Programme ONE Feb to Apr 2014
wheelercentre.com
Alain de Botton
Philosopher and author Alain de Botton is one of the great thinkers of our time. Unafraid to question the lynchpins of our lives, the bestselling author has penned books on sex, religion, travel, happiness and the relevance of Marcel Proust to contemporary living. The latest ofering from this genial and occasionally controversial writer sees de Botton focusing his steely glare on our troubled and confused relationship with the media. In The News: A User’s Manual, the esteemed thinker examines how and why we are addicted to a never-ending news cycle. In categories ranging from politics to celebrity worship to weather and grisly murders, de Botton questions what we are really seeking in the news, and whether it does us any good.
Thursday 27th March at the Dallas Brooks Centre Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm Tickets: $35 and $20 concession
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With the proliferation of handheld technology, we are as a society more in touch with and more hooked on instant news gratiication than at any time in our history. In The News, Alain de Botton takes speciic examples of prominent stories and holds them up to the light to test their true worth. In doing so, he further illuminates the human condition and forever alters our perception of incessant news chatter.
Jennifer Saunders
Some comedic geniuses were formed by years of misery as a child, but once in a generation there comes along an individual of pure, unadulterated talent who was just born funny and stayed that way. The mighty Jennifer Saunders – actor, comedian, writer, keeper of diaries for at least a week each January – is wholly deserving of the accolade ‘legend’.
All her classic moments get a mention – The Comic Strip, her long-running friendships with Dawn French and Joanna Lumley, and many more. This is sure to be the hottest ticket of 2014 and is guaranteed to be absolutely fabulous, darling.
In keeping with a life devoted to hilarity, Saunders has released Bonkers: My Life in Laughs, a memoir that provides a refreshing respite from the usual celebrity catalogue of childhood woe. Saunders claims that she has precious little in the way of misery to recall, and not much in the way of memory either, but her Mum did keep all her schoolbooks and incomplete diaries for her to draw upon when penning the book.
Wednesday 23rd April at the Dallas Brooks Centre Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm Tickets: $35 and $20 concession
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s 20 Q ue s ti on Gala 2 14 If you had to choose, would you prefer noniction or iction? Happy endings or sad ones? Are you a summer person or a winter person? Do you believe in individuality or community? Gratiication or anticipation? Would you rather outlive your partner or be outlived? Which is worse: war or famine? Drowning at sea or indeinite detention? 2014’s Wheeler Centre Gala will be a twisted referendum on 20 big questions. On Saturday 8 February, we’re taking to the streets of Melbourne with four city polling booths to ind out what you think about ideas big and small, Saturday 8th February at Melbourne Town Hall Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm Tickets: $20
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the fundamental and the trivial – or you can vote online at wheelercentre.com from 10am. The results may not be binding, but the stakes are as high as it comes: your very sense of self. At the end of the day, we’ll be throwing an oldfashioned election party to analyse the results and what they tell us about ourselves. Joining us all in the tally room will be experienced commentators George Negus, Sophie Black, Bernard Salt and Ray Martin. Be ready to laugh, think and debate in a big night of entertainment, ideas and food for thought.
Cast your vote on Saturday 8 February from 10.00am – 3.00pm at wheelercentre.com
Alison Bechdel
For 25 years, Alison Bechdel created the immensely popular cult comic strip ‘Dykes to Watch Out For’, which was syndicated in 50 publications across the US.
grew out of a scene in her strip. This highly efective gender bias test asks whether the story features at least two women, who talk to each other, about something other than a man.
Her work has been at the forefront of the move of comics into the literary mainstream, particularly her rave-reviewed books Fun House – Time magazine’s Best Book of 2006 – and Are You My Mother? In these memoirs about her parents, Alison explores her relationship with her father, a closeted gay man who died in a probable suicide months after his daughter came out to him, and her mother, an aspiring actress who became a frustrated housewife after her marriage.
The Bechdel Test has since been adopted by many reviewers, with pressure brought to bear on Hollywood to increase the number of movies produced that pass the test. Thus immortalised in the popular lexicon, Alison Bechdel has become a true cultural icon. In the Guardian, Laura Miller described her as ‘comical and … adorable, a quality that allows her to carry readers where they might not otherwise be keen to go.’
The Bechdel Test, a widely adopted formula for testing whether a ilm or book is gender biased,
Wednesday 5th March at the Athenaeum Theatre Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Tickets: $20 and $12 concession
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Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith is much-loved worldwide for his warm-hearted No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, featuring the nononsense Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s leading (and only) female detective. McCall Smith, who now lives in Edinburgh, has also won-over readers with his Sunday Philosophy Club, 44 Scotland Street and Corduroy Mansions series. His books have been translated into over 40 languages; the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series alone has sold over 20 million copies, and been made into an HBO TV show.
Thursday 13th March at the Athenaeum Theatre Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Tickets: $35 and $20 concession
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The Forever Girl is his latest standalone novel. Set in the Cayman Islands and UK, this globe trotting love story is sure to garner the author a million new fans. Presented by the Wheeler Centre shortly after the book’s release, this is a wonderful opportunity to experience the international phenomenon that is the McCall Smith imagination, by spending an evening in the company of the world’s most jovial and proliic storyteller.
Friday 14th March at Her Majesty’s, Ballarat Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Tickets: $35 and $20 concession
children’s
book book festival 2014 2014
Sunday 23rd March at the State Library of Victoria and the Wheeler Centre 10am – 4pm
CALLING ALL CHILDREN Find your way through the sticky maze and onto the lawn of the State Library on Sunday 23rd March for this year’s Children’s Book Festival! There will be characters springing to life from the pages of famous books, giant word games, comic workshops and loads more. A ton of your favourite writers and illustrators are going to be there too – John Marsden talks about how to make words do what you want them to do, Jackie French knows everything there is to know about digging out secrets, and Sally Rippin will spill the beans about her famous characters, Billie B Brown and best friend Jack!
