SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER

MATILDA BOSELEY & ERIN RILEY
In Conversation

A REAL PEACE OF WORK AND THE YEAR I MET MY BRAIN
Tathra Hall, 9:30am - 10:30am

THE YEAR I MET MY BRAIN, MATILDA BOSELEY
Matilda Boseley is an award-winning social media reporter and presenter for Guardian Australia. She has spearheaded the publication’s popular TikTok channel where she writes and hosts their short-form news explainers. Her work on the platform has won her a Quill Award for Innovation in Journalism and was nominated for a Walkley Award for the same category. Named Walkley Awards’ 2019 Student Journalist of the Year, Matilda has also worked as a reporter and assistant chief of staff at 7 News Melbourne and as a breaking news reporter for The Age newspaper. She regularly reports on issues affecting young people, women and mental health and her first book, The Year I Met My Brain, documents her experiences and discoveries after being diagnosed with ADHD at 23 and investigates the hidden prevalence and costs of ADHD among adults.

A REAL PIECE OF WORK, ERIN RILEY
An exhilarating, thought-provoking and joyful debut that asks how we create our identities and how we can transcend them.

‘Language gave to me the body I knew was mine and brought into existence so many possibilities for what my gender can be.’

Across these twenty fresh and boldly intimate stories, Erin Riley writes about the things that matter most: family, heartbreak, humanity, justice and swimming, and the messy, hard graft of becoming one’s authentic self. In weaving together their everyday while questioning society and its structures, Erin gifts us stories that double as a manifesto on how to disrupt and reinvent narrative, identity, love and community.

Life is complicated, messy and – when small risks are taken – even exhilarating. In Erin’s hands we fall in love, get curious and become exasperated with (and sometimes charmed by) the people in their life, emerging with new perspectives on how to be in the world.

Social worker and counsellor Erin Riley is a recipient of Penguin Random House Australia’s 2021 Write It fellowship program, which aspires to find, nurture and develop unpublished writers across all genres, with a focus on underrepresented sections of our community.

GABBIE STROUD
In Conversation with Hayley Scrivenor

THE THINGS THAT MATTER MOST
Tathra Hall, 11am - 12:00pm

The staff of St Margaret's Primary School are hanging by a thread. There's serious litigation pending, the school is due for registration, and a powerful parent named Janet Bellevue has a lot to say about everything. As teachers they're trying to remain professional, as people they're unravelling fast.

There's Tyson, first year out of uni and nervous as hell, Derek the Assistant Principal who's dropped the ball on administration, Bev from the office who's confronting a serious diagnosis, and Sally-Ann who's desperate for a child of her own.

Thank goodness for kids like Lionel Merrick. Lionel is the student who steals your heart and makes the whole teaching gig worthwhile: he's cheerful, likeable, helpful - and devoted to his little sister Lacey. But Lionel has a secret of his own. As his future slides from vulnerable to dangerous, will someone from St Margaret's realise before it's too late?

As secrets threaten to be exposed and working demands increase, each staff member struggles to recall the things that matter most.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gabbie Stroud is a freelance writer and novelist and recovering teacher. After years of juggling the demands of the primary classroom, she made the painful decision to leave the profession she had loved. In 2016, her critical commentary of Australia's education system was published in Griffith Review's Edition 51 Fixing the System, which went on to be shortlisted for a Walkley Award. Gabbie's smash-hit memoir Teacher was shortlisted for Biography Book of the Year at the 2018 ABIA Awards and continues to contribute to the national dialogue on education. In 2020 her book, Dear Parents, offered a passionate call to arms for all parents. Gabbie's first novel, Young Adult fiction Measuring Up was published by Scribe in 2009. The Things That Matter Most is her debut fiction for adults. Gabbie lives on Yuin Nation on the far south coast of New South Wales with her totally awesome daughters, Olivia and Sophie.

CHARLOTTE WOOD
In Conversation with Hayley Scrivenor

STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL
Tathra Hall, 1pm - 2pm

A deeply moving novel about forgiveness, grief, and what it means to be 'good', Stone Yard Devotional is utterly compelling, haunting, and enthralling – and reconfirms Wood as one of Australia's foremost writers.

How do we face the questions of forgiveness and grief? What might allow us to finally lay old sorrows to rest? Stone Yard Devotional explores the moral tension between retreating from the world or engaging with it, and the power of place – the barren Monaro landscape in which Wood herself grew up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlotte Wood is the author of ten books. Her last work of nonfiction is The Luminous Solution, an exploration of creativity and the inner life. Her last novel was the international bestseller, The Weekend.

