Sydney Writers' Festival: Dreaming Big: Voices from the Brisbane Youth Detention

It’s a truth rarely acknowledged but the criminal justice system plays a large role in Aboriginal communities around Australia.

In this panel discussion, First Nations writers who work closely with incarcerated Aboriginal youth in real life and in fiction explore the justice system and its effects on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. Gary Lonesborough (We Didn’t Think It Through) and Melanie Saward (A Good Kind of Trouble) have written novels about teens navigating complex worlds of family, relationships, school and community. Melanie also contributes to the Dreaming Big anthologies with Luke Patterson, working directly with young people within the justice system. Revered First Nations writer Bruce Pascoe was one of the key contributors of the founding Dreaming Inside workshops in 2012.

Hear Gary, Bruce, Luke and Melanie explore the challenges and responsibilities of authentic storytelling – from building trust and collaborative writing to creating narratives that honour these voices.