Sunday 23rd March at the State Library of Victoria and the Wheeler Centre Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm FREE EVENT
If you fancy having a go at book-writing yourself, head to the publishing house, where you can design one from scratch. Listen to stories all day long in our storytelling pavilion, or dive in and help build the biggest book ever. There will be music too, and guest stars so exciting you’d explode if we told you who they were. Seriously. So circle Sunday 23rd March with a red pen. The Festival is free, and everyone is welcome. Come down and join us for the book party. Family Day is on Sunday, but the Festival also has two days of activities for school groups on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st March.
Produced in partnership between the Wheeler Centre and the State Library of Victoria
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Margaret Drabble
Margaret Drabble is a consummate chronicler of London, which she knows ‘as thoroughly as any novelist has ever known any city’, according to Joyce Carol Oates. Her insightful, afecting novels about the inner lives of conlicted women as they navigate the change-illed terrain of the 1960s onward (including ambition and motherhood), have been much loved and celebrated. Her eighteenth novel, The Pure Gold Baby, explores single motherhood and disability, through the life of anthropologist Jess, who has an afair with a professor that results in ‘pure gold baby’ Anna, a special needs child who will need Jess’s care for the rest of her life, altering its course forever in complex ways.
Tuesday 25th February at Geelong Performing Arts Centre Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Tickets: $20 and $12 concession
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The Australian declares Drabble – a former editor of the Oxford Companion to English Literature – ‘at the height of her game’ in this ‘adroit’ novel, one that has been compared to her 1965 classic The Millstone. The Wheeler Centre presents two exciting events featuring Margaret Drabble. In partnership with the Geelong Regional Library Corporation and Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Ms Drabble will appear in conversation with local arts identity Kaz Paton. In a second event, morning tea chez nous, those present will have a unique opportunity to share a bite and a cuppa with the great dame of literature.
Wednesday 26th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 11.00am – 12.30pm Tickets: $20, includes morning tea
Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert is famous for her self-discovery memoir, Eat, Pray, Love – the international bestseller that became a travel phenomenon, a Hollywood movie and an inspiration to women the world over. But before she was a poster-girl for inding yourself through travel, she was a much-praised novelist and a National Book Award winner, with four books under her belt. Her irst novel in 13 years, The Signature of All Things – a wildly imaginative literary page-turner – has met with a rapturous critical reception. The Guardian’s Elizabeth Day called it ‘quite simply one of the best novels I have read in years’.
Elizabeth Gilbert in conversation with Rayya Elias Monday 3rd March at Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre Time: 7.30pm – 9.00pm Tickets: $20 and $12 concession
The Signature of All Things tells the story of scientiic trailblazer Alma Whittaker, a woman of the Enlightenment Age who stands deiantly on the cusp of the modern. Though her passion for botany and brilliant career are her driving force, she is disappointed in love. While Alma’s careful studies of moss take her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, the man she comes to love draws her in the opposite direction. Elizabeth Gilbert appears at the Frankston Arts Centre, in conversation with one of her closest friends, author and musician Rayya Elias, who will also perform songs from the soundtrack to her book Harley Loco. The following night sees Elizabeth in conversation with Caroline Baum at Federation Square – both unmissable opportunities to catch one of the world’s most popular writers.
Elizabeth Gilbert in conversation with Caroline Baum Tuesday 4th March at Deakin Edge, Federation Square Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Tickets: $20 and $12 concession
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Lionel Shriver
Lionel Shriver’s breakout international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin established her as one of the world’s most provocative and intriguing novelists. A dark and uncompromising look at an ambivalent mother and her ‘bad seed’ son, it was the book that launched a thousand dinner table arguments about nature versus nurture.
Narrator Pandora is horriied when her beloved big brother, Edison, a washed-up jazz musician, arrives to visit – weighing 300 pounds and submerging his feelings of failure in a torrent of food. She decides to sacriice her marriage to save her brother’s life, moving in with him and immersing them in an extreme diet and exercise regime.
Her latest book, Big Brother, continues to explore the tension between who we essentially are and what we make of ourselves. And once again, Shriver wades bravely into murky moral waters, confronting one of our society’s heftiest taboos: weight.
Big Brother is inspired by the death of Shriver’s older brother in 2009, from obesity-related illness. Although the setting and characters are ictional, Shriver’s dark humour, frank tone and ability to draw on her deeply personal family tragedy make Big Brother another book that will be discussed for years to come.
Tuesday 25th February at Deakin Edge, Federation Square Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Tickets: $20 and $12 concession
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On water: Eight speakers. Eight stories.
There is no more precious resource on the planet than water. It comprises 60% of our body mass and covers 70% of the planet’s surface. We drink it, we bathe in it, and it surrounds our island. In 2014, the Wheeler Centre joins forces with Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by Bank of Melbourne to explore the myriad of ways we relate to water – how we’re using and abusing it, are dependent upon it for our survival and are sometimes powerless to stop it. Eight guests will present their personal and imaginative visions on water. Conservation consultant and editor Helen Doyle examines the history and heritage of water supply in the Australian landscape. Waxing lyrical on his favourite subject, broadcaster, historian and author of The Water Dreamers Michael Cathcart will interrogate the myth of the inland sea.