The Weekend, was shortlisted for several awards including the Stella Prize and the Prime Minister's Literary Award, both of which she won, among others, for her previous novel, The Natural Way of Things, in 2016. That title was featured in the 2021 ABC Television series, The Books That Made Us. Her features and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Saturday Paper among other publications. In 2023, Belvoir Theatre Company in Sydney staged an adaptation of The Weekend.

CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS
In Conversation with Simon Lauder

THE IN-BETWEEN
Tathra Hall, 2:30pm - 3:30pm

The tender, sensual and moving new novel from the award-winning and bestselling author of The Slap and Damascus. A compelling contemporary love story between two middle-aged men, told with grace, heart and wisdom.

No life is simple, and no life is without sorrow. No life is perfect.

Two middle-aged men meet on an internet date. Each has been scarred by a previous relationship; each has his own compelling reasons for giving up on the idea of finding love.

But still they both turn up for the dinner, feel the spark and the possibility of something more. Feel the fear of failing again, of being hurt and humiliated and further annihilated by love.

How can they take the risk of falling in love again. How can they not?

A tender, affecting novel of love, of hope, of forgiveness by one of our most fearless and truthful interpreters of the human heart, the acclaimed bestselling author of The Slap and Damascus.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christos Tsiolkas is the author of eight novels, including Loaded, which was made into the feature film Head-On, The Jesus Man and Dead Europe, which won the 2006 Age Fiction Prize and the 2006 Melbourne Best Writing Award, as well as being made into a feature film. His fourth novel, the international bestseller The Slap, won Overall Best Book in the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2009, was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award, longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and won the Australian Literary Society Gold, and was also named Book of the Year for 2009 by the Australian Booksellers Association and the Australian Book Industry Awards.

Christos's fifth novel, Barracuda, was shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal and the inaugural Voss Literary Prize. The Slap and Barracuda were both adapted into celebrated television series. Christos's acclaimed collection of short stories, Merciless Gods, was published in 2014 and his critical literary study On Patrick White came out in 2018. His sixth novel, Damascus, was published in 2019 and won the 2019 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Fiction. 7½ was published in 2021. In the same year, Christos won the Melbourne Prize for Literature. Christos is also a playwright, essayist and screen writer. He lives in Melbourne.

KYLIE NEEDHAM
In Conversation with Lisa Markham

GIRL IN A PINK DRESS
Tathra Hall, 4pm - 5pm

Far away from the glittering lights and famous personalities of the Sydney art world she once knew, Frances now lives a quiet life in a remote mountain town, pursuing her art. When an invitation arrives from a former lover to attend his painting exhibition at a celebrated gallery, Frances is plunged back into the past, when a single act changed the course of her life.

Told across two time periods, Girl in a Pink Dress is a sharp-eyed and compelling story about love and art, about sacrifice and ambition, and the often damaging relationship between artist and muse.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kylie Needham is an award-winning screenwriter. She holds a Bachelor of Arts/Communications (Theatre/Media) from Charles Sturt University and both a Master of Arts (English Literature) and a Master of Creative Writing from Macquarie University.

Kylie has won two AWGIE (Australian Writers’ Guild) Awards for television scriptwriting. Her work has been published in the Better Read Than Dead Writing Anthology 2019, The Quarry Journal and the exhibition catalogue 2014 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Dark Heart. She lives in the Southern Highlands of NSW. This is her first novel.

BRYAN BROWN
In Conversation with Sophie Longden

THE DROWNING
Tathra Hall, 5:30pm - 6:30pm

With sales of over 16,000 copies of Sweet Jimmy, Bryan Brown's distinctive storytelling voice continues in this unflinching, gripping novel.

'A work of rattling and serpentine suspense… gripping and sinuous and so, so good.' Trent Dalton

The body of a local teenage boy is found on the beach of a sleepy northern New South Wales town. David went for an evening swim and got into trouble… at least, that's what it looks like.

Three weeks before, Leila, a young backpacker, didn't turn up for her shift at the local cafe. Benny, the owner, isn't worried. It happens - backpackers are always on the move. There'll be another one.

One of the locals, Adrian, has been a help to Benny. He's found him a nice little sideline. Not exactly legal. Is that all Adrian is arranging on the coast? He once was a cop but has he gone bad?

And in the backblocks outside town, a bikie gang is gearing up for a large consignment from South America.

