Join us this Pride month for a thought-provoking author talk with local author Em Readman in conversation with the Freedom Centre.

Em Readman is a nonbinary writer hailing from Meanjin (Brisbane) and residing in Boorloo (Perth). Their work has been published by The Suburban Review, Bowen Street Press, Aniko Press and others. They often write about family, memory, and queerness, with a focus on the transient natures of all three. In 2022, Em won the Hunter Writer’s Centre Blue Knot Award.

Em also contributed to the 2023 queer anthology An Unexpected Party, a collection of futuristic, science-fiction, paranormal and speculative short stories that subvert the current landscape of Australian young adult fiction.

With the Freedom Centre, Em will discuss the need for community in an uncertain future which many young people face.

Copies of Em's work, An Unexpected Party will be on sale, courtesy of Planet Books.

An Unexpected Party edited by Seth Malacari

Co-published by Get YA Words Out and edited by Seth Malacari, An Unexpected Party brings together the stories of emerging authors from the LGBTQIA+ community.

From fantastical realms to real-world struggles, this anthology champions queer identity by challenging stereotypes and exploring the many facets of identity. Written with wit, heart and honesty, these stories take queer protagonists outside the box of young adult romance and centre them at the heart of stories that involve magic, paranormal beings and adventure.

Featuring trans and gender-diverse voices – asexual, aromantic, bisexual and more – the stories in An Unexpected Party are as diverse as their writers.