The Emerging Writers’ Festival work, learn and play largely on the land of the Kulin nation, and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

EWF celebrates the history and creativity of the world’s oldest living culture.

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Ethers & Workshop

Art Activism & Writing Lived Experience: Beyond Confession

Explore how writing and art activism can transform lived experience into critical, collective narratives, without relying on confession or personal exposure. Led by artist, scholar and activist Dr. Ally Zlatar, this workshop experiments with auto-ethnographic writing, creative prompts, and art-based reflection methods to reframe personal stories as tools for advocacy, resistance, and social change. 

Learn about voice, agency, and ethical storytelling, as well as strategies to navigate vulnerability, representation, and power while amplifying marginalised perspectives. Leave with practical techniques to mobilise writing as both creative practice and activist intervention. 

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Monday 14 September, 7.30-8.30PM AEST

Pay-What-You-Wish/Free

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Featuring...

Ally Zlatar

Ally Zlatar is an artist, scholar and activist. She is the founder of The Starving Artist; an artist initiative that utilizes creative voices as a way to create advocacy and systemic reform. She also founded The Starving Artist Publishing Studio to platform marginalized writers and The Starving Artist Scholarship Fund which helps people access inpatient mental health treatment. Her “This Body of Mine” campaign explores migrant experiences through creative voices and has helped support individuals and artists from refugee-seeking backgrounds.
Zlatar has received Forbes 30 Under 30 for Social Impact(Asia, 2025), Commonwealth Innovation Awards (2023), UNWomen 30 for 2030 (2024).

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