Other guests include Genevieve Grieves, curator at Bunjilaka, Melbourne Museum’s Aboriginal Cultural centre, Olympic gold medalist diver Matthew Mitcham and Lucky Peach journal's editor-in-chief Chris Ying – each with their own unique perspective on H2O. Join us for a fascinating and entertaining insight into the liquid we all take for granted. Speakers include: Hosted by Michael Mackenzie
Michael Cathcart
Genevieve Grieves
Helen Doyle
Matthew Mitcham
Chris Ying
Presented in partnership with
Tuesday 11th March at the Athenaeum Theatre Time: 6.15pm – 7.30pm Tickets: $20 and $12 concession
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Art & us. The nature and meaning of art has been hotly debated for centuries, but in this new series for 2014, the Wheeler Centre explores the impact of art in a variety of contexts. We look at how artistic practice its into the many diverse aspects of everyday life, as well as how its context has a direct efect on the realms of inspiration and creation.
Art & the city
Where there are cities, there are artists. They are often the irst human developers on the fringes of urban areas, and no city is complete without its galleries, its music venues and its literature. The great metropolises of the world lean heavily on their arts communities to deine their artistic signatures, created and shaped by the artists who live and work there. But what role does the city play in forming the artistic practice of those who live within her boundaries? Writer and editor Penny Modra sits down with a panel including Tony Ellwood, director of the National Gallery of Victoria and the brains behind the Melbourne Now exhibition, design Professor Paul Carter, artistic director of Next Wave Emily Sexton and cartoonist and creator of the Melbhattan short ilm Oslo Davis to talk about the two-way artistic interaction that is life in the modern city.
Thursday 13th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Photographer: Nina Sellars
Art & the body
What is body-based art? Surgically grafting an ear onto an arm? Exploring human rights or gender identity through performance? Contemporary dance interwoven with light and sound? Challenging preconceived notions about sexuality? In all of these cases, the body is a powerful site – and instrument – for art. In this discussion, performance artists take to the stage to talk about how their bodies have inluenced their art, and about the body as a site for extreme performance. In association with Arts House as part of FOLA – Melbourne’s inaugural Festival of Live Art – burlesque star Moira Finucane, physical movement artist Natalie Abbott, famed bodywork performer Stelarc, and Casey Jenkins, the artist behind 2013 vaginal knitting art project Casting Of My Womb, come together to explore the human body as an expression of and location for art to take place. Here, the boundaries of how the body can be a means of artistic expression are challenged.
Art & the universe
There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. However, if we’re asking who’s out there, we need to be ready with our response in return. What deines our humanity? How do we communicate the artistic experience of our world? Most importantly – who gets to decide? Can you? In this event, presented in partnership with Aphids, Willoh S. Weiland, director of collaborative art project Forever Now and astronomy Associate Professor Christopher Fluke throw it open to everyone for input.
Presented in association with Presented in association with
Tuesday 18th March at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Wednesday 9th April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Rachel Kushner
Rachel Kushner’s ambitious, devastatingly accomplished The Flamethrowers was probably the most talked-about American novel of 2013. Her fans include Jonathan Franzen and Colm Tóibín. The Flamethrowers is a ictional cocktail that combines the 1970s New York art scene, motorcycle racing, the First World War and political upheaval in Italy and New York, all brought to life by a cast of charismatic, intricately realised characters.
Words and music Katie Noonan and Michael Leunig Who do our favourite writers listen to? What do the musicians we admire love to read? In the irst of a brand new ongoing series, legendary cartoonist and cultural treasure Michael Leunig, and much-loved singer songwriter Katie Noonan discuss their inspirations. Michael will highlight two pieces of music that have inspired his writing and illustrations, while Katie tells us about two pieces of writing that have helped shape her musical direction. We eavesdrop on their exchange of treasures, and the conversation that ensues.
Literary tastemaker James Wood lavished it with praise in a hefty New Yorker review, calling it ‘scintillatingly alive … a pure explosion of now’ and admiring Kushner’s ‘eerie conidence … which constantly entwines the invented with the real’. In conversation with Jo Case
Thursday 6th March at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Hosted by Genevieve Lacey
Thursday 24th April at The Substation, Newport Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm Tickets: $35 and $20 concession
Presented in partnership with
Michael Robotham
David Malouf
The ninth novel from journalist turned ghostwriter turned crime writer Michael Robotham was described in the Australian as his darkest yet, ‘with chilling gothic set pieces that would have made Hitchcock blanch’.
David Malouf is internationally recognised as one of Australia’s inest writers. He has won the Commonwealth Writers Prize, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Single mother Marnie Logan has turned to prostitution to support her children, after the disappearance of her husband. However, she cannot shake the unsettling feeling that someone is watching her. Depressed and desperate, she turns to clinical psychologist Joe O’Loughlin, who helps her uncover the shocking truth.
His latest book, A First Place, is a collection of essays and personal writing, released to celebrate his 80th birthday. Covering geography, topography, history, multiculturalism, Brisbane and the idea of home, A First Place encapsulates the beauty and contradictions of contemporary Australia.
Michael Robotham is one of Australia’s most successful writers. He walks us through the twists and turns of crime iction.
In conversation with Michael Williams
Tuesday 18th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
To celebrate David Malouf’s birthday and achievements, we’re hosting a retrospective of his poetry and short stories. Australia’s irst lady of letters, Ramona Koval, will travel with David Malouf on a journey to the heart of Australian life. In conversation with Ramona Koval
Monday 17th March at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Jung Chang
Jung Chang’s multigenerational memoir of China, Wild Swans, fast became the highestselling non-iction paperback ever published, selling more than 10 million copies. Twentythree years later, it’s still banned in China. Chang’s new book Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China is a biography of the legendary woman who ruled China from behind the scenes for almost half a century, reforming it in the process – including banning foot-binding and forcing the nation out of its self-enforced isolation. ‘What makes reading this new biography so provocative are the similarities between the challenges faced by the Qing court a century ago and those confronting the Chinese Communist Party today,’ says the New York Times.