Murder, drugs, liaisons and lies are stirring up this small coastal town.

With Bryan Brown's characteristic laconic storytelling - humorous, tough and suspenseful - the secrets of this seemingly idyllic town slowly come to the surface.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bryan Brown is known as an actor, having appeared in over eighty film and television shows. He has worked in some twenty countries including his home country of Australia and the United States. Sweet Jimmy, consisting of seven short stories on crime, was released in 2021. The Drowning is his second book.

DEAR DIARY - KAY PROUDLOVE

A STORY WITH SONGS
Tathra Hall, 8pm - 9:15pm

Dear Diary is a new musical work from Kay Proudlove. Kay is a NSW South Coast performer, writer and composer who has toured worldwide with her live shows, and worked on various music, theatre and dramatic arts projects. From first kisses, girl power, spice world, and Elijah Wood fan fiction to lost gigs, found memories and frayed friendships, Dear Diary takes us on a hilarious and often painful journey back through our teenage years, delving into the pressures and expectations of growing up. With wry humour and confessional stories, Dear Diary asks us to look at what we hold onto in our lives and what holds onto us.

FROM KAY: Finding my teenage journals and reading through them could have gone many ways. Luckily, instead of wallowing in a pit of nostalgia and regret, I decided to make some art. I began to write songs, using the entries for lyrics. I knew early on that these songs weren’t going to fit into my regular gigs and sought out a way for them to be heard. Like Oliver with his soup bowl, I came knocking on the door of MERRIGONGX, wanting more. 

Enter Phil Spencer, a dramaturg who coached me on how to write outside of my comfort zone (i.e. in a form that isn’t a song) and Leland Kean, who gave me a stage and helped me work out how to use it to tell this story. Dear Diary has turned into a show of storytelling, music and self-discovery. It looks at what we hold on to in our lives (both physically and mentally), why we keep these things and when it’s the right time to let them go, if ever. 

I hope that the audience find familiarity in the naïve, cringe-worthy moments and have the chance to reflect on their own journey through life so far.

Recommended for ages 14+
Content warning: Adult themes and strong language

JANE HARRISON
In Conversation with Vanessa Milton

THE VISITORS
Tathra Uniting Church, 9:30am - 10:30am

On a steamy, hot day in January 1788, seven Aboriginal men, representing the nearby clans, gather at Warrane. Several newly arrived ships have been sighted in the great bay to the south, Kamay. The men meet to discuss their response to these visitors. All day, they talk, argue, debate. Where are the visitors from? What do they want? Might they just warra warra wai back to where they came from? Should they be welcomed? Or should they be made to leave? The decision of the men must be unanimous -- and will have far-reaching implications for all. Throughout the day, the weather is strange, with mammatus clouds, unbearable heat and a pending thunderstorm... Somewhere, trouble is brewing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jane Harrison is descended from the Muruwari people of NSW. Her first play Stolen had productions across Australia and toured internationally. She was co-winner of the 2012 RAKA Kate Challis Award for Stolen. Rainbow’s End has had numerous productions since its premiere in 2003 and won the 2012 Drovers Award for best touring production. Both Stolen and Rainbow’s End have been placed on secondary school curricula. The Visitors premiered at Sydney Festival in 2020 and won the Sydney Critics Award for Best New Australian Work. The Visitors had a new production at the Sydney Opera House in September 2023. Her novel Becoming Kirrali Lewis won the 2014 Black & Write! Prize, and was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Her latest novel is The Visitors. She is the Festival Director of Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival (2016, 2019, 2022).

SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM
In Conversation with Anna Clark

THIS DEVASTATING FEVER
Tathra Uniting Church, 11am - 12noon

Sometimes you need to delve into the past, to make sense of the present

Alice had not expected to spend most of the twenty-first century writing about Leonard Woolf. When she stood on Morell Bridge watching fireworks explode from the rooftops of Melbourne at the start of a new millennium, she had only two thoughts. One was: the fireworks are better in Sydney. The other was: is Y2K going to be a thing? Y2K was not a thing. But there were worse disasters to come. Environmental collapse. The return of fascism. Wars. A sexual reckoning. A plague.

Uncertain of what to do she picks up an unfinished project and finds herself trapped with the ghosts of writers past. What began as a novel about a member of the Bloomsbury Set, colonial administrator, publisher and husband of one the most famous English writers of the last hundred years becomes something else altogether.

