Q-Lit Queer Victorian Festival of Words

Partnership event with Geelong Regional Libraries

Celebrating the work of all LGBTQIA+ storytellers: fiction and non-fiction writers, graphic novelists, singer-songwriters, playwrights/screenwriters, children's authors, academics and poets.

Victoria’s newest literature festival, Q-Lit, aims to amplify and celebrate queer voices, books and stories, especially in regional and rural Victoria.

Q-Lit has been developed by Scratch Arts and Kate Hall, author and academic, and funded by Victoria’s Pride/Midsumma and the Victorian Government’s Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.

Full Program:

10.15am-10.30am - Welcome to Country

10.30am-11.30pm - Workshop (kids) with Leigh Hobbs                                          

Creating your own characters in pictures

In this hands-on workshop, renowned children’s author and illustrator Leigh Hobbs will show kids and their grown-up companions how to create memorable characters through illustration. Be inspired by the multi-award winning creator of Old Tom, Horrible Harriet and Mr Chicken, among others. Suitable for ages five and up.

Leigh Hobbs works across a wide range of artistic mediums, but is best known for his children's books featuring Old Tom, Horrible Harriet, Fiona the Pig, the Freaks in 4F, Mr Badger and Mr Chicken. Old Tom is also a popular TV series, and Leigh has won every major Australian children's choice award. Mr Chicken Goes to Paris was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, is a bestseller at Paris's Louvre Bookshop, was adapted for the stage by NIDA, and was shortlisted for the CBCA Awards - as were Horrible Harriet and Old Tom's Holiday. Leigh was Australian Children’s Laureate 2016/2017. In 2019, Leigh received one of five Australian Legends of Children's Literature awards from Australia Post and was featured on a stamp.

10.30am-11.30am - Workshop (YA/Adults) with Achala Green

You Can’t Write a Bad Poem: A Generative Writing Workshop

A poetry workshop for all ages and all levels of poet. You will be guided through a number of writing exercises that aim to not only get you writing - but to help defeat your inner critic.

Achala Green is a non-binary cryptid birthed from the depths of the Sydney poetry scene. They won the first slam they entered, Caravan Slam, and have not yet recovered from their success. They ran Spoken, an open mic poetry night at Newtown Lentil As Anything for three years, and are currently helping to run To the Ends of the Verse. Their musings and poetic prophecy can be found on Instagram at @riotmeds. 

11.30am-12pm - MORNING TEA/BOOK SIGNINGS

12pm-12.45pm - In-convo: You’ll be a Wonderful Parent with Jasper Peach, Roz Bellamy and Katia Ariel

Making Rainbows: Writing as a Queer Parent

Join authors and parents Jasper Peach, Roz Bellamy and Katia Ariel for a conversation about rainbow parenting, the connections between creativity and queer identities, and the joys of chosen families.

Jasper Peach is a trans, non-binary and disabled writer and editor. They are passionate about equitable access and inclusion, focused around the dismantling of misplaced shame via storytelling. Their first book, a collection of advice and encouragement for new and prospective queer parents, will be released in March 2023 by Hardie Grant.

Katia Ariel (she/her) is an author, book editor and educator from Melbourne/Naarm. She was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Her memoir, The Swift Dark Tide, chronicles the discovery of queerness later in life, as well as the history of desire and rebellion in her female line. The book is forthcoming with Gazebo Books in April of this year.

Roz Bellamy (they/them) is a writer, editor and researcher. Their debut memoir, Mood, which explores the intersection of identity and mental illness, is forthcoming with Wakefield Press in mid-2023. Roz is the Editor in Chief of Archer Magazine.

12pm-12.45pm - In-convo: Dmetri Kakmi and Kate Hall

Writing Processes and Pathways to Publication

Authors Dmetri Kakmi and Kate Hall invite you to join them for a conversation about writing practice and the long and winding road to publication. Dmetri has over thirty years experience as a fiction editor in publishing, plus fifteen years as a senior editor at Penguin Books. He is a mentor and writing teacher and the editor of the literary journal Kalliope X. Kate is an author and academic, and the Creative Director of Q-Lit.

Dmetri Kakmi was born in Turkey to Greek parents. He is the author of The Door and Other Uncanny Tales and The Dictionary of a Gadfly (under the pseudonym The Sozzled Scribbler). His fictionalized memoir Mother Land was shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards in Australia; and is published in England and Turkey. He also edited the children’s anthology When We Were Young. His personal essays and gothic short stories appear in anthologies. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Kate Hall (she/her) lives, surfs and writes on Wadawurrung Country. She is the award-winning author of From Darkness (Duet Books, New York, 2020), a sapphic romance set in the Otways and the classical underworld. Kate is also the Creative Director of Q-Lit: Queer Victorian Festival of Words.

