Skip to content

Interrobang Itinerary: Liam Pieper

Read Monday, 9 Nov 2015

We asked some Wheeler Centre regulars to tell us what they’re most excited about seeing at The Interrobang, our festival of questions. Liam Pieper is the content director of The Writers Bloc and author of The Feel-good Hit of The Year. At the upcoming Interrobang festival, he’ll be seeking answers to questions of grammar, comedy and molecular biology. These are his top picks for the festival.

Share this content


Above: ‘Two minds running on more-or-less parallel tracks, both great on Twitter, both kind of horribly nasty.’

1. Rob Delaney and Benjamin Law: Are cockroaches attracted to human tears, and if so, why? 

(Friday 27 November, 6.30pm)

Two minds running on more-or-less parallel tracks, both great on Twitter, both kind of horribly nasty. Rob Delaney is an unstrung absurdist genius, comic actor and unapologetically gynocentric polemicist. Benjamin Law is by turns a brilliant investigative journalist, comedic screenwriter and master of obscene emoji; a man who has polished a low-key coprophilia into a shining career in letters. 

2. Upulie Divisekera: How does the world end? 

(Saturday 28 November, 4.00pm)

Molecular biologist Upulie Divisekera pairs a dry-cool wit with an undiminished wonder at the scientific marvels that underpin the universe, all combined with a barely contained disdain at the stupidity that threatens both the world and the science we need to understand it. If anyone knows how the world ends, she does.

"パパ、タートルになりたい…" "Papa, I want to be a turtle…"

A photo posted by Adam Liaw (@liawadam) on

Above: ‘Do you follow @liawadam on Instagram? Good God his son is cute. Hope for the future after all.’

3. What future do we want – and deserve? Questions for the places, politics and pleasures of the hereafter.

(Saturday 28 November, 7.00pm)

I’ve always been a huge fan of spec-fic, but in this world dystopian world of Google Glass, Snapchat, Uber and a brief Abbott Prime Ministership, the concept of speculative fiction is increasingly redundant, so here’s Adam Liaw, Kristin Alford and Maggie Ryan Sandford to explore what happens next. Also, maybe Liaw will bring his family! Do you follow him on Instagram? Good God his son is cute. Hope for the future after all.

4. Mary Norris and Jane Caro: Why does ‘i’ come before ‘e’, except after ‘c’?

(Saturday 28 November, 2.30pm)

Like millions of other writers living precariously cheque by cheque, I suffer terribly from the arbitrary rules of grammar in the English Language, which is, let’s face it, a scandalous bastard of dubious paternity. Mary Norris, who is the epitome of everything we love about that shining holdfast of great writing The New Yorker, will hopefully help me talk pretty one day. And yes, I stole that line from David Sedaris, but I’ve stolen pretty much everything from David Sedaris, so I’m not going to stop now.

Stay up to date with our upcoming events and special announcements by subscribing to The Wheeler Centre's mailing list.

Privacy Policy

The Wheeler Centre acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Centre stands. We acknowledge and pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their Elders, past and present, as the custodians of the world’s oldest continuous living culture.