Event #83
Messy & Magnificent
Frances Whiting + Debra Oswald + Anita Heiss + Monica McInerney + Jane Sullivan
Powerhouse Theatre
Regular Program
#About the event
Duration: 60 minutes
Messy & Magnificent
Frances Whiting (The Nocturnals), Debra Oswald (One Hundred Years of Betty), Anita Heiss (The Paradise Pact), Monica McInerney (When Sullivan Met Lola).
Chair: Jane Sullivan
6:15–7:15pm, Saturday 10 October, Powerhouse Theatre
An unlikely alliance between a 12-year-old boy and an 86-year-old eccentric. A girls’ trip that risks being derailed by a handsome stranger. A woman whose life and loves play out across a century of huge change. A group of friends who reunite under mysterious circumstances. These extraordinary stories of connection and curiosity evince the risks and rewards of the bonds we forge with one another.
#Artists
Frances Whiting
Frances Whiting is the bestselling author of the beloved coming-of-age novel, The Nocturnals. Her two previous novels, The Best Kind of Beautiful and Walking on Trampolines, are also critically acclaimed bestsellers. Frances is an award-winning journalist, the recipient of the prestigious Clarions Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism 2024, and a national multi award-winning feature writer. In 2027 her weekly newspaper column will turn 30 years old, awarding Frances the title of Australia's longest running Sunday columnist. The Nocturnals has been shortlisted for the 2026 Queensland Literary Awards Lord Mayor's People's Choice Book of the Year.
Debra Oswald
Debra Oswald is a two-time winner of the NSW Premier's Literary Award, creator of the TV series Offspring and author of novels Useful, The Whole Bright Year, The Family Doctor and One Hundred Years of Betty. She has written TV scripts, nine children's books and many stage plays.
Anita Heiss
Anita Heiss (Wiradyuri Nation) is an internationally published author of over 20 books. Her best-selling novel Tiddas was adapted for the stage and premiered at the Brisbane Festival in 2022. She is Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland and her latest novel is The Paradise Pact.
Monica McInerney
Monica McInerney is the internationally best-selling, award-winning author of 14 novels and one children’s book. She grew up in a family of nine in South Australia’s Clare Valley. For 35 years, Monica has moved between Australia and Ireland with her Irish husband. They currently live in Dublin.
Jane Sullivan
Jane Sullivan is co-founder of Birds of a Feather, Australia’s fastest-growing online book club for women. A former English teacher turned professional Book Club Host, Jane is thrilled to bring her unique blend of biblio-zest and literary nous to the Brisbane Writers Festival.
#Series
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