To celebrate the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling, we asked six beloved Victorian writers to reflect on the theme Above and Beyond: considering what it means to look further, delve deeper, and ask big questions of ourselves and the world around us.

The following is an audio recording from Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man and best-selling author, Bruce Pascoe, reading his original essay for the project.

This work was commissioned by the Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with the Wheeler Centre as part of Spring Fling, presented at venues across Melbourne from 2 to 14 October 2023.

Visual artist ENOKi has created a series of vibrant, visually arresting illustrations in response to the written pieces. This collaborative project is available to view in person at City Square on Swanston from the end of September 2023.

Read the essays in full and discover more audio recordings from the project at wheeler centre.com

Featured music is 'Arriving' by Hanna Lindgren.

This work was delivered in partnership with the Metro Tunnel Creative Program.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Jared Hosein is fast becoming known as one of global literature’s most exciting new talents. His new novel, Hungry Ghosts, explores violence, religion, family and class against the backdrop of 1940s colonial central Trinidad. This extraordinary work has received praise from literary icons such as Bernardine Evaristo and the late, great Hilary Mantel, who called the work ‘deeply impressive’.

Recorded exclusively for the Wheeler Centre podcast, hear from Hosein on his highly anticipated debut tour of Australia. Kevin appears in conversation with screenwriter and author Cath Moore, discussing his latest work of fiction, exploring Trinidad’s colonial past, and promoting an appreciation of Caribbean literature to a global audience.

The event was recorded on Wednesday 16 August 2023 at the Wheeler Centre.

Featured music is Ultra Chill by IMPRISMED.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling returns for 2023 and this year we’re going Above and Beyond. From October 2 to 14 we’re celebrating the big ideas and the small moments that make us human, and the creative thinking that drives us to be better versions of ourselves.

Across 24 captivating events we’re looking further, delving deeper, and asking bigger questions with outstanding thinkers who are reshaping our world and envisioning extraordinary futures.

To celebrate the return of Spring Fling, in this episode we revisit 2022's inaugural Opening Night gala event at Melbourne Town Hall, where a star-studded lineup of writers shared a personal ‘lightbulb moment’, reflecting on a defining shift that changed their mind, sparked a big idea or helped them blossom.

Enjoy this highlight from disability advocate and Heartbreak High star Chloe Hayden.

Tickets to Spring Fling 2023 are on sale now. Explore the full program at wheelercentre.com including details of this year’s Opening Night: Above and Beyond at Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 4th of October featuring Jelena Dokic, Thomas Mayo, Melissa Lucashenko, Hannah Diviney, Rufaro Zimbudzi, musical guest Emma Donovan. Hosted by Patricia Karvelas.

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This event was recorded at Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 2 November 2022 as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling Opening Night: Lightbulb Moments.

Featured music is Kwick Baby by Youth Community.

Spring Fling is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and is supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund – a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her latest book The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini explores the science and history of male dominance, arguing that patriarchy is neither natural nor inevitable, but rather a fragile system that is constantly remade and reasserted.

Saini joined Karen Pickering for a bold conversation interrogating why, how and where patriarchy manifests and persists. She discussed the ways patriarchies are established and evolve over time, explored matrilineal systems that have been subverted by colonialism, and looked beyond old narratives to understand why the patriarchy persists today.

This event was presented in partnership with the Victorian Women’s Trust.

It was recorded on Tuesday 15 August 2023 at the Wheeler Centre.

The bookseller for this event was Readings.

Featured music was Different Days by Chill Cole.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling returns for 2023 and this year we’re going Above and Beyond. From October 2 to 14 we’re celebrating the big ideas and the small moments that make us human, and the creative thinking that drives us to be better versions of ourselves.

Across 24 captivating events we’re looking further, delving deeper, and asking bigger questions with outstanding thinkers who are reshaping our world and envisioning extraordinary futures.

To celebrate the return of Spring Fling, in this episode we revisit 2022's inaugural Opening Night gala event at Melbourne Town Hall, where a star-studded lineup of writers shared a personal ‘lightbulb moment’, reflecting on a defining shift that changed their mind, sparked a big idea or helped them blossom.

Enjoy this highlight from multi-award winning writer Maxine Beneba Clarke.

Tickets to Spring Fling 2023 are on sale now. Explore the full program at wheelercentre.com including details of this year’s Opening Night: Above and Beyond at Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 4th of October featuring Jelena Dokic, Thomas Mayo, Melissa Lucashenko, Hannah Diviney, Rufaro Zimbudzi, musical guest Emma Donovan. Hosted by Patricia Karvelas.

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This event was recorded at Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 2 November 2022 as part of the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling Opening Night: Lightbulb Moments.

Featured music is Kwick Baby by Youth Community.

Spring Fling is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and is supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund – a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hear from our Head of Programming, Veronica Sullivan, as she reflects on last year’s successful Spring Fling, and shares what’s in store for audiences this year.