Complex, heartfelt, darkly funny and deeply moving, this is Sophie Cunningham’s most important book to date – a dazzlingly original novel about what it’s like to live through a time that feels like the end of days, and how we can find comfort and answers in the past.​

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sophie Cunningham AM is the author of seven books, across multiple fiction and nonfiction, children and adults and include City of Trees – Essays on life, death and the need for a forest, and Melbourne. She is also editor of the collection Fire, Flood, Plague: Australian writers respond to 2020. Sophie’s former roles include as a book publisher and editor, chair of the Literature Board of the Australia

MOTHERHOOD, PARENTING AND CREATIVE PRACTICE

Nikki Gemmell, Fiona McArthur and Sarah Temporal with Rose Ricketson
Tathra Uniting Church, 1pm - 2pm

Writers Nikki Gemmell, Fiona McArthur and Sarah Temporal explore the role of motherhood in their writing, its place in their recent books, and the work of maintaining their own writing practice while taking on motherhood itself. 

Facilitated by Rose Ricketson, Motherhood, Parenting and Creative Practice looks at the ways creativity and motherhood coextist, overlapping in both wonderful and challenging ways. Panellists will discuss how the constraints on time, space and energy can be a fuel for creative fires, as well as strategies to overcome the social expectations on mothers to take on so much of the mental load. Prepare for a big, hearty topic, with an engaging panel bringing unique perspectives and personal experience to the table. 

Nikki Gemmell is known as one of Australia’s most provocative and honest writers. She is the bestselling author of more than twenty books, including Dissolve, The Ripping Tree, Shiver, The Bride Stripped Bare, The Book of Rapture, Why You Are Australian, On Quiet and After; as well as the acclaimed Kensington Reptilariam and Coco Banjo series for children. She writes a popular and controversial, Walkley award winning column in the Weekend Australian Magazine, which often challenges the newspaper’s readers to think in different ways. She was born in Wollongong and lived in London for fifteen years. She has now returned home to Australia to raise her four children. She was a journalist for both the ABC and BBC before turning to writing full time. Her books have been translated into twenty-two languages. Her new novel, A Tighter Breath, will be released in late 2024. 

Fiona McArthur is the author of the non-fiction book Aussie Midwives, and lives on a farm with her husband in northern New South Wales. She was awarded the NSW Excellence in Midwifery Award in 2015 and the Australian Ruby Award for Contemporary Romantic Fiction in 2020, and was shortlisted for the same award in 2023.

Sarah Temporal is prize-winning poet, educator, and producer who lives and works on Bundjalung lands in the NSW Northern Rivers. She is a three-times finalist of the XYZ Prize for Excellence in Spoken-Word and a winner of multiple poetry slams, and has works published in Best of Australian Poems, Cordite, Australian Poetry Anthology and more. Sarah is the director of Poets Out Loud, working to empower voices of all ages through writing and spoken-word. Her debut collection ‘Tight Bindings’ is forthcoming from Puncher and Wattmann.

Rose Ricketson is a mother, creative producer, and a nerd for maternal wellbeing. With a background in the arts, Rose curates community-led experiences and projects with a vision for a more connected world. Rose has also produced award-winning film and podcast projects, and can be found on Instagram at @_rosierick_ where she writes about her life balancing creativity and motherhood. Her writing is published in The Motherhood Space: A Companion Through the Beautiful Chaos of Life as a Modern Mother and in HOWL - a printed magazine exploring the complex intersection of motherhood and creativity. Rose is based in Braidwood, NSW.

GREGORY DAY
In Conversation with Dr. Jodie Stewart

THE BELL OF THE WORLD
Tathra Uniting Church, 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Gregory Day’s new novel has been described by The Guardian as ‘an electric crescendo of Australian nature writing’ and by The Saturday Paper as ‘a glorious creation, a singing gift’. The Bell of the World is indeed both a song to the natural wonders that are not yet gone and a luminous prehistory of contemporary climate change and its connection to colonialism. It is a book immersed in the early to mid-twentieth century but written very much for the hearts of the future.

WHAT’S YOURS - KEZIAH WARNER - A PLAY READING WITH RED STITCH

Tathra Uniting Church, 4pm - 5pm

Synopsis: Jo and Simon meet, fall in love, stay together for eight years, break up. Then Simon gets together with Jo’s best friend Lia. Years, a broken friendship and many failed IVF rounds later, fertility-challenged Simon and Lia ask happily child-free Jo to donate her eggs to them. What’s Yours captures the fallout of this simple but oh-so-complicated question.

