Fresh takes: Autumn '24

Library Bar opens: from 5 pm
Event commences: 6 pm
Please note: this event is 18+

Fresh Takes is a seasonal showcase of some of the best new pieces of publishing, featuring established and emerging writers reading from their new works and reflecting on the writers and creators who have shaped them. 
 

Manisha Anjali was born in Suva, Fiji. She spends her time between Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. She is the founder of Neptune, a research and documentation platform for dreams, visions and hallucinations. Naag Mountain, published in 2024 by Giramondo, is her debut book of poetry.

Anna Broinowski is a filmmaker and writer who documents counter-cultural subjects. Her globally screened films include Hell Bento!! (about Japanese subcultures), Forbidden Lie$ (about hoax-author Norma Khouri), Helen's War (about anti-nuclear crusader Dr Helen Caldicott) and Aim High In Creation! (about North Korean cinema). They've won a Walkley and other gongs but Anna's favourite is the Moscow Film Critic's prize which is a carved elephant. A senior lecturer at Sydney University, Anna researches propaganda and deepfakes. Her previous books are Please Explain: the rise, fall and rise again of Pauline Hanson and The Director is the Commander (reprinted in the US as Aim High in Creation!). Anna's new book is Datsun Angel.

David Brooks has written novels, short fiction, and a wide range of non-fiction, but began as and always has been a poet. His latest work, The Other Side of Daylight, brings together a new collection, The Peanut Vendor, and a selection of ninety-five poems from previous volumes. His first collection, The Cold Front, was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s prize, and his second, Walking to Point Clear, for the Adelaide Festival award. Robert Adamson wrote that his third, Urban Elegies, contained some of the best poetry he had read in years, and his fourth, The Balcony, was described in the Sydney Morning Herald as ‘an electrical experience’. His fiction has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin and many other awards. David taught at the University of Sydney for twenty years and was co-editor of Southerly for eighteen. 

Marina Kamenev is the former deputy arts editor of the Moscow Times and has been widely published in the Atlantic, Time, Sunday Life, The Monthly and Marie Claire, often writing about family. Marina's new book is Kin: Family in the 21st century.

Brydie Lee-Kennedy is an Australian TV writer. She has written on shows for Netflix, Apple TV and Disney. In a former life she was a cabaret performer, kid’s party entertainer and sex columnist. Go Lightly is her debut novel.


Please note: The Library Bar will be open from 5 pm ahead of the event