What does it mean to tell the truth when the truth has been buried? What does it mean to survive, to create, to resist and still to write?

Two of the boldest Blak voices, Tony Birch and Claire G. Coleman, come together for a night of storytelling, insight and truth.

From futures dreamed to histories exposed, these writers don’t flinch. They speak of survival and resistance with voices that won't stay silent.

Together, they’ll dive into the truths they carry, the words they choose to share and the worlds they’re fighting to imagine - and reimagine.

Tony Birch is a founding member of the Melbourne School of Discontent. He has published multiple novels including Shadowboxing (2006), Blood (2011), Ghost River (2015), The White Girl (2019), and Women & Children (2023). He is also the author of four short story collections, Father’s Day (2009), The Promise (2014), Common People (2017), and Dark as Last Night (2021), as well as the poetry collections Broken Teeth (2016) and Whisper Songs (2021). In 2017 he was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award for his contribution to Australian literature.

Claire G. Coleman is a Noongar woman whose family have belonged to the south coast of Western Australia since before history started being recorded. Growing up near Boorloo, now living in the hills near Naarm she writes fiction, non-fiction, drama and verse. Her widely acclaimed work includes Terra Nullius (2017), The Old Lie (2019), Lies, Damned Lies (2021) and Enclave (2022).

A BIG BLAK THANKS TO