Monday 18 July 2016, 6.30pm-7.30pm at The Toff in Town
Bedtime Stories: Lorelei Vashti, Romy Ash, George Megalogenis, Cate Kennedy and Laura Jean
Life was better when you were a child. For one thing, people read you stories. You were put to sleep with Dr Seuss, Eric Carle and Enid Blyton. There were pictures. There was sweetness and wonder.
It can be like that again. At Bedtime Stories, a storytelling evening created by Saturday Paper editor Erik Jensen, Australia's best writers retell their books ... as if for children.
Find out how Lorelei Vashti's Dress, Memory, would have been written differently for tots. Hear Romy Ash's soothing retelling of Floundering, or snuggle up with revealing macro-economic fables from George Megalogenis (Australia's Second Chance).
And lullabies? Singer-songwriter Laura Jean is here to help.
Lorelei Vashti
@loreleivashti
dressmemory.com/
Lorelei Vashti is the author of Dress Memory: A Memoir of My Twenties in Dresses (2014) and How to Choose Your Baby's Last Name (2016). Her writing has been included in Best Australian Comedy Writing (2016), Mothermorphosis (2015), and the Women of Letters book series. She co-curates the Women of Letters events in Australia, and also runs Jacky Winter Gardens, a guesthouse and artist retreat in the Dandenong Ranges.
Romy Ash
@romyash
romyash.com/
Romy Ash is a Melbourne-based writer. Her first novel Floundering was long-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. She is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. She has been anthologised in Best Australian Stories and Best Australian Essays.
Laura Jean
@laurajeanmusic
Sydney songwriter Laura Jean is revered for the striking beauty of her music and the strength of her piercing, intimate lyrics. She has twice been shortlisted for the Aus- tralian Music Prize, and has recorded with Paul Kelly, The Drones, Rolling Blackouts and Grand Salvo. She has toured UK/Europe with Courtney Barnett, Aldous Harding and Jenny Hval, Aus/NZ with Aldous Harding and Marlon Williams, and played Meredith, Dark Mofo, Falls Festival, the National Gallery Of Victoria and Sydney Town Hall.
Cate Kennedy
Cate Kennedy is the author of the highly acclaimed novel The World Beneath, which won the People's Choice Award in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards in 2010. She is an award-winning short-story writer whose work has been published widely.
George Megalogenis
@GMegalogenis
George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with three decades' experience in the media. The Australian Moment won the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction, and formed the basis for his ABC documentary series Making Australia Great.
This July, we're throwing sass at winter, stepping out and hitting the town.
While our own performance space undergoes a casual makeover, The Toff in Town will become the Wheeler Centre's home away from home, as we slip down Swanston Street to take up residence with a mini-programme of events – held alongside drink specials and signature cocktails – in the heart of Curtin House.
Come and find us at the bar; you'll find favourites from our regular series, a couple of special events and atmosphere in spades.
The Toff in Town
Second floor, Curtin House
Howl / Books, reading & writing
With Darrin Archer and Maxine Beneba Clarke
Show and Tell for Grown-ups / Biography & memoir
With Tony Wilson, Damian Callinan, Cal Wilson and 1 other
Take It From Me / Comedy
With Justin Clemens, Jess McGuire, Maureen Matthews and 1 other
Erotic Fan Fiction / Comedy & humour
With Nath Valvo, Demi Lardner, Jess McGuire and 1 other
With James Colley, Cal Wilson, Tom Walker and 3 others