Ruffy
Stella DAY OUT: Ruffy
Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
Location: Ruffy Hall, 3 Nolans Rd Ruffy VIC 3666
Time: 11am-2pm
Tickets: Book through Humanitix here.
Local readers and writers will have the chance to hear directly from Stella Prize-listed writers Edwina Preston and Louisa Lim as they discuss their craft.
Edwina Preston is a Melbourne-based writer and musician. She is the author of a biography of Australian artist Howard Arkley, Not Just a Suburban Boy (Duffy & Snellgrove, 2002), the novel The Inheritance of Ivorie Hammer (University of Queensland Press, 2012), the novel Bad Art Mother (Wakefield Press, 2022), and the novel Sororicidal (Pan MacMillan, 2026). Edwina’s writing and reviews have appeared in The Age, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, Heat, Island, the Conversation and Griffith Review.
Louisa Lim is an award-winning journalist who reported from China for a decade for NPR and the BBC. Her most recent book, Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong, won a Taiwan Open Book award, and was shortlisted for five prizes including the Stella Prize and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Her first book, The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing and the Helen Bernstein Prize for Excellence in Journalism.
The day will be filled with thought-provoking ideas from these two incredible writers, hosted at Ruffy Hall.
Book signings available after each session, with book sales provided by Ink Bookshop.
This event is proudly supported by NAB Foundation, The Hugh Williamson Foundation and Quest Apartment Hotels.
Event information
Session 1:
11am-12pm
Talk One: Edwina Preston in conversation with Jo Printz.
Session 2:
1pm-2pm
Talk Two: Louisa Lim in conversation with Charmaine Manuel.
These sessions are FREE but bookings are essential.
Speakers
Edwina Preston is a Melbourne-based writer and musician. She is the author of a biography of Australian artist Howard Arkley, Not Just a Suburban Boy (Duffy & Snellgrove, 2002), the novel The Inheritance of Ivorie Hammer (University of Queensland Press, 2012), the novel Bad Art Mother (Wakefield Press, 2022), and the novel Sororicidal (Pan MacMillan, 2026). Edwina’s writing and reviews have appeared in The Age, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, Heat, Island, the Conversation and Griffith Review.
Louisa Lim is an award-winning journalist who reported from China for a decade for NPR and the BBC. Her most recent book, Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong, won a Taiwan Open Book award, and was shortlisted for five prizes including the Stella Prize and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award. Her first book, The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing and the Helen Bernstein Prize for Excellence in Journalism. Louisa co-hosts The Little Red Podcast, an award-winning podcast on China. She works as an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, teaching audio journalism and podcasting, and has a PhD in journalism studies.
Jo Printz has been a producer and presenter for ABC Radio for more than 30 years, working out of the Gippsland, Central Victoria, Shepparton and Melbourne bureaux over that time.
She’s also written for ABC News online and been a researcher for the ABC TV series Something In The Air and Back Roads. Jo currently presents the ABC Shepparton breakfast program.
Charmaine Manuel is a multiplatform reporter for the ABC in Shepparton. She fell into journalism after an eclectic career in libraries, universities and not-for-profits and hasn’t looked back since. She started her journalism career as a reporter at The Examiner newspaper in Launceston and has also written for The Age, The Guardian, The Saturday Paper and The Canberra Times. Her TV and radio reporting have been nominated for the Rural Press Club of Victoria awards.
Help change the story
As a not-for-profit organisation with ambitious goals, Stella relies on the generous support of donors to help fund our work.
Every donation is important to us and allows Stella to continue its role as the leading voice for gender equality and cultural change in Australian literature.
Stella is a not-for-profit organisation with DGR status. All donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible.
