New Australian fiction at Melbourne Writers Festival 2016
As part of this year’s Melbourne Writer’s Festival (MWF), we’re hosting a series showcasing a range of new Australian fiction. Each morning session is free and features two debut or early career authors, back to back, each in conversation about their book with a Readings bookseller.
For more MWF inspiration, we’ve compiled a list of terrific international guests, and our staff have shared the events they’re most excited to attend. You can also browse the full Festival program here.
Meet two authors who create a sense of place
10am - 11am, Saturday 27 August
Rajith Savanadasa’s Ruins is a sweeping family drama set in the bustling streets of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Jennifer Down’s Our Magic Hour is the story of grief and friendship set in the laneways of Melbourne and streets of Sydney. Both these authors vividly recreate these real world settings on the page.
Savanadasa will discuss his novel with Gerard Elson at 10am, and Down will discuss her novel with Bronte Coates at 10.30am. You can find out more information here.
We’re also delighted to share that Savanadasa was shortlisted for this year’s Readings Prize. Find out more here.
Meet two authors who challenge the reader
10am - 11am, Saturday 27 August
Liam Pieper’s The Toymaker is a dark, compelling story of privilege, fear and the harm that humans are capable of causing. Laura Woollett’s The Love of a Bad Man is a collection of fictional imaginings of the lives of various real women – all of whom were the lovers, mistresses, or wives of bad men in history. Both these authors push back against notions of ‘likability’, and challenge the reader to reflect on uncomfortable truths.
Pieper will discuss his novel with Dave Little at 10am, and Woollett will discuss her story collection with Amy Vuleta at 10.30am. You can find out more information here.
Meet two authors who delve into Australian history
10am - 11am, Friday 2 September
Both these authors explore life along the Australian coastline in the mid-nineteenth century. Kate Mildenhall’s Skylarking is the story of an evolving friendship between two teenage girls who have grown up together at an isolated lighthouse. Lucy Treloar’s Salt Creek depicts the Finch family’s struggle to make a new life for themselves – with devastating consequences for the Ngarrindjeri people they have dispossessed.
Mildenhall will discuss her novel with Tom Hoskins at 10am, and Lucy Treloar will discuss her novel with Marie Matteson at 10.30am. You can find out more information here.
We’re also delighted to share that Treloar was shortlisted for this year’s Readings Prize. Find out more here.
Meet two authors shortlisted for this year’s Readings Prize for Australian Fiction
10am - 11am, Saturday 3 September
This special session shines a spotlight on two authors shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2016: Zoë Morrison for her debut novel, Music and Freedom and Sean Rabin for his debut novel, Wood Green. Morrison and Rabin will discuss their works with Mark Rubbo and Chris Gordon respectively – both judges for this year’s Prize.
You can find out more information about this year’s Readings Prize shortlist here.
Meet two authors who examine complex family dynamics
10am - 11am, Sunday 4 September
Josephine Rowe’s A Loving, Faithful Animal is a portrait of a family who’s been indelibly fractured by the trauma of war. Micheline Lee’s The Healing Party follows an estranged daughter who returns home after learning her mother is ill – and must contend with her family’s Evangelical Christian views.
Rowe will discuss her novel with Gabrielle Williams at 10am, and Lee will discuss her novel with Stella Charls at 10.30am. You can find out more information here.
