Strong contingent of LGBTQIA+ writers headline at Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne
Publishing industry game changers Michael Earp and Seth Malacari will appear at the Emerging Writers Festival, which takes place at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne this September. The pair have each been responsible for discovering and nurturing new LGBTQIA+ talent and pushing the boundaries of storytelling.
Seth Malacari, co-publisher, editor and curator of the queer speculative YA fiction anthology An Unexpected Party introduced a cast of eighteen emerging queer voices, with a focus on speculative fiction narratives. Malacari said, ‘This anthology contains only emerging writers, those who have not had a full-length novel traditionally published before. Eighteen (nineteen including myself) new queer voices who have now been given a chance to be heard, to be recognised and to push the boundaries of what Queer YA in Australia is’. Seth will be appearing at the National Writers’ Conference and will be sharing his experience curating an anthology of queer and emerging voices and providing practical advice on how to submit to journals and anthologies for hopeful writers. This panel will take place at The Wheeler Centre on Sunday 8 September at 12.00 pm. Details for Seth’s panel can be found here.
Co-editor and curator of Avast! Pirate Stories from Transgender Authors, Michael Earp, said, ‘Avast! is the first anthology of its kind to be traditionally published in this country! It’s fiction entirely written by transgender authors, each exploring the prompt of pirates. When we were offered the chance to choose a theme ourselves, we wanted something playful but with an undercurrent of the political. Once the idea of pirates had entered the discussion, it refused to leave, being an obvious winner.’ The book features seven long-form pieces of writing, with narratives in verse, prose and graphic novella forms.
Michael will be appearing on a panel of book and journal editors to discuss the editor–writer relationship, the purpose and ethics of editing, and everything that goes into revising your writing before submitting. Michael’s panel will take at The Wheeler Centre on Sunday 8 September at 2.15 pm. Details for Michael’s panel can be found here. Contributor to Avast!, Mia Nie, will also feature in a writing workshop on curating Queer Zines at The Wheeler Centre on Saturday 7 September at 3.00 pm. Details for Mia’s panel can be found here.
Tickets to each panel and workshop operate on a ‘Pay What You Wish’ model to allow low-income earners the opportunity to attend the festival for an affordable price. See the full festival lineup, and find out where to register your tickets here.