Funny, messy, heart-breaking and hopeful, this new play is a celebration of the enduring power of female friendship and of lives lived on their own terms.

Keziah Warner is a playwright and dramaturg based in Melbourne.  In 2023, her adaptation of FW Murnau’s NOSFERATU, as well as HOUR OF THE WOLF, a new immersive show created with Matthew Lutton, will both premiere at Malthouse Theatre. She has won Sydney Theatre Company’s Patrick White Playwrights Award, has been shortlisted for the Griffin Award, the Martin-Lysicrates Prize, the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award and the Max Afford Award, and longlisted for Soho Theatre’s Young Writers Award.  

Emily Goddard is an award winning actor, writer and theatre maker. As one of Australia’s most versatile stage actors, Emily has performed across Australia and the UK for leading main stage companies including Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre, Belvoir, Queensland Theatre, The Bush, London and Birmingham Rep. She has been nominated for three Green Room Awards for Outstanding Actor and is a permanent ensemble member of Red Stitch Actors Theatre. As a playwright, her critically acclaimed Tasmanian gothic THIS IS EDEN was winner of the 2018 Drama Victoria Award and has had six sell out seasons, including a recent Australian tour. 

John Marc Desengano graduated from The University of Ballarat, Arts Academy in 2008 and has worked consistently as an actor since. His passion for young people led him to a Masters in Primary Teaching from the University of Melbourne, and work for leading Youth Theatre companies such as St. Martin’s and Polyglot Theatre. John Marc’s work with young people has now seen him become the Co-Artistic Director of Western Edge, a company he adores and has worked with for several years.

Alice Qin is a Melbourne based actor, director, and educator. She is currently the Artistic Associate at St Martins Youth Arts and an Acting Tutor at VCA. She loves art that’s necessary; whether that’s about serving a community that doesn’t often get to participate in performance, or excavating a point of view that’s urgent. She most recently directed the premier production of Michele Lee’s Security, presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy (2022).

Ella Caldwell
Ella is a theatre director, artistic director, dramaturg and actor. Ella grew up on the far south coast of N.S.W before moving to Melbourne on a drama scholarship, later studying Creative Arts at The University of Melbourne. A founding member of Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, Ella has been Artistic Director of the company since July 2013. During this time, Ella has evolved and steered the company’s new writing program, INK. The program has produced numerous acclaimed productions, touring nationally and internationally. In her role as Artistic Director, Ella also established PLAYlist, a biennial site-specific festival of music and new writing.

SLAM POETRY

WORKSHOP WITH SARAH TEMPORAL
Tathra Beach House, 10am-12noon

Sarah Temporal is prize-winning poet, educator, and producer who lives and works on Bundjalung lands in the NSW Northern Rivers. She is a three-times finalist of the XYZ Prize for Excellence in Spoken-Word and a winner of multiple poetry slams, and has works published in Best of Australian Poems, Cordite, Australian Poetry Anthology and more. Sarah is the director of Poets Out Loud, working to empower voices of all ages through writing and spoken-word. Her debut collection ‘Tight Bindings’ is forthcoming from Puncher and Wattmann.

PATHWAYS TO PUBLISHING

WITH EMMA BATCHELOR
Tathra Beach House, 2pm - 4pm

Pathways to Publishing with Emma Batchelor, winner of the Australian/Vogel literary award and Chair or MARION, a centre dedicated to elevating writers and their art.

In this seminar, Emma will share information on:

• Cultivating a writing practice

• Developing your first manuscript

• Identifying an agent or publisher

• The publishing process including self-publishing

• Building a career as a writer

There will also be time to ask questions and receive specific advice.

COMPOSTING WITH KATE

Tathra Community Gardens
10am - 11:30am

Join me, Compostable Kate, for a journey into the wonderful, not scary, world of composting. It's my mission with this book – and in life – to show you that composting need not be smelly or time-consuming or somebody else's problem. It's relevant and important and utterly achievable wherever you live.⁠
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In this book I teach you the what, the why and the how of this essential practice. I assess the many permutations of kits and find the one that's right for your home; we meet the worms and we consider the other compost critters you need to know about; and we chat to a crew of thoughtful, inspiring composters – like Costa Georgiadis, Hannah Moloney, Charles Dowding and Alessandro Vitale aka Spicy Moustache!⁠
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Beyond compost, we also talk about soil and its immense value to our precious planet – including simple, effective regenerative gardening methods that are applicable wherever you have access to a patch of earth.⁠
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This is a book for you if you cook, eat and care about the world around you (that's most of us, right?). I hope it ignites a spark that leads to other small, significant changes that help rewrite our collective climate story.⁠

FIRE STORIES

WITH GULAGA DANCERS AND DJAADJAWAN DANCERS
Tathra Headland Park, 12:15pm - 1:00pm

An Aboriginal Storytelling and Dance performance featuring the Gulaga Dancers and the Djaadjawan Dancers. In view of the sacred mountains Gulaga and Biamanga (Mumbulla), this free cultural event will reflect on the healing of Country from the Black Summer Bushfires, as well as explore the significance of the annual whale migration for the local Yuin people.