Evie Wyld
In 2013 London bookseller Evie Wyld was named one of Granta’s best British novelists under 40 – though she grew up in rural Australia, where both of her novels are set. Her most recent book, All the Birds, Singing, is a darkly beautiful novel infused with a palpable sense of dread. Parallel stories follow a woman raising sheep on a remote English island and as a shearer on the run in Western Australia. Wyld returns to antipodean shores to discuss her latest novel and the dual life of an Australian author living in England.
In conversation with Benjamin Law
Wednesday 5th March at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Thursday 27th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Credit: Carly Sheppard, White Face. Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
Blak wave
Next Wave Festival 2014’s keynote initiative, Blak Wave, invites perspectives from a generation of Indigenous artists exploring the political, personal and aesthetic boundaries of contemporary art. Hear publication contributors including Tony Albert and Tahjee Moar speak frankly on how their artistic practices forge a fresh path to the future. A good event starts great conversations. Here's your chance to stay back a while and meet the guest speakers. Nibbles provided. Drinks at bar prices.
FESTIVAL 2014
16 April
11 May
NEW GRAND NARRATIVE
nextwave.org.au
Wednesday 16th April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 8.15pm
Rebellion and tomorrow
What does it mean to live in a time of change? Who are the agents of true rebellion that will shape the world of tomorrow? Will today’s generations be able to build on the success of their predecessors, or are they being handed a poisoned chalice? This dynamic and interactive event, presented in partnership with Next Wave Festival 2014, examines new grand narratives and how people experience rebellion, both politically and personally. We hear from six speakers – including Erik Jensen, Georgie Mattingley and Phuong Ngo – each relecting on their personal experiences of rebellion. In an innovative format, the conversation will low in the direction you wish to explore, a unique opportunity to help shape all our tomorrows.
FESTIVAL 2014
16 April
11 May
NEW GRAND NARRATIVE
nextwave.org.au
Tuesday 29th April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 8.15pm
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Eleanor Catton
Pacific highways A spotlight on New Zealand
Eleanor Catton’s second novel, The Luminaries, was the clear winner of 2013’s Man Booker Prize, a double coup given the book is more than 800 pages long and New Zealander Catton is only 28 years old.
Contemporary New Zealand is undergoing a period of profound change. Migration from across the Asia Paciic region is reshaping the country, with Auckland now said to be the most multicultural city in Australasia.
The Luminaries has dazzled reviewers and literary judges alike with its energy, imagination and sheer originality. A Victorian style murder mystery set in gold rush era New Zealand, its twelve chapters are organised according to the star signs of its characters, and range from 300 to only two pages in length.
To celebrate this Kiwi renaissance, author Lloyd Jones, whose Commonwealth Prize-winning novel Mister Pip graced the big screen last year, has co-edited Paciic Highways, the latest edition of the Griith REviEW.
Eleanor Catton will speak about the writing of the epic novel the New York Times described as, ‘A true achievement … something utterly new,’ and what it’s like to win the world’s most famed literary prize.
Contributor Alison Wong, whose irst novel, As the Earth Turns Silver, won the 2010 New Zealand Post Book Award for Fiction, and Anton Blank, author and Maori child rights activist, join Lloyd on this panel to explore the exciting new direction for New Zealand culture.
A QUARTERLY OF NEW WRITING & IDEAS
Thursday 20th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Wednesday 26th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
BOOK COMEDY LOLS NOVEL COMEDY LOLS NOVEL set list mic mic VOICE gigs font BOOK BIT paper set list COMEDIANS gigs BOOKS BOOK COMEDY WRITING print COMEDY LOLS performing set list BOOKS COMEDY LOLS NOVEL VOICE desk mic font paper BOOK COMEDY NOVEL performingBOOK LOLS mic Talking comedians writing books
Jeez Louise
Men may outnumber women in stand-up comedy but on large and small screens as well as on stage, they deinitely don’t out-funny them. Jeez Louise is here to embolden, inspire and grow the population of ladies in showbiz comedy. Join us for a panel discussion that will explore the potential and prejudice, frustrations and friendships that deine the professional world of female comics. The aspiration to liberty, equality and sorority is not quite met yet.
Stand-up comedy in a sit down (and read the ine print) format. Talking Comedians Writing Books brings together a panel of comics, both professionally funny and professionally published. A veritable Comedy Book Festival that will contemplate the longevity, impact and legacy of live versus printed funnies. Australia's Denise Scott and Corinne Grant will be joined by local and international comedians performing in Melbourne and writing for the globe.
Featuring special guest Adrienne Truscott, winner of the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Fosters Panel Prize/Spirit of the Fringe for her solo show Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For it: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else.
Monday 7th April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Monday 14th April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Presented by Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Wheeler Centre as part of The Comedy ConFAB – A conference for people serious about their comedy.
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IQ debates. 2
The Intelligence Squared debates rage on in 2014 with a whole new range of topics as compelling as they are polarising. In these highly participatory debates, once both sides have had their say, the decision as to who emerges victor lies entirely in your hands.
Faith-based Religious Education Has No Place in Public Schools In the late 19th Century, the Australian government decreed that education should be compulsory, free and secular. Over time, most states have seen the 'secular' provisions in their education acts amended, insisting that Primary schools must allow for special religious instruction. In this incendiary irst debate of 2014, our speakers will examine what it means to move away from the secular model and towards a spiritual one; debating the merits of our current model of volunteer church run instruction, as opposed to a balanced study of comparative religions, and contesting where such religious instruction sits within the central tenet of Australian democracy – the separation of church and state. Was the old legislation insisting on secularity out of touch with modern times, or is it more relevant than ever? Is it possible to teach children about the importance of faith without proselytising, and if so, where should the boundaries be drawn? Six speakers will debate the issue, including: David Vann
Wednesday 26th February at Melbourne Town Hall Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm Tickets: $20 and $12 concession
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Marion Maddox
Tim Costello
The book of the night White Night Melbourne
Writers are notorious for working feverishly into the night. The Emerging Writers’ Festival is challenging 12 writers over 12 hours to write 12 chapters in a collective work of iction titled The Book of the Night. The intrepid writers will be on stage with their writing projected live. Audiences will be encouraged to shape the story by feeding plot points and suggesting characters, with the inished work available as an ebook the very next day.
