At this special Books at the Brewery event, we welcome a panel of women writers who will discuss with Suzanne Donisthorpe, the female literary person they admire most - be they a fictional character, writer or publishing identity.
Join Susannah McFarlane, Debra Oswald, Robyn Annear and Suzanne Donisthorpe at this celebration of women in literature and International Women's Day.
Robyn Annear
Robyn Annear is a writer and historian based in Castlemaine. Her books include A City Lost and Found: Whelan the Wrecker’s Melbourne, Fly a Rebel Flag: The Eureka Stockade, Bearbrass, Nothing But Gold and The Man Who Lost Himself. She has also written several pieces for The Monthly magazine.
Susannah McFarlane
Susannah McFarlane is best known as the author, creator and publisher of some of Australia’s most successful children’s book series including EJ12 Girl Hero and more recently, D Bot Squad, but she has also written successful non-fiction for adults including her recently released memoir Heartlines: The Year I Met My Other Mother which she co-wrote with her birth mother Robin Leuba.
Debra Oswald
Debra Oswald is a two-time winner of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the creator/head writer of the first five seasons of the TV series Offspring.
Her stage plays have been performed around the world and are published by Currency Press. Gary’s House, Sweet Road and The Peach Season were all shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award. Debra has also written four plays for young audiences – Dags, Skate, Stories in the Dark and House on Fire.
Her television credits include Police Rescue, Palace of Dreams, The Secret Life of Us, Sweet and Sour and Bananas in Pyjamas.
Debra has written three Aussie Bite books for kids and six children's novels, including The Redback Leftovers and Getting Air. Her first adult novel, Useful, was published in 2015 and in February 2017, The Whole Bright Year will be released.
Suzanne Donisthorpe (Chair)
Suzanne Donisthorpe worked for 23 years on every incarnation of the books and arts programs on ABC Radio National until the beginning of 2015. She is a published author. Her novel getting Up – about a teenage graffiti artist, set in Melbourne in 1989 – was published by Momentum under the nom de plumeSD Thorpe. She works as an artist collaborator with her partner, sculptor Frank Veldze.
From the creator of ‘Offspring’ and author of Useful, a gripping, wry and tender novel about how holding on too tightly can cost us what we love.
