Join us at Kambri for an insightful conversation with a panel of local award-winning literary luminaries, discussing how the changing face of Australia has influenced and is reflected in some of our great contemporary works. A wonderful opportunity to explore and discover books that need to be read!
Zoya Patel is a writer and editor based in Canberra. She is the author of No Country Woman: A Memoir of not Belonging, the Chair of the 2020 Stella Prize judging panel, and also a board member of the ACT Writers Centre. Zoya is also is the Founding Editor of independent feminist journal, Feminartsy, through which she publishes the work of writers from across Australia, hosts monthly feminist reading nights, and co-hosts the Read Like a Feminist book club. Zoya writes fiction, non-fiction and memoir, and has had her work published in a range of publications including Junkee, Women’s Agenda, i-D.co, Right Now, The Canberra Times and more.https://www.zoya-patel.com/
Karen Viggers is the author of four novels: The Stranding, The Lightkeeper’s Wife, The Grass Castle and the latest being The Orchardist’s Daughter. She writes contemporary realist fiction set in Australian landscapes, and her work explores connection with the bush, grief and loss, healing in nature, death, family, marriage and friendship.
Karen completed a PhD in wildlife health and is a wildlife veterinarian who has worked and travelled in many remote parts of Australia, from Antarctica to the Kimberley.
Her work has enjoyed great success in France, selling more than 800,000 copies to date. The Lightkeeper’s Wife (La Memoire de embruns) was on the French National Bestseller list for more than 42 weeks and won the Les Petits Mots des Libraires Prix Litteraire and was short-listed for the Livre de Poche Readers Prize. Karen was a Bundanon Trust Artist-In-Residence in 2018, 2019 and lives in Canberra. https://www.karenviggers.com/
Irma Gold is a Canberra based, award-winning author and freelance editor. Her short fiction has been widely published in anthologies and literary journals like Meanjin, Westerly, Island, Award Winning Australian Writing and Review of Australian Fiction. Her debut short fiction collection, Two Steps Forward, was shortlisted for or won a number of awards, and she is also the author of three children’s books, with two more forthcoming. Her debut novel, The Breaking, will be published in March 2021. https://irmagold.com/