Graham Akhurst
Graham Akhurst is a Kokomini writer who grew up in Meanjin. He is a Lecturer of Australian Indigenous Studies and Creative Writing at UTS. Graham began his writing journey in a hospital bed in 2011. He read and started journaling between treatments for Endemic Burkett Lymphoma.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Graham took his love for writing to New York City, where he studied for an MFA in Fiction at Hunter College. He is a board member for the First Nations Artists and Writers Network and Varuna. He lives with his wife on Gadigal Country in Sydney and enjoys walking Centennial Park with a good audiobook.
Borderland is his first novel.
Talk and Workshop details
Talk: Borderland (Yrs 8-12)
Graham will discuss the novel, how he came to write it, how it links to his own life story, the publishing process, and the cultural work he did in its development. He'll also discuss his academic journey in Creative Writing. Graham will read from the book and also take questions.
Thurs 22 Feb : 11am - 11.45am ; 12.30pm - 1.15pm
Fri 23 Feb : 9.30am - 10.15am; 12.30pm - 1.15pm
Workshop: Beginnings (Yrs 8-12)
Graham will look at beginnings in this workshop. He will read the beginning section of his own novel, Borderland, and discuss what he has done in world-building, character introduction, inciting incident, and narrative drive. The group will also do exercises around the generation of ideas and what to do when feeling stuck when writing. There will be a section for questions and if there is time Graham will read some poetry and talk about language.
Thurs 22 Feb : 9.30am - 10.30am
Fri 23 Feb: 11am - 12pm