Coming of age Growing up Muslim in Australia Coming of Age: Growing up Muslim in Australia is a timely new book that explores the personal stories of Muslim Australians. Randa Abdel-Fattah is a lawyer and author of nine books, not counting her upcoming fantasy series. Tasneem Chopra is chair of the Australian Women’s Centre for Human Rights and one of Melbourne’s most inluential women. Irfan Yusuf is a commentator and author of Once Were Radicals: My years as a teenage islamo-fascist. Together they examine the worlds of sport, sex, religion, humour and society, as seen through an Islamic prism. A good event starts great conversations. Here's your chance to stay back a while and meet the guest speakers. Nibbles provided. Soft drinks available.
Presented by
in association with
Saturday 22nd February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 7.00pm – 7.00am
Monday 24th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.45pm
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Let’s talk about sex. What do women want?
New York Times writer Daniel Bergner turns the world of female desire upside down and inside out with his bestselling book What Do Women Want? Compiling a wide range of research from sexologists, behavioural scientists and everyday women, Bergner argues that female sexual desire is much more ardent than that of men, and explores the many dizzying types of female orgasm. It’s time to reveal what really goes on under and between the covers, as the Wheeler Centre embarks on a week of frank literary bedroom chat, with the focus irmly on female sexuality. Brace yourselves for a series of sweet nothings whispered in your ear as we delve into a cornucopia of pleasures sure to satisfy even the most ardent book lover.
Bergner’s indings – that women may be hardwired to be less monogamous than men, and be more sexually narcissistic – caused many an eyebrow to arch, including his own.
Tuesday 1st April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Sex in words
Fifty Shades of Grey not only sat erotica on everyone’s laps, but also opened the loodgates for purveyors of literary lewdness everywhere. The proliferation of erotic iction has yet to reach its peak, with thousands of online communities trading in every kind of sexual fantasy conceivable to man, woman and dinosaur alike. Join a panel of experts including Kate Belle, author of The Yearning, to discuss erotica, alternative sexualities and how to live your sexual fantasies through the art of iction. A good event starts great conversations. Here's your chance to stay back a while and meet the guest speakers. Nibbles provided. Drinks at bar prices. Wednesday 2nd April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.45pm
Feminist pornography
Too long the exclusive realm of men, women are successfully claiming the world of pornography as their own. The rise of feminist pornography highlights the growing demand for explicit portrayals of sex by women, for women. Sex therapist Cyndi Darnell gets cosy with award-winning feminist erotic ilmmaker Anna Brownield, erotic imagist Gala Vanting plus CEO of the Eros Association, the Australian Sex Party’s Fiona Patten to discuss feminist pornography as an expression of female sexuality. Honest, revealing and illuminating, this event gives conventional notions of pornography a irm and long overdue slap.
Erotic fan fiction
Twilight without four booksworth of boring foreplay? Gay werewolf porn? The Hunger Games: Pants on Fire? The world of fan iction has taken a whole new direction in recent times as writers stifen their literary muscles and rip the bodices of their favourite literary characters. This much-loved Wheeler Centre regular has been around the block a few times, and picked up a few eyewatering tricks along the way. Seasoned voyeurs will know all too well the rules of the game – four writers share their personal ilth on stage while everyone watches. The only rule? Keep those hands where we can see them, people.
Presented in association with Pleasure Forum Australia.
Thursday 3rd April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Friday 4th April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm
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Playwear Fashion, interactivity and technology The catwalks of 2014 and beyond will be heavily inluenced by gaming, technology and interactivity, to a level not seen before. Playwear is an app developed by the Tiny Machine Collective for the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Cultural Program 2014. They sit down with experts from the fashion design and technology sectors to discuss the brave new world of interactive fashion, wearable technologies and how games have invaded the catwalk.
Thursday 13th March at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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01
31 C U LT U RA L P R O G RA M
Emerging Writers’ Festival launch Fact vs Fiction The Emerging Writers’ Festival launches its 2014 program with the ultimate game of fact vs iction. How often do novelists base their work on actual events? Do journalists exaggerate the truth for the sake of a good story? Do poets even know the diference? Four guests from this year’s Emerging Writers’ Festival present their tall tales at the program launch. The trick is to convince everyone they are telling the truth, unless of course they’re lying. It’s up to you to decide. Choose your side and behold the 2014 Emerging Writers’ Festival program in all its glory, as the truth (and this year’s stellar lineup) is inally revealed!
Wednesday 30th April at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Wayne Ludbey/Fairfax Syndication
Black and proud: Racism in sport
On 17 April 1993, Indigenous AFL player Nicky Winmar raised his St Kilda jersey and pointed out the colour of his skin to the Collingwood fans that had taunted him throughout the match. That photograph, and his accompanying statement, 'I’m black and I’m proud to be black,' became an iconic moment in AFL history, forcing many in the sporting arena to analyse their attitude towards race.
Lighthouse Literary Festival at Aireys Inlet The Wheeler Centre heads to Aireys Inlet for the Lighthouse Literary Festival to present a pair of literary legends by the sea. Satirist John Clarke talks us through his top eight novels, while Robert Drewe explores how a life lived by the ocean has inluenced his iction. Take the weekend of and head down the coast in the relaxed company of host Michael Williams.
