Saturday, 20 September, 12-4pm (half-day)

About this workshop: 
This workshop will help you hangout with and write about folk who are different. We’ll reflect upon the challenges of appropriation, intimidation, cultural sensitivities, and conflict. Mostly, we will celebrate the creative wonders of engaging with oddballs, outcasts and just about anyone. Together, we will discuss and pick apart Kim’s efforts to amplify the voices of refugees and migrants, queer communities, people with disabilities and chronic conditions, and blokes. This will involve listening to interviews and articles that he’s conducted for ABC Radio Canberra including excerpts from his documentary with local runner, poet, and rough sleeper Martin Steer. Guided exercises will draw upon strength-based thinking, the practices of everyday life, and joy.

Kim Huynh is an academic, writer, and broadcaster. He contributes to public life by teaching politics and philosophy in the ANU, as an ABC presenter and producer, and by facilitating a current affairs discussion group at the Early Morning Centre. Kim has also run as independent in ACT and federal elections.

He’s currently working on a book about caring for his old man and was recently commissioned to write A Statement from Australia’s Carers which sits atop the National Carers Strategy. Kim’s published books on Australia's Refugee Politics, contemporary Vietnam, and a biography of his parents entitled, Where the Sea Takes Us along with essays on politics and culture for a range of outlets.

Reading Like A Critic

Saturday, 27 September, 10am -4pm (full-day)

About Reading Like a Critic: 
A critic is more than an incisive reader; they are a bridge-builder, connecting text, history, author, and audience. In this day-long workshop, you’ll step inside a new Australian novel with a trusted critic as your guide. Together, you’ll uncover how a work reflects its moment, speaks across time, and reveals the author’s practice – the choices and risks that shape their storytelling. You’ll also learn to move beyond taste into the language of craft, to balance subjectivity with objectivity, and to unlock a text for other readers. Whether you want to begin your own critical practice, or deepen your reading, this immersive day of book-talk will connect you to the larger conversation that literature makes possible.

Beejay Silcox is a book critic. Her work appears in high-profile publications across three continents, and is celebrated for its resolute – some might say foolhardy – honesty. She has been described as “the most significant new Australian critic in decades". Beyond the page, she is a literary polymath: interviewer, prize judge, manuscript doctor, festival programmer, and award-winning creative writing educator. Beejay has stories to tell; she eloped to Las Vegas, escaped quicksand, and was once rescued from a picnic at Hanging Rock. 

For this program, participants will be asked to read Arborescence by Rhett Davis (Hachette). The book is available to purchase through Harry Hartog ANU or to borrow from your local library. You can also hear Rhett discuss his work on ABC Radio National’s The Bookshelf (7 August) — listen here