Get under the wire and grab tickets to these unmissable Brisbane Writers Festival events
The end of May is fast approaching us and with it the Brisbane Writers Festival, which will be here and gone again in just four days from May 30 to June 2. There are 150 exciting events to see, so make sure you don’t miss out on this rollicking frolic through the wonderful world of the written word by snagging some last-minute tickets to these must-see happenings …
On Sunday June 2, Lexi Freiman and Carody Culver will come together in State Library Queensland’s Queensland Terrace to discuss The Book of Ayn – Lexi’s latest novel, a satirical story about a satirical writer who, after being cancelled, develops a life-consuming obsession with the philosophy and person of Ayn Rand. Stunningly savage, sharp-eyed and funny, Lexi hones in on the peculiar relationship of privilege to politics.
Over in Auditorium One, Kris Keen will be putting the screws to author and sexpert Esmé Louise James about Kinky History. PhD candidate, TEDx speaker and TikTok star Esmé has been recognised for her accessible and compassionate approach to sexual education, nominated for Best Digital Creator at the 2022 AACTA Awards and awarded the University of Melbourne’s Rising Star Alumni in 2023. In this book she brings historical knowledge and a sense of play to an enticing assortment of taboo subjects.
In The Edge Auditorium, a star-packed panel including Madeleine Gray, Bri Lee, Siang Lu, Amy Lovat and Adrian Todd Zuniga dig into neoliberal hellscapes, long-distance relationships and the absolute state of things in an exploration of Modern Life. If you’ve ever lied about being bilingual to get a job, had a desultory affair with a married man, engaged in terrific and/or questionable sex, or just like to read about it then this panel is not to be missed.
At the Millennial Malaise panel, Yen-Rong Wong, David Goodwin, Madeleine Gray, Naima Brown and Lauren Sherritt go head to head to discover the voice of a generation. Examining four very different books that address the growing pains of the much maligned millennials, from acerbic autofiction and penetrating memoir, to anecdotal comedy and the wild world of reality television.
Also on Sunday, University of Queensland’s Professor Heather Zwicker will be sitting down with Jennifer Croft in Auditorium Two. Jennifer is an established translator of note, winning the 2018 International Booker Prize for her translation from Polish of Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights and the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for her illustrated memoir Homesick. The Extinction of Irena Ray is her first foray into fiction, a joyously weird, propulsive and beguiling mystery about eight translators and their search for a world-renowned author who goes missing in a primaeval Polish forest.
Bri Lee burst on to the literary scene in 2018 with her powerful memoir Eggshell Skull, following it up with successful cultural critiques Beauty and Who Gets to be Smart. Here she talks to writer, editor and the founder of Secret Book Stuff Amy Lovat about her fiction debut The Work. In this book Bri takes on the big three, art, romance and capitalism, and much more. Exploring the alienation of modernity, the frustrations of intimacy, and the friction between art and commerce, The Work is another star turn from one of Australia’s brightest young talents.
To check out the full Brisbane Writers Festival program and secure your tickets, head to the BWF website.
This article was written in partnership with our friends at Brisbane Writers Festival.
To find out more about what’s on in Brisbane, head to our Event Guide.