Co-author Gary Osmond assesses the legacy of this photograph in Black and Proud, using it as a jumping of point to scrutinise racism in sport, and the wider implications of black and white relations in Australian society. Gary examines what has changed, with a panel including Dr Sean Gorman from the Centre for Aboriginal Studies, and host Angela Pippos.
Robert Drewe Friday 25th April Time: 5.00pm – 6.00pm John Clarke Saturday 26th April Time: 3.30pm – 4.30pm Wednesday 12th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
at Fairhaven Surf Lifesaving Club, Fairhaven Tickets: Festival passes available, see wheelercentre.com
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A country too far
One of the most hotly debated and pressing moral issues in contemporary Australia surrounds the fate of asylum seekers. A new anthology of work from 27 of the nation’s inest writers examines all aspects of this complex topic. A Country Too Far features iction, memoir, poetry and essays that provide an indispensable contribution to the national debate. Jointly edited by Thomas Keneally and Rosie Scott, the Wheeler Centre presents Rosie in conversation with host Christopher Kremmer and several of the anthology's contributors Arnold Zable, Judith Rodriguez and Rodney Hall.
Wednesday 19th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Fair trade and fair speech Feminist publishing in the 21st century Spinifex Press opened their doors 23 years ago, in 1991, with a remit of publishing ‘controversial and innovative feminist books with an optimistic edge’. As director of Spinifex Press, Susan Hawthorne has weathered every storm that has threatened the industry, allowing Spinifex to stay the course when many other independent presses have fallen by the wayside. In conversation with PEN Melbourne’s Cynthia Troup, Susan outlines the directions feminist publishing must take in order to survive.
Wednesday 19th March at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
The fifth estate.
For the last two years, award-winning journalist and broadcaster Sally Warhaft has been the Wheeler Centre’s in-house news anchor. Her fortnightly live interview series continues in 2014 as she reacts to the latest stories whipping up a storm in the media. Every second Tuesday Sally hosts a dizzying array of guests from the political and cultural world, in a witty and revealing analysis of current afairs. Topical guests are announced in the weeks prior to the events – check wheelercentre.com for updates. Hosted by Sally Warhaft
Our irst event for 2014 is:
Australia After the Boom Australians are living through a period of exceptional prosperity – but commodity prices are dropping and the boom is set to end. Are we ready for the reforms and challenges that lie ahead? The Fifth Estate 2014 begins when Sally is joined by leading economists Ross Garnaut AO and John Edwards, to discuss Australia’s economic history, the resources boom, and what we can expect in the future.
Ross Garnaut AO
John Edwards
Every second Tuesday, starting Tuesday 11th February at the Wheeler Centre Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Lunchbox soapbox.
We love exploring ideas at the Wheeler Centre, and encouraging others to do the same. That’s why every Thursday lunchtime we hand the microphone over to the great thinkers, dreamers and orators of our time. With a dazzling range of passionate speakers and unusual topics, our soapbox provides a platform for the eclectic, topical and enlightening stories you won’t hear elsewhere. This is the most memorable lunch break you’ll have all week. Siobhán McHugh Audio Storytelling and the Afective Power of Voice Thursday 13th February Oral historian Siobhán McHugh talks us through the primal and intimate nature of soundscapes, sharing her favourite ‘driveway moments’ in a presentation that showcases the power of audio storytelling.
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Thursdays at the Wheeler Centre Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm
If you're in need of sustenance of body as well as mind, the MOAT lunch cart will be serving delicious $15 lunchboxes in the performance space from 12.20pm.
Mark McMillan Indigenous Identity and the Law Thursday 20th February Senior Lecturer at Melbourne Law School and 2013 NAIDOC scholar of the year, Mark McMillan discusses indigenous identity, racial viliication and social expectations about 'freedoms' versus 'protections.
David Vann An Ode to Literary Tradition Thursday 27th February Best-selling international author David Vann champions the literature of yore, as he draws upon ancient techniques and traditions to complete his new translation of Beowulf.
Rafael Epstein Prisoner X Thursday 13th March Journalist Rafael Epstein takes up the case of Melbourne-born Ben Zygier, who died in an Israeli prison cell in 2010. Epstein examines who Zygier really was and how he ended up in such a position.
James Brown Anzac’s Long Shadow Thursday 27th March Former Australian Army oicer James Brown confronts the legacy of Australia’s involvement in the First World War, and how romantic notions of nostalgia are preventing today’s returning soldiers from achieving a meaningful welcome home.
Gregory Phillips The Republic and Aboriginal Peoples Thursday 10th April Aboriginal health expert Gregory Phillips tackles the failure of the current political system to include Indigenous voters, and loats the idea of a Republic as a more inclusive and efective system of government.
Kerry Arabena International Women's Day Address Thursday 6th March Ahead of International Women's Day, Professor of Indigenous Health Kerry Arabena explores the impact of the proposed changes to the Australian Constitution for advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women across Australia.
Sally Rippin Rescuing Reluctant Readers Thursday 20th March Ahead of the Children’s Book Festival, author Sally Rippin gets to grips with the issue of writing books that appeal to early readers and how to set kids on the path to engaging with the written word.
Dyani Lewis Are We Too Promiscuous for Our Own Good? Thursday 3rd April Sexual health researcher Dyani Lewis investigates how having multiple partners can lead to a marked increase in sexually transmitted infections, and why attitudes towards disease are out of step with sexual mores and habits.
Emma Ayres The Viola: A big violin, a small cello, or just a joke? Thursday 17th April Classical musician and regular on ABC Classic FM Breakfast Emma Ayres takes on the viola haters by confronting why this instrument is the laughing stock of the orchestra, demonstrating its worth in a virtuoso performance.
