Join a panel of Queensland’s cultural leaders as they tackle the tough questions about the future of our arts industries.

How are our literary and theatrical institutions recovering in the wake of a tumultuous period and what exciting paths of rejuvenation lie ahead?

This free event is being presented by the UQ Centre for Critical and Creative Writing and will be held alongside the UQ Alumni Book Fair. 

Get lost among 400 categories of books, starting from $1, then join us for this important conversation about the future of creative Queensland. 

Time: 1.45pm for 2–3pm, light refreshments 3–4pm
RSVP: FREE (registration required) 

Panellists

Fiona Stager is co-owner of Brisbane’s Avid Reader and Where the Wild Things Are. She has been a judge for The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award, the Stella Prize, and the Queensland Literary Awards. Fiona is the recipient of the Johnno Award for services to the Queensland writing community and was made a life member of the Australian Booksellers Association in 2014. 

 

Lee Lewis is the Artistic Director of the Queensland Theatre. Lee’s work spans The Griffin Theatre, Bell Shakespeare, Melbourne Theatre Company, and Sydney Theatre Company. Many of her productions nominated for awards including three Helpmann Awards for Angus Cerini’s The Bleeding Tree. 

 

 

Professor Julian Meyrick, Professor of Creative Arts at Griffith University, is a theatre director, dramaturge and cultural historian. He is Literary Adviser for the Queensland Theatre, General Editor of Currency House’s New Platform Paper series, and a board member of Northern Rivers Performing Arts. Julian's latest book Australia in 50 Plays was published in 2022. 

 

Mirandi Riwoe is author of Stone Sky Gold Mountain and The Burnished Sun. She won the (2020) Queensland Literary Award – Fiction Book Award and the (2020) ARA Historical Novel Prize, was shortlisted for the (2021) Stella Prize and longlisted for the (2021) Miles Franklin Literary Award. Mirandi’s work has appeared in Best Australian Stories, Meanjin, Review of Australian Fiction, Griffith Review and Best Summer Stories. 

 

Moderator

Associate Professor Stephen Carleton, School of Communication and Arts at The University of Queensland and Chair of the Centre for Critical and Creative Writing, is a Brisbane-based playwright and academic. Stephen has won the Griffin Theatre Award (2015) for The Turquoise Elephant, the Matilda Award for Best New Australian Play (2017) for Bastard Territory, and the Patrick White Playwrights’ Award (2005) and New Dramatists’ Award (2006) for Constance Drinkwater and the Final Days of Somerset. 

 

About Alumni and community events

UQ alumni and community events take place in-person and online, across the globe, throughout the year. UQ alumni are invited to join the UQ ChangeMakers platform to access early event registrations, benefits and discounts.

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Venue

Abel Smith Lecture Theatre
Building 23, UQ St Lucia