2024 Australian Fairy Tale Society Keynote Speaker - Michael Earp

The Australian Fairy Tale Society is thrilled to have non-binary writer and bookseller Michael Earp as the Keynote Speaker at our 2024 Annual Conference - Once & Future Tales: What was, what is... what if? Michael's keynote address is free to attend in person at the Newport Community Hub and online via Zoom. The session will be Auslan interpreted. A light morning tea and registration for the rest of the conference will be available on the day. For more information about the conference, go to https://australianfairytalesoc...

Michael Earp is a non-binary writer and bookseller living in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). They are editor of, and contributor to Everything Under the Moon: Fairy tales in a queerer light, Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories, Out-Side: Queer Words and Art from Regional Victoria and co-edited Avast! Pirate Stories From Transgender Authors with Alison Evans. Their writing has also appeared in Archer, The Age, PopMatters, The Victorian Writer, Aurealis as well as the anthologies Borderlands: Riding the Slipstream and Underdog: #LoveOzYA Short Stories. For over twenty years they have worked between bookselling and publishing as a children’s and young adult specialist. Their role managing The Little Bookroom, the world’s oldest children’s bookstore saw them named ABA Bookseller of the Year. A passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ literature for young people, they established the #AusQueerYA Tumblr to catalogue all Australian young adult fiction containing queer content and characters. Representation of all people in the literature available to readers of all ages is the ethos that motivates their entire career. They have a Masters in Children’s Literature and a Teaching degree and previously served as committee chair for the #LoveOzYA campaign. Tea is the source of all their power.

The stunning conference artwork is by Roslyn Quin (@roslynquinart)

This project was made possible thanks to the support of Hobsons Bay City Council through its Make it Happen Grants program.