Marie Munkara, winner of the 2010 NT Book of the Year for her debut novel Every Secret Thing, and Tony Birch, short-listed for the Miles Franklin Literary Award for his 2012 work, Blood, will grace the opening of the 2016 NT Writers’ Festival: Wordstorm Darwin on Thursday.
In the spirit of this year’s theme “the fabric of family”, Ms Munkara of Rembarranga, Tiwi and Chinese descent, will launch her book Of Ashes and Rivers that Run to the Sea, her own story of reconnecting with her mother after being she was taken by authorities at an early age.
Victorian author and poet Tony Birch will also attend the festival to talk about his latest book, Ghost River.
The event, which continues to Sunday, will feature actress and comedian Magda Szubanski who will discuss her family memoir Reckoning, and Indonesian literary star Eka Kurniawan, author of Beauty is a Wound.
“We value quality NT writing as a unique component of Australia’s literary wealth and recognise Indigenous writers and storytellers as a core component of this,” the festival says on its website.
The event, which open at 6.30pm on Thursday, will be held at Brown’s Mart Theatre in Darwin, Northern Territory.
