My first panel (take 2)!

I have two poems in this gorgeous anthology, released towards the end of last year. I shared them here on Wordflower around the time of the Sydney launch: Shell Song and Spring Song (both now with audio).

Now, the contributors are going on the road to share the book with regional NSW communities, with book tour events in Newcastle (9 April 2025) and Wollongong (28 April). If you’re able to make it to either of these, please register using The Loud Way Home Regional Tour Registration Form (and also, tell your friends!). The events are 18+ because of the challenging content, but alcohol-free and fully catered, with delicious free mocktails and food (including vegan and gluten-free options). Everyone who attends will also receive their own copy of the book! Extras are available if you need them, and you can readily request hard copies direct from ACON, free of charge.

I’ll be at the Newcastle event reading my pieces from the book, and I will also appear on the panel. If you can’t attend, please wish me luck (or perhaps to break a leg, though I’d honestly much rather not!). The first time I was signed up to do the panel (at the Kings Cross library event late last year), I chickened out. I’ve never been on a panel before, so it’s a bit daunting (any advice welcome in the Comments below!). But I also know that lived experience advocacy is really important work—so here I go again, putting my best foot forward as I step up to the mic.

The book and the events open up some very important conversations about consent, about listening (and speaking up), about how abuse can present very differently in the queer community—and how it’s way too common. I’ll be bringing some of my yarnbombing along to display on the night, including the huge ‘consent’ banner.

If you can’t make it to either of these events, the whole book in pdf form and many other great ACON resources are available online: https://sayitoutloud.org.au/learn-more/the-loud-way-home/

A thousand thanks to ACON for choosing me to participate in this project, and for paying me fairly for my creative work.