Priceless Advice
Advice is often dished out when it’s simply not asked for. In fact, advice that charades as being in your “best interest”, often turns out to be, frankly, bad advice. Witness seven writers let loose about the times they’ve received bogus advice, and how it’s sometimes been the inspiration to succeed, just out of spite.
Thursday 17 September, 8–9PM
JOLT Arts
342 High St, Northcote
Tickets and more info here.
Featuring
Hi! My name’s Ash Brom, a bestselling author in several dimensions but not yet in this one.
I’m a writer, editor, reviewer, publisher, and English as an Additional Language teacher. In the past I’ve been maaaaaany other things.
I spent eight and a half years in China, and self-published my memoirs of this in 2019. I’ve had stories, poems, reviews, interviews and feature articles printed in Australia, China and Timor-Leste.
In this dimension I’m a bipedal, endothermic vertebrate, and a slave to oxygen, gravity and sustenance. I’m currently a mammal, but hope one day to be an octopod.
BAHAA DABBAGH
Bahaa is a refugee from Syria now residing in Melbourne. At the most recent Melbourne Comedy Festival, Bahaa was selected to be part of the “Comedy Zone” program, one of the festival’s key industry development programmes where they promote the next generation of comedy superstars. Throughout 2026, he is touring with the Comedy Festival’s Road Show around regional Victoria.
Bahaa is also the creator of Refugee Thoughts, a digital initiative that uses humour, articles, and podcasts to challenge public narratives about refugees. His comedy show A Lucky Refuge? is premiering in Melbourne Fringe Festival this October 2026.
UNCLE BARRY GILSON
A kirrit barreet / gordon based poet/ storyteller and musician . Opens up some festivals . Makes some good cheer. Environmentalist who had changed mental landscapes and adapted his ancestors knowledge into daily life . Sharing it to the younger generations or whoever wants to listen . I’m a postie in Ballarat / Balla Arat for the past 25 years . I Come from a strong family of artists and performers . I love two minute noodles . I’m a weeb . I visit Japan regularly. I don’t know what else to say .
APYANG IMIQ
I am Apyang Imiq, a Truku writer and novelist raised in the Cyakang community in Taiwan. Grounded in my village, my creative practice deeply intertwines literature with Truku culture, plant knowledge, and place-based writing. As the author of I Grow in the Open Tree Hollow and Thigh Mountain, I explore the complex dialogues between tradition and contemporary life. Through my writing and community work, I actively map the emotional geography and ecology of my people, searching for the continuous threads that connect ancestors, our land, and the modern Indigenous experience.
BRENDON MCLEOD
Brendon McLeod is an award-winning emerging writer of fiction, poetry, and drama. He is a PhD candidate in creative writing at The University of Sydney, and was awarded the Arthur Macquarie Travelling Scholarship. He won Indiana Review’s 2025 Fiction Award. In 2023 he was awarded a fellowship to Varuna The National Writers’ House. He was shortlisted for the 2023 Judith Wright Poetry Prize. His poems and short stories have been published or are forthcoming in Rabbit Poetry, Overland, Australian Poetry Journal, and Indiana Review, among others. He lives and works on Wiradyuri/Wiradjuri country in regional New South Wales.
LISA MOULE
Lisa’s first novel THE MOTHER OF ALL CALAMITIES was published March 2026, with Allen and Unwin.
In 2023 Lisa won second prize in (ASSF), Emerging Writers’ Short Story Prize. She was shortlisted for the Peter Carey Award with Newton’s Cradle and shortlisted for Stringybark Short Story Award for Highly Flammable. In 2022, she won second prize in the Furphy Literary award for The Game she was a finalist in Newcastle Short Story Award with The Roundabout. In 2020 she published her first short story Estelle for the anthology Ordinary People .
She currently co-hosts 3CR’s Published or Not.
PRERANA SINHA
Prerana Sinha is an Indian-Australian fire dragon who weaves a tapestry of words born of darkness and light. Her powerful performances have been featured at events like Radio Laria, Brown Women Poetry and Seven Sisters Festival. She performed in the sell out season of Reverse Confessional at the 2025 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Passionate about cultural and linguistic diversity, Prerana sits on the board of Mother Tongue Poetry and serves on the Sonic Poetry Festival committee, advocating for accessible poetry. Her reflective and confessional work resonates deeply with audiences. Prerana aims to inspire others to share their stories courageously.
Tickets and more info here.