THE INVISIBLE QUEER
In the strict ranks of gay and straight
Saturday 6 November 2021
04:00 pm - 05:00 pm
In a culture obsessed with binaries, this panel seeks to explore that which exists outside of those realms; bisexuality. Often ostracised by both the queer community and heterosexual community, those who identify as bisexual feel invisible, not here nor there. Does queer literature hinder or help bisexual visibility? How do we integrate bisexual characters into writing? And can we do this without sexualising them?
Moderator - Krissy Kneen (she/her) is the award-winning author of eight full-length works of fiction, memoir and poetry. Krissy was shortlisted for the Stella Prize for An Uncertain Grace and won the Thomas Shapcott prize for the poetry collection Eating my Grandmother. Krissy's latest book is the memoir The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen.
Anna Kochetkova (she/her) is a Russian-born Australian author and poetess, social media strategist for not-for-profits all around the country, and a passionate bi+ activist based in Sydney. Anna is the author of the Bi & Prejudice book which is one person's story attempting to connect the dots of identity and sexuality across years, continents, and cultures; and the creator of the @biandprejudice Instagram community, which helps celebrate multisexual attraction and human diversity.
Angela Meyer (she/her) is an award-winning writer and editor. She is queer/bisexual. Her debut novel, A Superior Spectre (Ventura Press), was shortlisted for an Aurealis Award, the MUD Literary Prize, an Australian Book Industry Award, the Readings Prize for New Australian Writing and a Saltire Literary Society Award (Scotland). She is also the author of a novella, Joan Smokes, which won the inaugural Mslexia Novella Award (UK), and a book of flash fiction, Captives. Her work has been widely published in magazines, journals and newspapers, including Island, The Big Issue, Best Australian Stories and Kill Your Darlings. She has worked in bookstores, as a book reviewer, in a whisky bar, and as a commissioning editor and publisher. She now works as a freelance editor and consultant. She grew up in Northern NSW and lives in Melbourne.
Emily James (she/her) is a film production and creative writing student at UTS who loves storytelling above all things (unless there's chocolate around.) She is passionate about queer stories and is particularly interested in the experiences of queer women, bisexual people and older LGBTQIA+ people. Emily has had the opportunity to interview Peter de Waal, a pioneer for gay rights in Australia and her story Farewell to the Witches features in Spineless Wonders' anthology Queer as Fiction. She has previously worked with the Microflix Festival and Awards as a festival organiser SpineOut and Good Reading magazines as a reviewer.
Margaret Thanos (she/her) is a Greek-Australian director and writer, who is most passionate about making intersectional feminist works. Margaret has written for many forms, including articles for 9Honey, Women’s Agenda and ABC Everyday. Last year Margaret was a part of Montague Basement's Playwriting Laboratory Program and this year she will be part of ATYP's Fresh Ink. She has also had published poetry. Margaret has directed The Goat, Jim Got Shot and Project XXX at SUDS and her short film Sugar High was shortlisted for the SUFF 48 Hour Film Fest. In 2022, she will be directing an original work Dark Moon at KXT PopUpstairs. Margaret is also an activist and she is one of Plan International's Activists for 2021. She is passionate about gender equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, climate change and race equality. She hopes to use her art and voice to make the world a more equal place.