*This event is now SOLD OUT!* Author and literary critic Declan Fry will take participants on a discursive, thoughtful and energising journey through Australian literary criticism in this two-part series.

This session will be in two parts: an interactive lecture and a practical workshop.

In this two-part series, author, critic and poet Declan Fry will explore and unpack the ethical and practical considerations of responding to, and writing about, the work of others, providing provocations to deepen your own critical reading and writing practices.  

Australian literary culture is a living ecosystem, stretching beyond familiar Anglophone traditions, and one which we as writers shape and are shaped by. Rather than existing solely as a vehicle for selling books, the critic in Australian literature is first and foremost a loving, engaged, and involved reader. This series invites you to join the discussion with your own questions and point of view.

Participants will:

• Consider the breadth of Australian literature and its intersections.
• Develop a deeper understanding of literary critics as engaged readers, and the role we all play in fostering a culture of dialogue and exchange as writers.
• Learn and practice techniques for approaching different types of literary criticism.
• Read deeply between sessions, ready for rich discussion and response.
• Workshop your own literary criticism to leave the series with new skills.

This is a series for deep thinking, questioning, exploring and discovering. Suitable for writers of all disciplines and backgrounds.

Free for Writers SA members and First Nations writers. 

This event will be delivered over two sessions: Monday 7 November and Monday 21 November (6.30pm - 9.30pm both sessions). 

About Declan Fry

Declan Fry has written for the Guardian, Astra Magazine, Australian Book Review, Liminal, The Monthly and elsewhere. His Meanjin essay “Justice for Elijah or a Spiritual Dialogue with Ziggy Ramo, Dancing” received the 2021 Peter Blazey Fellowship. His poetry has been shortlisted for the Judith Wright Poetry Prize and selected for The Best Australian Science Writing 2021. He was winner of the 2021 Griffith Review Emerging Voices Competition and was nominated in 2022 for the Pascall Prize in criticism. His latest work appears in the anthology Another Australia (Affirm Press). He currently lives with his partner, their pup Walnut, and a cat, Turnip. @_declanfry

WSA Members & First Nations Writers Free / Non-members $66

This session will be delivered via Zoom. Instructions will be emailed to you, please check your spam/junk folders.

—Writers SA members must be logged in to receive the member discount. If you are a member of another state based writers centre, please contact [email protected] at least five working days before the event to get a code for the member price. Our staff don’t work full time and we don’t want you to miss out!

—If you are a First Nations writer and you don't know about the First Nation's Writers' Group or network, email [email protected] and we'll give you more information about this.