Join us as we host Australian poet turned storyteller, Michael Farrell, as we celebrate his debut short story anthology, The Victoria Principle.

In The Victoria Principle, Farrell extends the humour and narrative drive demonstrated in his poetry to the short story. The collection begins with a writer character trying to do literary justice to the fear of birds; other stories feature creative activity, such as the conceptual artist who deliberately boils an egg to Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, or the would-be writers who attend a nude retreat in Nova Scotia. There is pathos, too, in a storyteller’s relationship with his sister, and in that of a gay doctor with a straight Italian waiter, who is trying to make ends meet while supporting two children with two different women. The stories also revisit classical and popular myths, such as the judgement of Paris, and the life of Andy Gibb. The associations brought into play can be unexpected or absurd, but the process has its own logic: we may think of these fictions as meta-fictions, as ‘thought stories’ rather than short stories, offering inflections and reflections on queer Catholicism and mental breakdown, amidst the ongoing contradictions and ironies of contemporary Australian life.

The event will be hosted by local poet Lucy Dougan, with readings from both the author and special guest, Matthew Chrulew. Books will be available for purchase and signing.