This exclusive event takes place at The Old Stables in the Megalong Valley, a rural paradise just half an hour from Katoomba.
As Tolstoy once said, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Happily, this means there are endless iterations of dysfunctional families in literature to appall and delight us. If you love reading about chaotic families too, join host Benjamin Law for a special F*cked Up Families edition of his new book club The Book Showdown, with special guests Mirandi Riwoe and Brooke Davis.
Benjamin and friends will discuss and dissect Zadie Smith’s secret-spilling masterpiece On Beauty and Winnie Dunn’s fiercely hilarious and heartbreaking debut Dirt Poor Islanders. Expect hectic opinions, controversial takes and a bonus book trivia quiz for all assembled.
Benjamin Law is the author of The Family Law, Gaysia, the Quarterly Essay Moral Panic 101, and editor of Growing Up Queer in Australia. He is also an AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter and playwright behind the Netflix comedy-drama Wellmania, Melbourne Theatre Company's Torch the Place and Dying: A Memoir, and the award-winning SBS/Hulu/Comedy Central Asia TV series The Family Law.
Mirandi Riwoe is the author of A Short History of Longans. Her novel, Stone Sky Gold Mountain, won the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize and the Queensland Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Her novella The Fish Girl won Seizure's Viva la Novella and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Sunbirds was shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award, while The Burnished Sun is a collection of her short stories and novellas.
Brooke Davis grew up on Wadawurrung Country in Bellbrae, Victoria. She holds a PhD in creative writing from Curtin University. Her debut novel Lost & Found was published in 28 countries and received two ABIAs for General Fiction and New Writer of the Year, as well as the WA Premier's Award for Emerging Writer. No One's Looking is her second novel.
-
Tickets to Megalong Valley events are included in Platinum Weekend Passes. Single tickets may be available from September 1, subject to availability.
-
This venue is wheelchair accessible, but please visit our Accessibility page or email hello@bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au if you have any other accessibility requirements.