Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 10 April
6:15 PM - 7:30 PM
Name a literary genre that has always placed women front and centre. Romance.
Romance writing is largely by women, for women – and in Australia, the genre has evolved a lot in recent years, with exciting new publishing models, booming sub-genres and big hits by local authors on the international stage. Australian romance writers are busier than ever, writing funny, smart, sexy and, above all, entertaining fiction.
At this special event at the Wheeler Centre, we’ll hear from some of the stars of Australian romance. Each writer will share a short reflection or provocation on the genre, followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A.
What are the reactionary conventions of romance, and what are its more subversive elements? What do stolen kisses, ripped bodices and father figures mean today? What's changing, what's here to stay, and what sets the 21st-century woman’s heart aflutter?
Sun Bookshop will be our bookseller for this event.
Featuring
C.S. Pacat
C.S. Pacat is the New York Times and USA-Today best-selling author of Dark Rise, the Captive Prince trilogy, and the GLAAD-nominated graphic novels Fence, as well as a writer for DC Comics. Educated at the University of Melbourne ...
Jenna Guillaume
Jenna Guillaume was editor-at-large for BuzzFeed Australia, where she wrote about very important things like pop culture, identity, feminism, social media and Chris Hemsworth's biceps.
Previously, she spent more than half a decade in the features department of Girlfriend magazine, editing the sealed section (yes, all those questions are real), and writing about everything from bullying and body image to bad kisses and boy bands. She was also a contributor to Girlfriend Life Hacks, an essential guide to navigating a girl's completely-awkward-but-totally-awesome teen years.
Jodi McAlister
Jodi McAlister is an author and academic. In her author life, she writes romance. In 2022, she has published Here For The Right Reasons (for adults) and Libby Lawrence is Good at Pretending (for young adults). She is also the author of the Valentine trilogy (2017-19), and her new romance Can I Steal You For A Second? will be published in April 2023.
In her academic life, she studies romance. She is the author of two academic books focusing on romance - The Consummate Virgin (2020) and New Adult Fiction (2021) - as well as numerous academic articles and book chapters. She is endlessly fascinated by the stories we tell about love, and how they shape the ways we think.
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Angelita Biscotti
Angelita Sofia Biscotti is a Spanish-Filipino-Australian fine-art model, photo artist and writer who used to publish work under the name Angela Serrano, and tweet as @angelita_serra. She was a 2017 Hot Desk Fellow at the Wheeler Centre. Her words have been published in Djed Press, Archer, The Lifted Brow, Overland, Peril, Cordite Poetry Review and elsewhere. Her erotic poetry chapbook Else But A Madness Most Discreet is available through Vagabond Press.
Her modelling work has appeared in Pencilled In, Hot Chicks with Big Brains, We Are Something Else and Demasque. Her photography has been exhibited at Midsumma Festival's Queer Economies at St Heliers Street Gallery, and BlackCat Gallery's Square-Circle show. She is an alumna of the Footscray Community Arts Centre's West Writers Group.
Anne Gracie
Anne Gracie is a Melbourne-based author of historical romance fiction, whose work has been published in 18 languages.
She writes Regency-era historical romance for Berkley USA (a division of Penguin Random House, NY) and is now working on her 21st novel. Anne is a former president and lifetime member of Romance Writers of Australia.
Minnie Darke
Minnie Darke is the author of the romantic comedy Star-crossed. Minnie shares a body with Danielle Wood, a versatile wordsmith who has written novels and short story collections for adults (The Alphabet of Light and Dark, Rosie Little’s Cautionary Tales for Girls, Mothers Grimm), non-fiction (Housewife Superstar: the very best of Marjorie Bligh) and – in partnership with Heather Rose – novels for children (Finding Serendipity, A Week Without Tuesday, Blueberry Pancakes Forever).
Danielle’s books have been published in the USA, Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Italy, and her awards include the 2002 Australian/Vogel Literary Prize, the Dobbie Prize for women’s fiction and two Sydney Morning Herald Young Novelist of the Year Awards.