Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 15 May
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
The 2019 Emerging Writers’ Festival launches with a night of readings. What, exactly, is an ‘emerging’ writer? At what point do you come out of the chrysalis?
At this special opening-night event, hear from Kat Clarke, Vidya Rajan, Sumudu Samarawickrama and Ahmed Yussuf, as they each tell us about the first time they considered themselves a writer. Hosted by the artistic director of the Emerging Writers' Festival, Izzy Roberts-Orr, and program coordinator Aïsha Trambas.
Presented in partnership with the Emerging Writers’ Festival.
Featuring
Izzy Roberts-Orr
Izzy Roberts-Orr is a poet and arts worker based on Wurundjeri Country in regional Victoria. Her debut collection, Raw Salt (Vagabond, 2024) was the recipient of a Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellowship, Marten Bequest ...
Aïsha Trambas
Aïsha Trambas is an Afro-Greek arts worker based on Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung land. Aïsha is currently the Program Coordinator of the Emerging Writers’ Festival.
Vidya Rajan
Vidya Rajan is a writer and performer currently based in Australia working across screenwriting, theatre, comedy, and digital space. A former writer-in-residence at the Malthouse Theatre, graduate of the VCA, and a recipient of ...
Kat Clarke
Kat Clarke is a writer, artist and Indigenous consultant. Being a proud Wotjobaluk woman from the Wimmera, Kat gradually developed her craft by combining her skills and knowledge in community engagement, mentoring, music, the arts, screen, and education.
Her grassroots, transparent vitality and forthright approach enable her to work and consult with various government, mainstream, community, arts, and film organisations. Some of these include: Film Victoria and Screen Australia, Brimbank City Council, Footscray Community Arts Centre, The Koorie Heritage Trust, Tin Man Games, The Department of Education and Training, RMIT University and NITV online.
Kat is a co-facilitator of Blak Writers Victoria and is a member of the program advisory committee for the Emerging Writers' Festival 2018. Currently she is involved in many community, youth, film and arts projects, and is collating her first poetry book, which she aims to publish in the coming year.
Ahmed Yussuf
Ahmed Yussuf is a writer and journalist. He co-edited Growing Up African in Australia, the first non-fiction anthology of African-diaspora stories in Australia. His work has featured in Acclaim Magazine, the Guardian, TRT World and Jalada Africa. He was also an artist in the 2018 Digital Writers Festival.
Sumudu Samarawickrama
Sumudu Samarawickrama is from Werribee. Her work has appeared in Boston Review, Overland, Meanjin and the Lifted Brow. She co-produced Sidekicked 2017 Melbourne Fringe Category Award Winner 'Best Words and Ideas'. She was a Witness Performance New Critic in 2018. She wants to use art to powerfully challenge the status quo of the structures that underpin our society. As part of FCAC’s West Writer's Group, she is interested in how anger can be a tool towards community. She is on a journey to decolonise her soul.
Her first chapbook, Utter the Thing, is published by Vagabond Press as part of its deciBels 3 project.
She is currently writing a collection of surrealistic sci-fi, and trying to write a play.