Presented as part of Headland Writers Festival and supported by the Mumbulla Foundation.

POETRY BLACKBOARD WITH HAL JUDGE

Tathra Hotel, 9am - 10am - FREE!

Hal Judge is a versatile writer and award winning poet, spoken word performer, playwright, screenwriter and creative writing tutor. He has worked for many literary organisations including: ACT Writers Centre, Halstead Press Publishers, Australian Book Group, Ubud International Writers Festival and Writing Australia Ltd. He has taught writing to soldiers and prisoners, homeless people and school kids.  He was the ACT Director of Australian Poetry Ltd and also taught at the Australian Defence Force Academy. His poems have been published in over 30 literary publications.  His poetry collection Someone Forgot to Tell the Fish is published by Interactive Publications and is on Amazon’s Kindle. He is currently working on his next collection of poems.

INSIDE PUBLISHING

Sophie Groom, Anna McFarlane, Robert Skinner, Jane Palfreyman
Tathra Hotel, 10:30am - 11:30am

Each year, Writing NSW partners with regional writers’ festivals to present ‘Inside Publishing’, a panel discussion that explores the inner workings of the publishing world. This event provides networking opportunities and information about the industry to writers in regional NSW. This year the event will be held at Headland Writers Festival.

Come along at 10.30am on Saturday 28 October to find out how the publishing industry really works from publishers and other industry insiders.

Sophie Groom is the CEO of Writing NSW, the state’s premier organisation for writers and writing. Writing NSW supports thousands of writers each year through courses, events, prizes and fellowships, opportunities to network with industry, and information and advocacy.

LIVE MUSIC WITH DEAN GRAY AND ANNA MARTIN-SCRASE

Tathra Hotel, 3pm - 5pm - FREE!

Dean and Anna met 7 years ago and have formed a life together around music. They are both passionate teachers and performers. Anna is a cellist and founding member of Acacia Quartet. Dean is a guitarist who can play basically any instrument with strings! He is very into the steel guitar at the moment but can’t decide if he should spend the remaining hours of the day on mandolin or violin. And this will change by next month :)

ON SONGWRITING: A CONVERSATION

Heath Cullen, Michael Simic, Isabel Rumble and Kevin Welch
Tathra Hotel, 8:30pm - 9:30pm

Kevin Welch's career as a recording artist and producer spans four decades. He is known worldwide for his solo work, his collaborations with The Dead Reckoners, The Flood, and Kane/Welch/Kaplin — his legendary trio with Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin which was nominated two years in a row for Best Group by the Americana Music Association. He has written songs for Roger Miller, Waylon Jennings, The Highwaymen, Solomon Burke, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, and many others.

Over the last decade, Heath Cullen has crafted four landmark albums and earned a trail of devotees across his native Australia, the UK, Europe and North America. As a singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, he has collaborated on stage and in the studio with a vast array of artists, including Jolie Holland, Marc Ribot, Joe Henry, Elvis Costello’s Imposters and The Waifs, and his music has been recorded by artists as diverse as Michael Menager and Daniel Lanois.

A new voice on the Australian music scene, Isabel Rumble is captivating audiences around the country. Her songs invite listeners into a cocoon of reflection on the subtleties of love, longing and hope. Nominated for Folk Alliance Australia’s Contemporary Folk Album of the Year 2023, Isabel’s debut album Bird Be Brave marks the beginning of a promising career. 

Canberra-born, Braidwood based songwriter and performer Michael Simic (Mikelangelo) has released 17 independent albums and toured widely as a solo artist and with his long term band Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, from major arts and music festivals around the world to headline shows at the Sydney Opera House. His songs blend metaphysical poetry, personal myth and persona, drawing on Anglo and European folk music, transgressive cabaret, cosmic country, spaghetti western, dream pop, and the darker side of rock’n’roll.