Hello, very last minute but I’m chatting with Cheng Lei tonight after her show 1154 Days, a theatrical reflection on her experience of more than three years in Chinese detention,which is having its world premiere season at Arts House in North Melbourne this week. Tonight’s performance is sold out but there are still some tickets for the matinee tomorrow.
Photo: Sarah Walker
(Sorry tonight’s show was already sold out when I went to promote this so I wasn’t sure whether to post, but I wanted to say heads up and hello for people who do have tickets for tonight!)
I’m performing at the opening party for Footscray West Writers Festival this Friday alongside Maxine, Thabani and Emilie – yes all your faves!
Each writer is doing live collabs with other artists – Chris Ferric will be painting while I speak – I don’t know what the others are doing so it’ll be a surprise to me too. Actually at this point I haven’t even really decided what I’m doing. But the Orbweavers’ music was a highlight of last year’s festival for me so I’m really looking forward to that as well as hearing everyone read.
Footscray West Writers Festival Opening Night: Words Can Save the World Friday 27 March 2026 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Footscray Drill Hall 395 Barkly St, Footscray VIC 3011 Kulin Nations Tickets $40/$30/free for carers Featuring Maxine Beneba Clarke + Angie Hart, Emilie Collyer + Martha Latham, Thabani T Tshuba + The Orbweavers, Jinghua Qian + Chris Ferric
Join me at this event on 6 November to bear witness to the lives of Gazans experiencing genocide.
For one night, we’ll come together as a community to read the poetry and first-hand accounts of Palestinians who have had to flee their homeland, those who have been martyred, and those who are still surviving the daily nightmare. All ticket sales will go to families currently in Gaza to help them buy food, medicine and other necessities.
Book launch: Salvage by Jennifer Mills Thursday 19 June 2025 6:00 pm Readings Carlton 309 Lygon St, Carlton VIC Wurundjeri country Free but bookings essential
I first wrote for The Age in 2019. I was paid about 50c per word – half the rate that the paper was paying freelancers back in the early 2000s.
Five years later – after tireless organising from freelancers and inspiring solidarity from staff – Nine claims that it now pays 72c per word as a minimum. Yet myself and all the other Good Food writers were still getting 50c per word, proving that a company’s stated minimum rates don’t mean anything unless we have a collective agreement that we can hold them to. And in any case, 72c is still well below a liveable wage.
In August last year, Nine management said they’d sit down with us after a joint strike of staff and freelancers pushed them to negotiate. Now after three frustrating meetings in which they have continually refused to negotiate anything at all, we’re coming to the public again to ask for your support.
I’m not writing for Nine anymore – I can’t afford to. But I read their coverage every day, I notice how some of the outlets’ best work is produced by freelancers, and I also see the perspectives that are missing because working-class writers can’t afford to live like this.
If you ever read The Age, SMH, AFR, Good Food, Traveller, Good Weekend, Domain, or listen to their podcasts or access anything else from Nine Publishing, please sign and share this petition to support minimum pay rates, annual increases, and a collective agreement for Nine’s freelancers.
Oh hey it’s a new festival on the block! I’m doing a couple of things at the inaugural Footscray West Writers Fest, one filthy and one frugal. But which is which?
First Floor Fantasy Saturday 29 March 2025 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm Harley & Rose Upstairs 572 Barkly St, Footscray VIC 3012 (Please note: Access is via stairs) Tickets $15, book here
Indulge in an evening of quickfire erotic storytelling by local authors, including Jinghua Qian, Thuy On, Rochelle Siemienowicz, Aud Pitch.
Closing Night Event: Stories from the Belly of the West Sunday 30 March 2025 4 pm to 10 pm Harley & Rose 572 Barkly St, Footscray VIC 3012 Tickets $30, book here
Join us for the festival’s unforgettable closing night event, Stories from the Belly of the West, where six talented authors share brand-new site-specific works after taking up the most ramshackle writers-in-residence program imaginable. Jinghua Qian takes us to Savers, Emilie Collyer to Rex Hairdressing, Sam Elkin to WeFo Dog Park, Tina Cartwright to The South Road Coin Laundry, Alice Pung to Cheaper By Miles, and Rijn Collins takes us under the Westgate Bridge, with each tale offering a fresh perspective on the vibrant heart of the community. Don’t miss this celebration of place, creativity, and storytelling to mark the festival’s finale. Enjoy music from The Orbweavers during the event.
Check out the whole festival program, it’s a banger with events featuring Maxine Beneba Clarke, André Dao, Ernest Price, Liz Crash, Najma Sambul, Benjamin Millar, the students of Footscray High School, and basically all your fave westies. Amazing work from Jess, Donita and Reem!
My second gig of the year is this one. Not sure what I’m reading yet but it’s billed as “spoken turd”!
Queer Shit Show: Shitsumma Special Friday 7 February 2024 7:00 pm to midnight Pony Club Gym 488 High St, Preston VIC 3072 Tickets $10-$20 | Booking, line-up and access info here
My first gig of the year is this, I’ll be reading a couple of silly sexy poems (including a Banjo Patterson parody).
Wicked Words x Archer Magazine Thursday 23 January 2025 7:00 pm to 10:00pm Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre 189 High Street, Northcote VIC 3070 Tickets $25-$40 | Booking and access info here
Liz and I will be chatting about anti-carceral history, Yarra Bend Park and the long-awaited second season of our podcast at Collingwood Library next week, please come join!
Underfoot: The Facility Monday 7 October 2024 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Collingwood Library 11 Stanton Street, Abbotsford VIC 3066 Free, book here
Jinghua Qian 