Gender matters in writing

New Zealand Society of Authors (Wellington) in association with the Lesbian and Gay Archives NZ and the Alexander Turnbull Library is proud to present ‘Gender Matters’ — a celebration of transgender and non-binary writers in Aotearoa.

This event is free, but please bring a koha to support the work of LAGANZ.

Complexities and beauty of writing about gender
Join Sam Orchard as he hosts Emma Barnes, Jackson Nieuwland and Jiaqiao Liu discussing the complexities and beauty of writing about gender in Aotearoa today. Writing about identity and embodiment can be a complicated and vulnerable task, but each of these three writers find unique ways to share themselves with their readers, breaking binaries and building new spaces to be themselves.

This discussion promises to challenge expectations, explore uncharted territory and fill your heart. Come along and hear these incredible writers share their writing and thoughts on gender matters.

Event format
5:30pm — light refreshments
6:00pm — talk ‘Gender matters in writing’

About the speakers
Emma Barnes studied at the University of Canterbury and lives in Aro Valley, Wellington. Their poetry has been widely published for more than a decade in journals including Landfall, Turbine | Kapohau, Cordite and Best New Zealand Poems. They recently released their first book I Am In Bed With You, a bold, personal and provocative exploration of bodies, sex and identities, and have co-edited Out Here: An Anthology of Takatāpui and LGBTQIA+ Writers from Aoteaoroa with Chris Tse, due to be released in October this year.

Jackson Nieuwland is a genderqueer writer, publisher and bookseller. They are the author of I Am A Human Being (Compound Press 2020), winner of the MitoQ Best First Book Award for Poetry, as well as two collaborative chapbooks with Carolyn DeCarlo. They are a co-founder of Food Court, a reading/zine series and independent bookshop in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Jiaqiao (Jay) Liu is a Chinese nonbinary poet currently doing a creative writing MA in Pōneke. They write about family, queerness, longing, myth and tech, among other obsessions. Some of their work can be found in brief, Blackmail Press, takahē and Queer the Pitch.

Sam Orchard is a queer and trans comic artist and the Assistant Curator of the Cartoons and Comics Archive at the Alexander Turnbull Library. He has been the programme director of the Same Same But Different LGBTQI+ literary festival for the past two years and is passionate about finding ways to celebrate diverse voices.

Check before you come
Due to COVID-19 some of our events can be cancelled or postponed at very short notice. Please check the website for updated information about individual events before you come.

For more general information about National Library services and exhibitions have look at our COVID-19 page.