The Wheeler Centre Gala 2018: Words on Fire

Tony Birch holds the Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at Melbourne University. He is the author of three novels, five short fiction collections, and two poetry books. In 2023 he will release a new novel, Women and Children. ... Read more

Rosie Waterland is a Sydney-based author, columnist and screenwriter. Her first novel, The Anti-Cool Girl, published through HarperCollins in 2015, won the ABIA People’s Choice Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year, and was recently shortlisted for the Russell Prize for Humour Writing. In ... Read more

Leah Purcell is one of Australia’s leading actors, writers, and directors with award-winning roles across all mediums. She is a proud Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri woman from QLD. The Drover’s Wife The Legend Of Molly Johnson is Leah’s debut feature film which premiered at SXSW as part of th... Read more

Omar Musa is a Malaysian-Australian rapper and poet from Queanbeyan, Australia. He is the former winner of the Australian Poetry Slam and the Indian Ocean Poetry Slam. His first book is Here Come the Dogs. He has released three hip-hop albums, two poetry books (including Parang), appeared on ABC’s... Read more

Moira Finucane is a writer, director, performer and creator of volcanic and magic realist worlds … legendary salons, literary variety and intimate theatrical spectacles, internationally renowned for her arresting mix of provocation and entertainment. Finucane has defined and redefined cabaret arou... Read more

Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year, a Wheeler Centre podcast about Australians’ lives in the fog of ... Read more

Patricia Cornelius is a founding member of Melbourne Workers Theatre. She’s a playwright, novelist and film writer. She’s the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize and the 2019 Green Room award for Life Achievement. She’s been awarded the Victorian, NSW and Queensland PremiersR... Read more

Carly Findlay OAM is an award-winning writer, speaker and appearance activist. Her first book, a memoir called Say Hello, was released in January 2019. Carly edited the anthology Growing Up Disabled in Australia with Black Inc Books. It’s in stores now. She writes on disability and appearance... Read more

Rachael Maza is one of Australia’s most recognisable faces of the Australian film, television and theatre industry with performance credits including the Australian Film Institute (AFI) award-winning Radiance and the stage production of The Sapphires. A Western Australian Academy of Performing ... Read more

Nevo Zisin (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, Jewish writer, performer, activist and public speaker based in Naarm/Birraranga/Melbourne. They run workshops in schools and professional development training in workplaces around transgender identities. Author of award-winning Finding Nevo (2017), a me... Read more