For over five years now, Maeve Marsden has been presenting the perennially sold-out event, Queerstories, to a wide range of Australian audiences in varied locations around the country, bringing the stories of Queer people out of the darkness and into the shining light to be shared and celebrated and shared again by the audience, perpetuating the ancient and possibly dying custom of storytelling.

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Returning to the Sydney Writers’ Festival in 2022, Queerstories features a fascinating line-up of LGBTQI+ writers, each sharing true stories from their past to an appreciative audience. This year’s eclectic list features a diverse range of storytellers:

Jazz Money is a Wiradjuri poet and artist currently based on Gadigal land. Her practice is centred around the written word while producing works that encompass installation, digital, film and print. Her David Unaipon Award-winning debut collection, How to Make a Basket, was published in 2021.

Fiona Murphy is an award-winning Deaf writer based in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Her work has appeared in The Age, Kill Your Darlings and The Big Issue. Her memoir, The Shape of Sound, was released in March 2021. It explores secrets, Deaf identity, and sign language.

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SJ Norman is an artist, writer, and curator. Their writing has won or placed in several prizes, including the Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award. They co-curate Knowledge of Wounds, a global gathering of queer First Nations artists with Joseph M Pierce. Permafrost is their first book.

Hannah Kent’s debut novel, Burial Rites, was translated into over 30 languages and won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year, the Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, and the Victorian Premier’s People’s Choice Award. Hannah’s third novel, Devotion, was published in 2021.

Jioji Ravulo is the Professor and Chair of Social Work and Policy Studies in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Nuanced with a genuine commitment to the dynamic inclusion of cultural diversity and its differences, Jioji is keen to create collaborative spaces for students, community groups and industry partners.

Maeve Marsden was a 2020 Phillip Parsons fellow at Belvoir Theatre, and has written, directed and performed in a number of critically acclaimed theatre productions. Her writing has appeared in Guardian Australia, Junkee and Archer Magazine.

Queerstories – Friday, 20 May at 8.30pm, Tickets are $20 from the Sydney Writers’ Festival website.

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