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2014 Victorian Premier's Literary Award Shortlist Congratulations to all shortlisted authors. Winners announced 28 January 2014. Go to wheelercentre.com for all the details and reviews of the 21 shortlisted titles.
Fiction Burial Rites Hannah Kent
The Narrow Road to the Deep North Richard Flanagan
Coal Creek Alex Miller
The Swan Book Alexis Wright
Eyrie Tim Winton
Questions of Travel Michelle de Kretser
Gardens of Fire: An Investigative Memoir Robert Kenny
White Beech: The Rainforest Years Germaine Greer
Boy, Lost: A Family Memoir Kristina Olsson
Forgotten War Henry Reynolds
Madeleine: A Life of Madeleine St John Helen Trinca
On Warne Gideon Haigh
The Secret River Kate Grenville, adapted for the stage by Andrew Bovell
Medea Anne-Louise Sarks and Kate Mulvany
Autoethnographic Michael Brennan
Travelling Through the Family Brendan Ryan
Wildlife Fiona Wood
My Life as an Alphabet Barry Jonsberg
Non-Fiction
Drama Savages Patricia Cornelius
Poetry Liquid Nitrogen Jennifer Maiden
Young Adult Friday Brown Vikki Wakeield
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Good conversation. Great wine. The Wheeler Centre at Montalto. Starting this summer, the Wheeler Centre will bring a taste of the best Australian writing to the Mornington Peninsula. On selected Friday nights throughout 2014, some of Australia’s favourite writers will be interviewed in the gorgeous surrounds of the Montalto dining room. Relax with a ine wine – and choose from a select menu from Montalto’s renowned kitchen. Time: 7.00pm for 7.30pm start Tickets: $50 inclusive of food Wine charged on consumption
Alex Miller
Elliot Perlman
Alex Miller is the author of an astounding ten novels – and the owner of a swag of literary awards, including two Miles Franklins. His beautifully wrought, intricately thoughtful novels excavate the heart of the Australian psyche, including the complex relationship between indigenous and settler Australia.
Elliot Perlman is the award-winning author of Three Dollars, Seven Types of Ambiguity, The Reasons i Won't Be Coming, and most recently The Street Sweeper. Internationally renowned, he has a reputation as a novelist who explores the burning social and political issues of our time.
Friday 28th February
Friday 11th April
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The next big thing.
There has been an explosion of vibrant new writing talent in Australia of late, and since we opened our doors, the Wheeler Centre has been right at the heart of the 21st Century literary zeitgeist. Our irst ever event was a Debut Monday, showcasing exciting new authors. The Next Big Thing is the evolution of that event. We’ve broadened our horizons to present to you not only irst time authors, but also those dedicated scribes with several books to their name. These are the names we believe should be on everyone’s lips, the authors we love, but who may have slipped under your radar. Join us to discover them before everyone else does! Monday 3rd March Suzanne McCourt Spiri Tsintziras Darrell Pitt Robbie Coburn
Monday 31st March Jane Jervis-Read Joey Black Briohny Doyle
Monday 28th April Holly Childs Melinda Houston Jenna Martin
at the MOAT Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
at the MOAT Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
at the MOAT Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Writers in residence. Hot Desk Fellowships A Readings Foundation and Wheeler Centre initiative. In early 2012 we welcomed our irst 20 Hot Desk writers to the Wheeler Centre. Continuing into 2014, this wonderful initiative has been made possible by the generous support of The Readings Foundation.
If you have a project to work on and need a desk in the midst of the literary action, this is the award for you. Hot Desk Fellows are also provided with in-kind support and advice from the Wheeler Centre’s resident organisations.
The Hot Desk Fellowship comprises a $1000 stipend, and a workspace in the heart of the Wheeler Centre over a two-month period. All our writers and their projects are featured on the Wheeler Centre website, which has led to several former Fellows inding success in the publishing world.
Applications for Fellowships open Monday 24th February. For more information about The Readings Foundation visit readings.com.au
Weather Stations. A global climate change initiative with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union. The Wheeler Centre is one of ive partners in a brand new global project, which places literature and storytelling at the heart of the conversations around climate change. Launching in 2014, the Weather Stations project harnesses the transformative power of words to imagine, in the context of a threatened environment, how we might live our lives diferently. Over the next 18 months the project will bring together ive cultural institutions from around the world: the Wheeler Centre, Free Word in London, internationales literaturfestival Berlin, Krytyka Polityczna in Warsaw and Tallaght Community Arts in Dublin.
Each Weather Station has appointed a writer in residence, whose task is to produce a body of work that relects how they view our relationship with the environment. The Wheeler Centre’s writer in residence is Tony Birch. Tony will be blogging regularly at wheelercentre.com and, in collaboration with some of Victoria’s young citizens, will explore the wide-ranging implications of climate change on future generations. From Monday 21st April, all ive writers will be blogging and undertaking a residency together in Australia.
