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Anna Woods - LIT

In conversation with Alison Wong

Join award-winning local novelist, editor and literary judge Alison Wong and debut novelist Anna Woods as they discuss the reality of writing and publishing in Australia today.

LIT is a tense, twist-driven literary thriller about love, control and the dangerous power of a secret that won’t stay hidden, described as a “heart-pounding masterpiece” by Better Reading. Join debut novelist Anna Woods in conversation with novelist, editor and literary judge Alison Wong as they discuss the long journey of realising a novel. They will unpack sources of inspiration, the transformation of real life into fiction, and what makes a story gripping for readers and publishers alike. Exploring the role of writing community, practising craft, professional organisations, and the state of the industry in the age of AI, they will uncover what it takes for a novel to be published in Australia today.

About the speakers

Anna Woods is an award-winning writer from Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland, whose short fiction has been published in a range of journals and anthologies. The recipient of various awards, residences and mentorships, she has won the Sargeson Prize and been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. LIT is her first novel.

Novelist, poet and essayist Alison Wong was a judge for the NZ$65,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2026 Ockham NZ Book Awards. Her novel As the Earth Turns Silver won the 2010 NZ Post Book Award, in Australia was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, and recently was included in the Academy of NZ Literature’s 100 greatest works of fiction of the Southern Hemisphere. She coedited the landmark anthology A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand. She lives on Wadawurrung country in Geelong.

This is a free event, but registrations are required.

If you have any access requirements to support your participation in this event, please email us at events@grlc.vic.gov.au at least two weeks prior to the event date (or you can check out our accessibility information here).

Anna Woods image credit: Laura Snelling
Alison Wong image credit: Phil Nitchie 

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