A queer literary panel featuring Zoe Terakes, Gary Lonesborough and Marita Smith hosted by Inga Simpson

Do queer writers have an edge?

Zoe Terrakes, Gary Lonesborough and Merita Smith chat with local author Inga Simpson

about their creative journeys and the power of writing from the margins. Grab a drink and

settle in for a candid discussion about starting young – and crossing forms, genres and

boundaries. All writers are outsiders but do Queer writers have a particular edge? Authors’

books will be available for purchase and signing after the event.

Zoe Terakes

Zoe Terakes is a much loved Australian actor, known for roles in Janet King, Nine Perfect

Strangers, Ironheart and particularly as Reb Keane in the series Wentworth. In 2023, they

were nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Talk To Me and took out GQ’s Actor of the

Year Award. Zoe completed the HSC whilst appearing on stage in A View from the Bridge, a

role that earned a nomination for a Helpmann Award and Sydney Theatre Awards for Best

Actor in a Supporting Role in an Independent Production, and joint winner of Best

Newcomer. Last year Zoe made their publishing debut with Eros: Queer Myths for Lovers, a

collection of stories chronicling ancient Greek myths through a lens of queerness.

Gary Lonesborough

Gary Lonesborough is a Yuin writer who grew up here on the coast. He started writing as a

child, and continued his creative journey when he moved to Sydney to study film. Gary has

worked with youth, in Aboriginal health, child protection, the disability sector and the film

industry. His young adult novels, The Boy from the Mish, We Didn’t Think It Through,

and I’m Not Really Here have been shortlisted for numerous awards. Gary’s latest, Good

Young Men, is a powerful coming-of-age novel about three small-town Aboriginal friends

finding their way towards adulthood.

Marita Smith

Marita Smith is an author, editor, and fungi nerd passionate about environment and ecology.

Her Young Adult Kindred Ties Trilogy: Convergence, Emergence and Resilience blend

spiritual, scientific, and environmental elements with a cast of LGBTQIA+ characters who

hold the world’s future in their hands. Merita has an honours degree from ANU which

combined ancient history and science and saw her working as a paleobiogeochemist in the

Netherlands, before vagabonding across Europe. She now lives in a tiny house in the

Shoalhaven. Merita is also Editor of Shoalhaven magazine White Wash and runs fungi forays,

one of which features in the Queerobodalla program later this month.

Inga Simpson

Inga is the award-winning author of ten books including Mr Wigg, The Thinning and

Willowman. Her latest, Once We Were Wildlife, is a collection of short stories with an

ecological focus. Inga has PhDs in creative writing and English literature, and has called the

Eurobodalla home since 2017.

Flexible pricing options available.

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