Girls Write Up

Girls Write Up is Coming to Brisbane!

Girls Write Up, a full-day festival for teens that teaches empowerment through writing and sharing stories, will be held for the first time in Brisbane on 24 November 2017.

After two highly successful years of events in Melbourne and Sydney, Girls Write Up is coming to Brisbane and will be presented in partnership with the State Library of Queensland. The festival will bring interstate and local writers, artists and thinkers together to inspire Brisbane teenagers from a variety of backgrounds.

Girls Write Up Brisbane will feature author and pop-culture critic Brodie Lancaster, novelist and social commentator Emily Maguire, and writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie, along with many others. The keynote will be given by award-winning theatre-maker, actor and poet Candy Bowers.

Girls Write Up Brisbane line-up:

YA author Steph Bowe

Award-winning theatre-maker, actor and poet Candy Bowers

Novelist and playwright Claire Christian

Writer, editor and musician Sam George-Allen

Writer and activist Nayuka Gorrie

Pop-culture critic and author of the memoir No Way! Okay, Fine. Brodie Lancaster

Writer, director and producer Phoebe Hart

Writer and founding editor of Hot Chicks with Big Brains Bri Lee

Novelist and social commentator Emily Maguire

Writer and founding editor of Pencilled In Yen-Wong Rong

The festival is open to all teens aged 12–18, and will be held at the State Library of Queensland on Friday 24 November.
Full-day student tickets are $35 each. Teachers and carers can attend free of charge.

For more information visit: thestellaprize.com.au/GWUbrisbane2017

Girls Write Up is for anyone who has felt limited by their gender and wants to understand how language can be used to liberate and empower. Over the course of the day, authors, journalists, artists, poets and other creative thinkers and emerging leaders share how they use writing to define their identities and shape the world around them.

Girls Write Up's unique, innovative program of talks, interactive panels and practical workshops explores the relationships between language, gender and power. It elevates voices and stories that have been historically devalued or marginalised, and gives all participants the opportunity to discover their own creative voice, equipping them with the skills and the confidence to use it.  A number of complimentary subsidised tickets are available for students from disadvantaged and low socio-economic backgrounds.

Girls Write Up is feminist and inclusive, and we encourage young people of all genders, sexualities, and cultural and racial backgrounds to attend. We are committed to ensuring that the Girls Write Up events are fully accessible in order for people with disability to attend.

The Stella Schools Program seeks to inspire and empower young people to find their own creative voices, challenge stereotypes and imagine a future not limited by their gender.

The program encourages students to:

develop their unique voices through writing, storytelling and a range of creative forms

improve their communication skills, hone their creativity and connect with potential writing mentors

critically engage with their own reading habits and the stories they're exposed to

identify barriers to equality and understand how gendered language plays into power relationships

explore the ways words and language can be used to challenge gender inequality, support and foster marginalised voices, and empower all young people.