As the World Turns

Series

The Next Big Thing

Where

The Moat

When

Monday, 1 Aug 2022, 06:30pm - 07:30pm

Event Status

Past event

Featuring

About

In this edition of Next Big Thing, a line-up of writers will read work exploring what it means to seek out your place in a world that is ever-changing.

Grace Chan’s novel Every Version of You takes a futuristic look at the ties between humans and technology; Else Fitzgerald’s speculative fiction collection Everything Feels Like the End of the World explores the possible futures facing a vulnerable humanity; in his debut novel Forty Nights, Pirooz Jafari tells a story about the lasting impact of dislocation and dispossession; Declan Fry writes about finding connection while far from home; and Denice Dabu’s piece in the latest edition of Voiceworks mixes absurdist and surreal humour in a story titled ‘A New Kind of Love, A New Kind of Eating’.

These writers are thinking and writing through what’s most important, and how we can best connect to one another, as the world slips further from our control. Join us at the Moat for a drink to hear new writing from these talents on the rise.

Illustration by Megan Herbert.

Accessibility

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.

The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing takes place every month at the Moat and is a cherished Melbourne institution. It’s the place to be if you want to hear great emerging writers read from new and adventurous work.

The Next Big Thing

Featuring

Grace Chan

Grace Chan is an Aurealis and Norma K Hemming Award-nominated speculative fiction writer. She can’t seem to stop scribbling about brains, minds, space, technology, and identity. Her short fiction can be found in Going Down Swinging, Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, and many... Read more

@gracechanwrites

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Denice Dabu

Denice Dabu is a full-time uni student majoring in Creative Writing and English Literature. ‘A New Kind of Love, A New Kind of Eating’ is her first published works. She loves all things storytelling and hopes to advocate reading and creativity to children in remote and regional areas in ... Read more

@d.niceu

Else Fitzgerald

Else Fitzgerald is a writer based on the Mornington Peninsula. Her writing has appeared in various publications including Australian Book Review, Meanjin, The Guardian, The Suburban Review and Award Winning Australian Writing. Else won the 2019 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. Everything Feels Li... Read more

@elsefitz

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Declan Fry

Declan Fry is a writer, poet and essayist. Born on Wongatha country in Kalgoorlie, he has been awarded a Peter Blazey Fellowship, the Lord Mayor’s Creative Writing Award for memoir, shortlisted for the Judith Wright Poetry Prize, and nominated for the Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism. He currently... Read more

@_declanfry

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Pirooz Jafari

Born in Iran, Pirooz Jafari migrated to Australia more than two decades ago as an ambitious photographer. His experience of witnessing violations of human rights of every imaginable kind throughout his childhood, adolescence and young adult life in Iran ignited a passion in him to pursue legal studi... Read more

@gotlander17

Jamila Djafar Khodja

Jamila is the Wheeler Centre’s Programming Manager. Prior to this, she worked in the publishing industry as a publicist and sales manager, working with local and international writers. Jamila holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Postgraduate Certificate in Publishing and Communications, both from th... Read more