Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 17 February
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
It was fun when you were seven, and it’s still fun now. Did you once steal an Osama bin Laden urinal sieve from a Pennsylvanian public toilet? Have you kept all your baby teeth in a jar in the attic? Do you have a cork from a bottle of wine drunk by Napoleon? It might be something weird, it might be something valuable, it might be something rare, it might be something personally significant. It might be a text message, a piece of furniture, a childhood toy or a mobile phone video.
The stuff we keep says something about ourselves, and Show and Tell for Grown-ups is a place to share these stories. Host Tony Wilson and his panellists of hoarders – Alison Lester, Sofija Stefanovic and Rob Carlton – will each bring something amazing to display and discuss, before opening the floor for members of the audience to show and tell their own curiosities and keepsakes.
Bring your friends. Bring your family. Bring your taxidermy pelican collection.
Featuring
Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson is an author of more than 20 books for all ages and several genres. His picture books Hickory Dickory Dash and The Cow Tripped Over the Moon were bestseller and both were selected as National Simultaneous Storytime titles. His most recent book for adults is 1989: The Great Grand Final (Hardie Grant, 2020)
Tony was a long-time member of the Breakfasters team on Triple R and has a regular segment on ABC Mornings with Sammy J. He co-directed and produced the sports documentary feature The Galahs: A Footy Journey, A Sporting Odyssey (Sepia Tones Productions) which premiered at MIFF in 2016.
He also hosts a website and podcast called Speakola, which is dedicated to great speeches, famous and otherwise. Guests on the podcast have included Stan Grant, Kate Mulvany, Nelly Thomas and Andrew Denton.
Alison Lester
Alison Lester grew up on a farm by the sea, and first rode a horse as a baby in her father's arms. Her picture books mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special. Alison is involved in many community art projects and spends part of every year travelling to remote Indigenous communities, using her books to help children and adults write and draw about their own lives.
In 2012, Alison became Australia's first Children's Book Laureate, a position she shared with Boori Monty Pryor. In 2016, she was awarded the Dromkeen Medal for her outstanding achievement in the creation of Australian children's and young adult literature, and in 2018 she became the first children's book writer to win the Melbourne Prize for Literature, for her outstanding contribution to Australian literature and cultural and intellectual life. In 2019, Alison was awarded an Australia Post Legends Award and featured on a stamp, as well as being the recipient of a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Australia Day Honours List.
Rob Carlton
Rob Carlton, a Silver Logie winning actor, has been a professional actor since he was 14 years old. A recognised face in Australia for both comedy and drama, his credits span TV, film and theatre. Rob’s breakout role of Kerry Packer in the Paper Giants franchise saw him nominated for an Australian Academy Award as well as winning the Silver Logie for most outstanding performance in a drama.
Rob won Tropfest in 2006 with Carmichael and Shane which he wrote, starred in, co-directed and co-produced. He also won best actor that year.
Shadowfax TV, his television production company, produced 2 series of the award winning comedy, Chandon Pictures. Rob co-directed the project and also takes creator, writer and acting credits. Chandon Pictures has played in over 15 territories around the world, including the USA and the UK and was nominated for multiple Logie and AFI awards. As the writer, Rob won an AWGIE award for Chandon Pictures.
Sofija Stefanovic
Sofija Stefanovic is a MothStorySLAM winner and a founding faculty member of The School of Life in Melbourne. She hosts This Alien Nation and the popular literary salon Women of Letters New York, and her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Elle and the Guardian. Her debut memoir Miss Ex-Yugoslavia (April 2018) is a sometimes funny sometimes dark story about being an immigrant kid during the Yugoslavian Wars.