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Early Bird tickets available until 25 November 2025. Get in quick!
Revered American novelist Percival Everett discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel James, a bold and transformative response to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
In his reimagining of an American classic, Percival Everett flips the script on Mark Twain’s Huck Finn, placing Huck’s enslaved companion Jim – here renamed James – at the centre of the narrative and granting him the voice he’s been long denied. The resulting novel is gripping, funny and strikingly relevant: a sharp reckoning with American identity, the dehumanising legacy of slavery and the enduring absurdity of racial supremacy.
In this special event, Everett joins host Osman Faruqi to discuss what drew him to this act of literary reclamation and why he views his work as being in conversation with Twain’s. He will also reflect on his decades-spanning literary career and the recent adaptation of his novel Erasure into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear from one of the most inventive and incisive voices in contemporary American literature in Everett’s only Melbourne appearance.
Presented in partnership with University of Melbourne Arts and Culture
Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 26 February
7.00 - 8.00pm
Tickets
$49.50
Full - Early Bird*
$39.50
Concession / Under 30 - Early Bird*
*Early Bird pricing ends 25 November or until sold out.
Groups 6+ and Members get standard 10% discount across all reserves.
For more information on Memberships, click here.
Location
Accessibility
Accessible toilets available
Assistive Listening
Auslan interpreting available by-request
Companion tickets available
Registered Assistance Animals welcome
Wheelchair accessible
For information regarding accessibility at Union Theatre, Arts and Cultural Building, click 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 ticketing@wheelercentre.com.
Additional Notes
Featuring
Percival Everett
Percival Everett is the author of over 30 books, including So Much Blue, Telephone, Dr. No and The Trees, which was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and won the 2022 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. He ...
Osman Faruqi
Osman Faruqi is an award-winning journalist and editor. He was most recently the Culture Editor at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He executive produced the 7am podcast and has also worked as a ...