Non Fiction and Fiction: Balancing Threads of Past and Present

Justin Heazlewood is an award-winning author & performer. In 2014 his first book Funemployed: Life as an Artist in Australia earned praise from artists and industry alike. In 2015 an 8-part series was commissioned for RN. A regular to Brisbane, Justin showcased Funemployed at BIGSOUND in 2015 & 2016 and headlined the 2017 Queensland Poetry Festival.

As The Bedroom Philosopher he has appeared on Triple J & ABC TV, releasing four albums including the ARIA-nominated Songs From The 86 Tram. The video for Northcote (So Hungover) earned nearly half a million hits and has been described as ‘The Kath & Kim for Gen-Y.’

Maria Tumarkin is a writer and cultural historian. She holds a BA (Hons) and a PhD in cultural history from the University of Melbourne. She is the author of three acclaimed books of ideas: Traumascapes,
Courage and Otherland. All three books were shortlisted for literary prizes; Otherland, most recently, was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Award, NSW Premier’s Award and The Age Book of the Year.

Maria’s essays have appeared in 'The Best Australian Essays' (2011, 2012 & 2015), 'Griffith Review', 'Meanjin', 'The Monthly', 'Kill Your Darlings', 'Sydney Review of Books', 'The Age', 'The Australian' and 'Inside Story'. In 2015 her essay No Skin was shortlisted for the Melbourne Prize of Literature.

Maria is involved in wide-ranging artistic collaborations with visual artists, theatre makers and audio designers. She was a 2013–14 Sidney Myer Creative Fellow in humanities and is a member of the Melbourne Writers Festival’s programming committee.