Ballarat
Ballarat – Saturday 16 November 2024
Session 1 – Writing About the Future
1pm – 2pm
Join 2024 Stella longlisted author Kate Midlenhall, as she has an exciting conversation about her recent novel The Hummingbird Effect. This conversation will be moderated by Van Badham. Reserve your spot here.Session 2 – Travel Writing
3pm – 4pm
Do you need to be somewhere to write about it? Join Adriane Howell and Favel Parrett as they discuss their travels to Greece and Antarctica to write their books. Moderated by Fiona Sweet. Reserve your spot here.
Kate Mildenhall is an author, writing teacher and podcaster. Her debut novel SKYLARKING was longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017 and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. Her second novel, THE MOTHER FAULT was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year. Her latest novel is THE HUMMINGBIRD EFFECT (2023), shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and longlisted for the Stella Prize and the Indie Book Awards Fiction, 2024. For the past six years Kate has co-hosted The First Time podcast. She is currently undertaking a PhD in creative process at RMIT University and working on her fourth novel. In October she will release her first picture book TO STIR WITH LOVE, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft. Kate lives on Wurundjeri lands in Hurstbridge with her partner and two children.
Van Badham is an internationally award-winning writer, theatremaker and occasional broadcaster. She is a featured columnist for The Guardian and has also written for The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Telegraph (UK) and The Age. She was a Walkley finalist for her non-fiction book debut, 2021’s best-selling QAnon And On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults and she was the first Australian to win Britain’s Harold Hobson prize for theatre criticism. As a commentator she’s appeared numerous times for the ABC’s Q And A and The Drum shows, for The Project on Ten, on Politics HQ for Sky and the Today Show on Channel 9, and regularly for ABC radio, while as a writer of radio drama she’s been broadcast both by the ABC and BBC. Presently, she co-hosts the award winning news/politics podcast The Week on Wednesday, which has had more than a million downloads as of August, 2023. Van is currently writing a second non-fiction book for Hardie Grant as well as being under commission for new work at Melbourne Theatre Company and developing episodic television with Jungle Entertainment in Sydney. Her new musical The Questions co-created with composer Richard Wise premieres this year at STCSA.
Adriane Howell is a Melbourne-based writer. Her debut novel, Hydra, was shortlisted for the 2023 Stella Prize; the 2023 Readings New Australian Fiction Prize and the 2024 South Australian Literary Awards, National Awards for Fiction.
Favel Parrett‘s career was launched with her acclaimed debut PAST THE SHALLOWS. It was shortlisted in the Miles Franklin Award and won the Dobbie Literary Award. THERE WAS STILL LOVE, Favel’s third novel, was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and won Book of the Year – The Indie Book Awards 2020. She lives in Victoria and is passionate about surfing and dingoes.
Fiona Sweet is the Creative Director and CEO of Stella. She is the past Artistic Director and CEO of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale and the inaugural Director of the National Centre for Photography. Fiona is an influential and in-demand public speaker, industry judge, photographic portfolio reviewer and assessor in Australia and internationally. She was the director and founder of Sweet Creative and is recognised for her inspiring and intelligent delivery of uniquely crafted festivals and arts events. She is also a former Board Director of the Australian Graphic Design Association, the Melbourne Fringe, and co-founded Melbourne’s Acland Street Projection Festival. Fiona currently sits on the LCI University Photographic Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Committee for the Discipline of Photography at RMIT. She was the recipient of an Ian Potter Travel Grant in 2018 for her research on international art festival best practice.
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