12.45-1.30 - LUNCH/BOOK SIGNINGS and screenings of two trailers from Geelong Pride Film Festival: In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction and Esther Newton Made Me Gay

1.30-2.30pm Workshop/discussion (YA/Adults) with Yves Rees and Sam Elkin

Nothing to Hide: Own Voices Writing Workshop

Join co-editors Sam Elkin and Yves Rees of the anthology Nothing to Hide: Voices of Trans and Gender Diverse Australia for a workshop and discussion about LGBTIQA+ #ownvoices writing.

Dr Yves Rees (they/them) is a writer and historian based on unceded Wurundjeri land. They are a Lecturer in History at La Trobe University, the co-host of Archive Fever history podcast, and the author of All About Yves: Notes from a Transition (Allen & Unwin, 2021). They are also co-editor of Nothing to Hide: Voices of Trans and Gender Diverse Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2022). Rees was awarded the 2020 ABR Calibre Essay Prize and a 2021 Varuna Residential Fellowship. Their writing has featured in the Guardian, The Age, Sydney Review of Books, Australian Book Review, Meanjin, the Griffith Review and Overland, among other publications. 

Sam Elkin is a writer and host of the 3RRR radio show Queer View Mirror. Born in England and raised on Noongar land, Sam now lives on unceded Wurundjeri land. Sam’s essays have been published in the Griffith Review, Overland and Kill Your Darlings. Sam is a co-editor of Nothing to Hide: Voices of Trans and Gender Diverse Australia and host of the ABC History Listen series Crossing Time: A History of Trangender Australia.

1.30-2.30 Workshop (YA/adults) with Jonathan Butler,  ‘Writing family histories’ and The Boy in the Dress 

Researching and Telling a Historical Family Story

We all have that one fascinating story in our family that needs to be told. But where to begin? Where to look? Who to speak to? Join the author of The Boy in the Dress and hear all the tricks he discovered while researching and writing about the 1944 murder of his ancestor Warwick Meale. The workshop will provide a brief overview of the book before diving into actionable advice on how to pick a story (and how it may not be the most obvious one); helpful Australian archives and resources to check out; a deep dive into true crime research; how to build a portrait of your ancestor and their world; and managing living family relationships. To set you on your way, Jonathan will also share some templates to help with your own research.

Jonathan Butler (he/him) is a queer writer and content producer living in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. His debut book, THE BOY IN THE DRESS, was published by Affirm Press in February 2022 and was shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year 2022 (non-fiction). Researching his ancestor’s story ignited his passion for queer history. His work has appeared in the Guardian, ArtsHub and Meanjin.

2.30-3.15pm In Convo: The Drama Student and Eschatology with Autumn Royal and John Bartlett

Stop all the Clocks

Through exploring each other's recent work John Bartlett and Autumn Royal will discuss the importance of cross-generational friendships, what poetry means to them and how poetry allows us to celebrate and mourn life experiences and form meaningful connections.

Autumn Royal is a poet living on unceded Wurundjeri land. Autumn is the interviews editor for Cordite Poetry Review and author of the poetry collections She Woke & Rose, Liquidation and The Drama Student.

John Bartlett is the author of nine books -fiction, non-fiction and poetry.  In 2019 his first Chapbook The Arms of Men was published by Melbourne Poets Union and in 2020 his poetry pamphlet, Songs of the Godforsaken was published by Picaro Poets as well as his full collection, Awake at 3am by Ginninderra Press. In 2022 his poetry pamphlet Eschatology was released by Pocket Poets and poems were included in recent Australian anthologies including Poetry for the Planet, the Ros Spencer Poetry Contest Anthology and Poetry of Encounter.

He was the winner of the 2020 Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize and Highly Commended in the 2021 Mundaring Poetry Competition.  In 2023 Ginninderra Press will release his second full collection Excitations of Entanglement.

3.15pm-4.00pm In-Convo: The Swift Dark Tide with Yves Rees and Katia Ariel

Writing the self: A conversation About Memoir

Join authors Yves Rees and Katia Ariel for a discussion about life writing, transformations of selfhood and identity and the importance of listening to the wise voice within.

Dr Yves Rees (they/them) is a writer and historian based on unceded Wurundjeri land. They are a Lecturer in History at La Trobe University, the co-host of Archive Fever history podcast, and the author of All About Yves: Notes from a Transition (Allen & Unwin, 2021). They are also co-editor of Nothing to Hide: Voices of Trans and Gender Diverse Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2022). Rees was awarded the 2020 ABR Calibre Essay Prize and a 2021 Varuna Residential Fellowship. Their writing has featured in the Guardian, The Age, Sydney Review of Books, Australian Book Review, Meanjin, the Griffith Review and Overland, among other publications. 

Katia Ariel (she/her) is an author, book editor and educator from Melbourne/Naarm. She was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Her memoir, The Swift Dark Tide, chronicles the discovery of queerness later in life, as well as the history of desire and rebellion in her female line. The book is forthcoming with Gazebo Books in April of this year.

4.15pm - Close

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