storytelling event LGBTQI+ storytellers share a tale from their lives, shining small lights into the magnificence of the queer community. Featuring guests Robert Dessaix, Madison Godfrey, Melanie Saward, Ellen van Neerven and Nevo Zisin, hosted by Maeve Marsden.
Robert Dessaix is best known as a writer of literary non-fiction (memoirs, essays and autobiography), but has also published two novels, several short stories and one play. He is the recipient of the 2022 Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. Robert's latest book, Abracadabra, was published last year.
Ellen van Neerven belongs to the Mununjali Yugambeh people of south-east Queensland. Ellen is an award-winning writer, editor and literary activist. They have authored four books, including the poetry collection Throat and their recent ground-breaking work, Personal Score.
Madison Godfrey lives on Whadjuk Noongar land and is a writer, editor and educator, and the author of Dress Rehearsals. Madison has performed poetry at the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury Festival.
Melanie Saward is a descendent of the Bigambul and Wakka Wakka peoples. She is a Tulmur (Ipswich) based writer, an associate lecturer in creative writing at QUT, and a PhD student. Her debut novel, Burn, was published in September 2023 by Affirm Press.
Nevo Zisin is a storyteller, poet, TEDx speaker, educator on transgender topics, workshop facilitator and award-winning author of Finding Nevo and The Pronoun Lowdown. Their work has appeared in The Saturday Paper, NGV Magazine, Buzzfeed, SBS, ABC’s The Drum and the Morning Show.
Maeve Marsden is a writer and theatremaker, having written, directed and performed in a number of critically acclaimed theatre productions. Maeve curates the national storytelling project Queerstories, and her writing has appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian Australia, Junkee and Archer magazine.
Note: This event is 90 minutes in duration.
Livestream Information
Can't attend this event in person, this event will be live streamed and tickets can be purchased here.
Accessibility
T-loop will be available for this session. If you require a reserved seat in the T-loop section please email hello@bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au.
Festival Ticket Information
To take full advantage of all the events on offer, we recommend purchasing a gold or silver weekend pass. Subject to availability, you can also purchase a single ticket (see below).