In 2023 the Wheeler Centre’s Spring Fling is going Above and Beyond: looking further, delving deeper, and asking bigger questions with outstanding thinkers who are reshaping our world and envisioning extraordinary futures.

Across 24 captivating events from 2 to 14 October, hear from international guests Hernan Diaz (Trust), musician and artist Lonnie Holley, Rebecca Makkai (I Have Some Questions for You), Caroline O’Donoghue (The Rachel Project and host of the hit podcast Sentimental Garbage) and Ed Yong (An Immense World), alongside local luminaries including Leigh Sales, Trent Dalton, Melissa Lucashenko, Thomas Mayo, Pia Miranda and Andrew Quilty.

Tickets to Spring Fling are on sale now at wheelercentre.com.
Buy three or more eligible Spring Fling events and get 15% off your purchase.

The Wheeler Centre is incredibly thankful for the generous support of its patrons Maureen Wheeler AO and Tony Wheeler AO; series partners The Moat and Readings; and event partners the E.W. Cole Foundation, Montalto, Museums Victoria and RMIT Culture. Special thanks to accommodation partner The Sofitel.

Featured music is Kwick Baby by Young Community.

Spring Fling is proudly supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and is supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund – a $200 million partnership of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction twice, Colson Whitehead is the multi-award-winning and bestselling author of works including The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which was also adapted for the small screen, produced and directed by Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins.

Whitehead begun his new Harlem Trilogy with Harlem Shuffle, a genre-hopping family saga that acts as a crime novel, a morality play, a social novel about race and power, and a love letter to Harlem. Its sequel, Crook Manifesto, was published in July 2023.

For the Wheeler Centre’s World of Words, hear from Whitehead live in conversation with journalist and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe as he shares his creative process bringing bygone eras to life for the modern reader, discusses the challenges and rewards of writing a sequel for the first time, and immerses Melbourne audiences in the world of Harlem Shuffle.

Presented in partnership with RMIT Culture.

This event was supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a Victorian Government and City of Melbourne partnership.

It was recorded on Wednesday 24 May 2023 at The Capitol as part of the Wheeler Centre’s World of Words series.

Featured music is ‘Natural Habitat’ by Ealot.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup is being held Australia, and with more than two billion viewers expected to tune into this year’s tournament, it’s a landmark moment in Australian sporting history. 

To celebrate, the Wheeler Centre invited players, media and passionate fans to come together for a special event exploring the significance of the Women’s World Cup in Australian sporting history and in the landscape of women’s sport.

Activist and CBC Sports journalist Shireen Ahmed, Football Australia Legacy ‘23 Ambassador Azmeena Hussain, current National League player Emma Checker and inaugural Matildas captain Julie Dolan AM joined host Fiona Crawford to discuss personal and collective triumphs of women’s soccer, explore equality in all facets of the game, and reflect on this historic moment for Australia and for women in sport.

This event was recorded on Saturday 29 July 2023 at the Wheeler Centre.

Featured music is 'Traveling Again' by Sarah the Illstrumentalist.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the owner of Darjeeling Express, British restaurateur Asma Khan astounds diners with sumptuous Indian cuisine and inspires as an advocate for social change. The Darjeeling Express kitchen is proudly run by an all-women team, and has been recognised as one of London’s best restaurants by the Evening Standard. Khan herself has starred in Netflix’s award-winning series Chef’s Table and is the UN World Food Programme’s Chef Advocate for the United Kingdom.

Visiting Victoria for the Wheeler Centre’s international writers series, World of Words, Khan sat down for a long lunch at award-winning winery and restaurant Montalto. With writer and editor Bhakthi Puvanenthiran, she recounts the twists and turns of her culinary career, discusses her new cookbook Ammu, and shares her philosophy of food as a conversation about our universal similarities, connecting and uniting us across the globe.

Presented in partnership with Montalto.

The bookseller for this event was Antipodes Bookshop and Gallery.

The event was recorded on Thursday 25 May 2023 at Montalto.

Featured music is ‘They Dream By Day’ by Krotos.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her latest work of non-fiction, renowned journalist and author Kate Legge turns her attention to the oft-taboo topic of infidelity. Drawing from her own experiences, Legge’s Infidelity and Other Affairs critically examines the concept of lifelong monogamy and explores whether the urge to be unfaithful can be considered a hereditary trait.

In June, Legge joined radio producer and presenter Elizabeth McCarthy for an intimate lunch and thought-provoking conversation at Red Hill’s acclaimed winery Montalto. Together they unpacked Legge’s latest work, reflecting on the process of bringing personal experiences to the page, and the complexities of modern relationships and inherited histories.

Presented in partnership with Montalto.

The event was recorded on Friday 16 June 2023 at Montalto.

Featured music is Violet Sky (Instrumental Version) by PHELLO.

Support the Wheeler Centre: https://www.wheelercentre.com/support-us/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.