Telling Tales 2026

Telling Tales - an evening of true stories from the women of Melbourne media

Thursday night. Wine in hand. Five women, five stories, one rule: it has to be true.

Join Women in Media for an intimate night of storytelling, where our speakers share the moments that shaped their working lives, the light-bulb realisations, the sliding-doors decisions, the eras they're relieved are over. No polish, no PR spin. Just honest, entertaining stories from women who've lived them.

Hear from:

✨ Caroline Catterall, Managing Director and Founder of Keep Left, one of Australia's most established independent communications agencies, now part of the Hardie Grant Media group following its 2025 acquisition. She founded Keep Left in 2001 at just 23, building it from a small PR outfit into a full-service PR, advertising, design and content agency across Melbourne and Sydney, working with clients including Australia Post, ANZ, Guide Dogs, Experian, Great Southern Bank, Charter Hall and St Vincent de Paul. Her campaign work has been recognised with a B&T Award for Best Consumer PR Campaign (Crust Pizza, 2008) and a PRIA Golden Target Award for Consumer Marketing (endota loves mums, 2014), and she was named a winner at the B&T Women in Media Awards in 2024. Catterall has also featured on B&T's Women in Media Power List and mentors emerging women in the industry through the Aunties. She continues to lead Keep Left alongside business partner Gillian Gosling as it operates within the Hardie Grant Media network.

✨ Lucy Coleman, an award-winning writer, director, creator, and producer, named “the face of Australian cinema going forward” (Peirce, The Curb, 2025). She is the sole creator and writer of the seven-time AACTA-nominated series EXPOSURE (STAN, 2024). Her short film LEAN IN (2024) became a global award-winner, earning her a third ADG nomination and ranking in The Curb’s Top 5 Films of the Year. Her debut feature HOT MESS (2020) was a festival hit, earning AACTA and ADG nominations. Other credits include the viral web series ON THE FRINGE (10M+ views) and participation in Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Impact program. Coleman’s work champions bold, propulsive storytelling centred on contemporary Australian womanhood. Lucy is currently undergoing a PhD at RMIT and teaches at the University of Melbourne and RMIT.

✨ Brigitte Duclos is one of Australia's most successful and much loved radio personalities. Brig has dominated Melbourne radio for more than three decades since starting as a cadet television journalist at Network Ten. In a career spanning more than 30 years in television and radio, Brig has read prime time news, hosted her own television show and entertained Australians as co host of prime time breakfast and drive time radio shows. Brig had also written columns for numerous media outlets and hosted some of Melbourne's biggest events. Brig is also an accredited counsellor, with her own practice.

✨ Rachel Furolo is the Melbourne-based founder of Bookatini, a book club for pasta lovers that pairs curated reads with homemade Italian dinners. She launched Bookatini in early 2025 as a single monthly dinner for 12 guests, and it has since grown into three distinct formats the Homestyle Book Club Dinner, Supper Series and Aperitivo, now running up to three events a month and hosting as many as 22 guests per sitting. Bookatini also hosts author Q&As and book signings, including events with Georgie Tunny and Melissa Leong this year. Bookatini has been featured by The Urban List, Sitchu and Onya Magazine as one of Melbourne's standout new social and literary clubs. As a former journalist and current creative video producer, Rachel has built Bookatini around a simple idea: bringing people together over good food and deep conversation, centred around books.

✨ Olga Pokrovskaya is a Melbourne-based fashion blogger and visual storyteller whose journey began with a Master’s degree in civil engineering. After working in the engineering field, she discovered her passion for photography and retrained as a professional photographer. Nearly two years ago, Olga launched her blog, whatpeoplewear.au, as a platform to celebrate everyday street style and explore where fashion meets personal identity.

Since it launched, whatpeoplewear.au has grown into a go-to source for style inspiration, and Olga has built a community of 105,000 followers on Instagram. Her multidisciplinary background informs a fresh perspective on visual storytelling, digital branding, and the evolving fashion landscape—insights she is excited to share with emerging creatives and industry peers alike.

More to be announced soon!

Expect hilarious truths, genuinely great networking, and a room full of people who get it!

Where
We're grateful to Hardie Grant - one of Australia's leading independent media and publishing houses - for hosting us in their Melbourne home.

With thanks to
This event wouldn't happen without the generous support of our hosts Hardie Grant and our wine partner Pizzini Wines, alongside Women in Media funding.

About Women in Media
Women in Media Australia is a registered not-for-profit charity advocating for the visibility and career growth of women in journalism, communications and advertising.

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