Tony Birch Weather Stations writer in residence
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Calendar. Saturday 8th February The Wheeler Centre Gala: 20 Questions Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Saturday 22nd February The Book of the Night: White Night Melbourne Time: 7.00pm – 7.00am
Tuesday 11th February The Fifth Estate: Australia After the Boom Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Monday 24th February Coming of Age: Growing Up Muslim in Australia Time: 6.15pm – 7.45pm
Wednesday 12th February Black and Proud: Racism in Sport Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Tuesday 25th February The Fifth Estate Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Thursday 13th February Lunchbox/Soapbox: Siobhán McHugh Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Thursday 13th February Art & the City Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Tuesday 18th February Michael Robotham Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Wednesday 19th February A Country Too Far Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Thursday 20th February Lunchbox/Soapbox: Mark McMillan Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Thursday 20th February Eleanor Catton Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Tuesday 25th February Lionel Shriver Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Tuesday 25th February Margaret Drabble Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Wednesday 26th February Margaret Drabble Time: 11.00am – 12.30pm Wednesday 26th February Paciic Highways Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Wednesday 26th February IQ2: Faith-Based Religious Education Has No Place in Public Schools Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm Thursday 27th February Lunchbox/Soapbox: David Vann Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Thursday 27th February Evie Wyld Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
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Friday 28th February Good conversation. Great wine.: Alex Miller Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm Monday 3rd March The Next Big Thing Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Monday 3rd March Elizabeth Gilbert and Rayya Elias Time: 7.30pm – 9.00pm Tuesday 4th March Elizabeth Gilbert Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Wednesday 5th March Jung Chang Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Wednesday 5th March Alison Bechdel Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Thursday 6th March Lunchbox/Soapbox: Kerry Arabena Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Thursday 6th March Rachel Kushner Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Tuesday 11th March The Fifth Estate Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Tuesday 11th March On Water: Eight Speakers. Eight Stories. Time: 6.15pm – 7.30pm
Thursday 13th March Lunchbox/Soapbox: Rafael Epstein Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Thursday 13th March Playwear: Fashion, Interactivity and Technology Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Thursday 13th March Alexander McCall Smith Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm Friday 14th March Alexander McCall Smith Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm
Tuesday 25th March The Fifth Estate Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Tuesday 8th April The Fifth Estate Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Thursday 27th March Lunchbox/Soapbox: James Brown Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm
Wednesday 9th April Art & the Universe Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Thursday 27th March Alain de Botton Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm Monday 31st March The Next Big Thing Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Monday 17th March David Malouf Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Tuesday 1st April Sex Week: What Do Women Want? Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Tuesday 18th March Art & the Body Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Wednesday 2nd April Sex Week: Sex in Words Time: 6.15pm – 7.45pm
Wednesday 19th March Fair Trade and Fair Speech: Feminist Publishing in the 21st Century Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Thursday 3rd April Lunchbox/Soapbox: Dyani Lewis Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm
Thursday 20th March Lunchbox/Soapbox: Sally Rippin Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Sunday 23rd March Children's Book Festival Time: 10.00am – 4.00pm
Thursday 3rd April Sex Week: Feminist Porn Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Friday 4th April Sex Week: Erotic Fan Fiction Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm Monday 7th April Jeez Louise Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Thursday 10th April Lunchbox/Soapbox: Gregory Phillips Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Friday 11 April Good conversation. Great wine.: Elliot Perlman Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm Monday 14th April Talking Comedians Writing Books Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Wednesday 16th April Blak Wave Time: 6.15pm – 8.15pm Thursday 17th April Lunchbox/Soapbox: Emma Ayres Time: 12.45pm – 1.15pm Tuesday 22nd April The Fifth Estate Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm Wednesday 23rd April Jennifer Saunders Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm
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Calendar. Thursday 24th April Words and Music: Katie Noonan and Michael Leunig Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm
Saturday 26th April Lighthouse Literary Festival: Robert Drewe Time: 3.30pm – 4.30pm
Friday 25th April Lighthouse Literary Festival: John Clarke Time: 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Monday 28th April The Next Big Thing Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Tuesday 29th April Rebellion and Tomorrow Time: 6.15pm – 8.15pm Wednesday 30th April Emerging Writers' Festival Launch Time: 6.15pm – 7.15pm
Programme details are subject to change. Check the Wheeler Centre website for the latest programming news and updates.
Access info. Booking Tickets Please notify us of all access requirements when booking – contact reception on 03 9094 7800 or reception@wheelercentre.com Auslan The Wheeler Centre provides Auslan interpreting on request. Please contact us two weeks prior to your event. Hearing Loop A hearing loop is available at the Wheeler Centre. If you require hearing assistance at an of-site event, please contact us when you book your ticket.
Physical Access Every efort has been made to ensure that the Wheeler Centre's events are accessible for wheelchair users or those with limited mobility. Wheeler Centre events have unallocated seating – please contact us if you require reserved seating to accommodate your access needs. Companion Seats If you require the assistance of a companion to access venues, please note the Wheeler Centre ofers a second ticket to paid events at no cost to Companion Card holders (or similar) at the time of booking.
Having trouble reading the small print? To request a large-print version of this program please call 03 9094 7800.
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Resident organisations.
Booksellers. Booksellers at Wheeler Centre Events At many Wheeler Centre events speakers' books may be purchased from one of the brilliant local booksellers it is our pleasure to partner with. To date that has included: Avenue Bookstore, Book City Ballarat, Books in Print, Brunswick Bound, Brunswick Street Bookstore, Collins Booksellers in Mildura, Sale and Wangaratta, Dymocks Collins Street, Dymocks Camberwell, Embiggen Books, Hares and Hyenas, Hill of Content Bookshop, The New International Bookshop, The Paperback Bookshop, Readings and The Sun Bookshop. Support your nearest centre for books, writing and ideas: shop at a local bookshop.
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The Venue
wheelercentre.com
The Wheeler Centre is located in a wing of the State Library on the corner of Swanston Street and Little Lonsdale Street.
Most events are ilmed and uploaded to our website for your debate and discussion.
The Wheeler Centre entrance is in Little Lonsdale Street. The venue is serviced by Swanston Street trams and Melbourne Central train station. Parking is available opposite in the QV complex.
Booking Tickets
Further Information Visit wheelercentre.com or call 03 9094 7800 during business hours.
All Wheeler Centre events held within our performance space are FREE – with events at larger, external venues usually charged at $20 and $12 concession or $35 and $20 concession per ticket. All tickets can be booked at wheelercentre.com Bookings strongly recommended.
BOOK NOW wheelercentre.com