What does it mean to be a storyteller in Australia today? Two of our most treasured authors, Tony Birch and Alice Pung, will appear in conversation with Paddy O'Reilly at Clunes, to discuss the thrills, dangers and possibilities of storytelling.
They'll discuss their most recent books, Common People and Close to Home, and explore how stories transport and transform us. Does form matter? Does genre matter? And what's the special significance of stories from, and about, home?
Presented in partnership with Clunes Booktown Festival.
Who?
Tony Birch
Tony Birch is a founding member of the Melbourne School of Discontent. He has published three novels; The White Girl, Ghost River and Blood. He is also the author of Shadowboxing and three short story collections, Father’s Day, The Promise and Common People. In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature. In 2021 he released two new books, a poetry book, Whisper Songs and a new short story collection, Dark As Last Night.
Alice Pung
Alice Pung is an award-winning Australian writer whose books include the bestselling memoirs Unpolished Gem (2006) and Her Father's Daughter (2011), and the novel Laurinda (2014). She is the editor of the anthology Growing Up Asian in Australia (2008), and created the Marly books for Penguin's Our Australian Girl series (2015). Her latest book is the novel One Hundred Days (2021).
Paddy O'Reilly
Paddy O’Reilly is a writer from Melbourne. Her work has been published and broadcast widely both here and internationally. Her latest novel, The Fine Colour of Rust, is published in the UK, Australia and the USA.
Where?
Presented in partnership with
