Name: Fright Night
Start: 2022-11-04
End: 2022-11-04
Location: The Wheeler Centre

Event and Ticketing Details

Dates & Times

Friday 04 November

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Location

The Wheeler Centre

176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne Victoria 3000

Get directions

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible

Accessible toilets available

You can learn more about the Wheeler Centre’s accessibility policies here. Please notify us of all access requirements when booking online so we can assist you with your visit. If you require further information, please contact reception on 03 9094 7800 or ticketing@wheelercentre.com.

Event Notes

Neil Gaiman will share a spine-tingling tale via video message.

About

Are you scared of things that go bump in the night? In this up late storytime event for Spring Fling, a spectacular line-up of YA authors and emerging teen writers take the torch to share tales of all things eerie, ghostly, and downright deadly. Join us around the Wheeler campfire to hear tall tales from six local writers, including YA superstar authors Leanne Hall, Ellie Marney and Sarah Epstein, and three special teen guests who have crafted their own spooky shorts under the mentorship of YA writer and editor of Hometown Haunts Poppy Nwuso – plus a spine-tingling tale from the master of the macabre, Neil Gaiman, author of The Sandman and American Gods, who will bring the chills in a special video message. Before you attend Fright Night, let us woo you with short and sweet stories at Spring Fling’s Meet Cute, starting at 6pm. The bookseller for this event is Readings.

About Spring Fling

Celebrating our return to the stage and the rejuvenation of the arts and culture communities, Spring Fling is a short series of big ideas offering a delectable picnic spread of events with leading thinkers, writers and creators from Australia and abroad. Spring Fling is supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership.

Featuring

Avalon Anskey

Avalon is a genderqueer student, judoka and young writer who frequently describes himself as "the intersection of jock and nerd". When he isn't studying for Year 12 exams, he is probably either writing fanfiction (a lot of fanfiction), messing around in Audacity, or travelling internationally to attend the World Judo Championships as a member of the national Australian team. He is most comfortable playing with sci-fi, fantasy, and character-driven fiction, but is excited to delve into their intersection with horror.

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Sarah Epstein

Sarah Epstein is an award-winning Australian author who resides in Melbourne with her family. Her first two young adult novels, Small Spaces and Deep Water, have been translated into multiple languages, and Small Spaces has also been optioned for film. Sarah’s writing has been nominated for numerous literary awards, and she has been the recipient of the Adelaide Festival Young Adult Fiction Award, the Davitt Award for Best YA Crime Novel, and Honour Book from the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Sarah’s short fiction is featured in the Hometown Haunts anthology, and she has launched a contemporary YA series, Leftovers, and a new YA thriller, Night Lights, under her own imprint.

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Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers and award-winning books, including Neverwhere, American Gods, The Ocean at the End of the Lane and the Sandman series of graphic novels. His work crosses genres and reaches audiences of all ages. His titles for children include The Graveyard Book, Coraline, and Fortunately, the Milk, along with several picture books. His fiction has received Newbery, Carnegie, Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards. In 2017 Gaiman became a Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He is a Professor in the Arts at Bard College and a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.

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Leanne Hall

Leanne Hall is an award-winning author of young adult and children's fiction. Her most recent YA novel, The Gaps, won the young adult category of the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Leanne is currently a PhD candidate at RMIT.

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Ellie Marney

Ellie Marney is a New York Times bestselling author of YA thrillers. Her ten titles include The Killing Code, None Shall Sleep, and the Every series. She has spent a lifetime touring autopsy suites, interviewing pathology specialists, talking with law enforcement, and asking former spies how to make explosives from household items, and now she lives quite sedately near Castlemaine, Victoria, with her family.

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Poppy Nwosu

Poppy Nwosu has published multiple young adult fiction books and been shortlisted for many awards, including the Readings YA Book Prize, SPN Book of the Year Award and the Aurealis Awards. Her latest novel was a CBCA Notable and she was recently awarded the Max Fatchen Fellowship. Poppy also writes dark fantasy for older readers under the name PJ Nwosu.

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Jes Layton

Jes Layton invented writing, the airplane, and the internet. He was also the first person to reach the North Pole. Jes is an author and illustrator currently living and working on Wurundjeri Land. He is the current co-CEO/Executive Director of the Emerging Writers' Festival and is currently represented by Alex Adsett Literary Agency. His work can be found with SBS, Junkee, Voiceworks, Kill Your Darlings, Archer, The Big Issue, BlackInc, Pantera Press and Nero Books and scattered elsewhere online and in print. With recent work featuring in two new anthologies set to come out in late 2023; "An Unexpected Party" with Fremantle Press, and "Everything Under the Moon: Fairy Tales in a Queerer Light" with Affirm Press. You can find Jes online @AGeekWithAHat.

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Julia Zaparas

Julia is a student in Year 9 at Ruyton Girls' School. She is a passionate writer and reader, she has a profound interest in the genre of horror. She has written several short stories in the past, and won a competition judged by Nova Weetman. Her winning piece was a scripted scene inspired by the film, 'The Hunt For The Wilderpeople'.

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