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.

This event is proudly supported by NAB Foundation, The Hugh Williamson Foundation and Quest Apartment Hotels.


Event information

Session 1: 

11am-12pm

Talk One: In conversation with Edwina Preston

Session 2: 

1pm-2pm

Talk Two: In conversation with Louisa Lim

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.

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