Brunswick Bound

On the first Friday night of each month, Brunswick Bound Upstairs hosts a night of local author readings.

It's your chance to discover a new author and for authors to discover new audiences.

In September the event will feature authors Paul Fleckney (Techno Underground), James Harding (Hard Cuddles) and Wayne Macauley (Simpson Returns).

Each author will read from their work and there will be a short Q&A afterwards.

Light refreshments, including wine from Rewine, will be served at the event.

Paul Fleckney is a writer, educator and researcher. He teaches urban planning at the University of Melbourne. Paul grew up in England and became fascinated in rave during 1988’s ‘Second Summer of Love’. Too young to experience the acid house explosion firsthand, he read the hysterical headlines in the press and watched the pantomime of moral panic play out on TV. A keen techno music fan, Paul remembers well the bitter disappointment he felt when he first stepped inside a nightclub. He pronounced rave dead, buried beneath a thousand commercial ‘choons’ and a sticky beer-stained carpet. But then a conversation with Melbourne DJ Brewster B. in 2013 renewed his interest in rave. As Paul listened to Brewster’s fascinating and outrageous stories, he realised that through writing about rave he could share in a subculture that had not only eluded him for 25 years but also had transformed the lives of thousands of young Melburnians.

James Harding was a drug addict and debt collector who operated within the chaotic world of organised crime in Melbourne. Now he is the proud father of five children, a mentor and public speaker who harnesses his experiences from the ‘dark side’ to assist others to be the best version of themselves by encouraging them to unlock their hidden strengths and self-belief.

Wayne Macauley has been shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award, a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the Melbourne Prize Best Writing Award. Wayne has also worked extensively in the theatre over many years as a writer and dramaturg and currently tutors in creative writing at the University of Melbourne.

Check out the Brunswick Bound blog to read our First Chapters Q&A with each of these authors and our website for other First Chapters event details.

We acknowledge that the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation are the traditional owners and storytellers of the land on which we meet, share stories, learn and read together.