By Editor Ricky Jade
(Follow Lit Salon’s Instagram @qutlitsalon)
Did you miss out on the New World Salon on June 2? Or do you just want to relive that awesome night? Well, this time round, your favourite Lit Salon Editor, Ricky (sorry Janice and David), is here to wrap it up for you.
Around the time the New World Salon was held, there was A LOT going on. After the last events of the Brisbane Writer’s Festival, we all walked from the State Library of Queensland to the End Bar in West End. We were also just coming off the heartbreaking announcement of the cancelled ScratchThat Winter 2024 Zine launch party a few days before. And of course, don’t forget end of semester assessments. There were a couple attendees with laptops out, cramming in last minute projects due that night!
The End Bar venue was a big hit at our Pride Salon last year and was a hit again at our fantasy-themed salon this year. It was packed! The End Bar was also excited to continue our themed cocktails and crafted one just for us. We all sipped on our Coco Comets, a coconut and lavender margarita, as Professor Rohan Wilson handed out the coveted, and technically unreleased, ScratchThat Winter 2024 Zine. If you missed out, you can still check out the digital version on the ScratchThat website and some will be sold at the next launch event.
As we all settled in, Felipe Brenny kicked off the night with his piece, Hailstorm Ascent, a gripping fantasy about a beastly princess. She quests to the top of a blistering and snowy mountain, proving her strength and overcoming prejudice. It was an emotive story about hurt, passion, anger and choosing your own path.
Next, we had the pleasure of our co-president, Josephine Renee, reading out a thought provoking and somewhat wistful peace about a devoted couple dying in their sleep, minutes apart. A Grave Affair took elements from Josephine’s thoughts of death and real-life experiences of working in an Indian restaurant and being a writer. It ended with a beautiful and subtle reveal of the narrator’s identity.
Then we had our wonderful guest reader, Joanne Anderton! Known for her speculative fiction, creative non-fiction and children’s fiction, Joanne is a returning guest to Lit Salon. She was in our fantasy themed salon, Steel, last year. She is currently experimenting with blending memoir and science fiction. A speculative fiction writer at heart, she weaved in elements of fiction and folklore as she recounted her experiences living in Japan. With all the ghostly elements, if I’m being honest, her work would have suited a Halloween themed salon (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Just before our first break we had a Q&A session with our guest author. Everyone was keen to learn from Joanne as she is currently going through her PhD studies. The Q&A was all about PhDs, moving to Brisbane, literary agents and getting published. These sessions are always so valuable for all the aspiring writers in the Lit Salon!
After the break, and a couple Coco Comets, David Uptin, one of the Lit Salon Editors, gave us the only non-fiction piece of the night, called Manifesto for Utopian Art. David put a spin onto the theme of New World, talking about the idea of utopian writing in contrast with the popularity of dystopian writing. He gave a thought-provoking opinion on the Heartstopper series as an example of utopian art.
Next, we had Isaac Barker with LMD 2. Isaac used beautiful vocabulary in a contemplative and surreal piece about a character that escapes in their own mind. Isaac used evocative descriptions of setting and place to tell the story, talking about desert dunes, night skies, the moon and water.
Our other co-president and resident thespian, Rhys Williams, was next with a scene from a screenplay he has been working on called The Knight. The final scene of the first act was performed by Rhys and two fellow actor friends. The perfect mix of humour and heartbreak, we were told a story about drag queens, dragons, family, and cancer. Rhys tugged on the hearts of everyone in the room and I definitely saw a few tears. Gettings actors to deliver it really pulled at everyone’s emotions.
Duncan Butcher was our penultimate reader, a favourite recurring Lit Salon and rising BookTok star (@duncanbutcher). He read out Bleeding in Zero Gravity, a sci-fi piece that quickened everyone’s heart rate. We follow Luis, a man on a mission in space to bring back an artefact, as an unknown vessel approaches. Duncan used a countdown throughout his story and the room tensed harder and harder until the inevitable and bitter end.
The New World Salon ended with a bang with Callum Ross-Roland, the Lit Salon’s 2023 photographer. His piece, Leather Bound, was published in the ScratchThat Winter 2024 Zine (RIP). Leather Bound was a cheeky piece written from the perspective of a leathercrafter’s recent creation. With sensual language and euphemisms that made you blush, it was really a simple story of yearning to be bought and taken off the shelf in the leathercrafter’s store. That’s right, get your head out of the gutter.
The night came to a close as we attempted to settle our giggles and our co-presidents gave the final thankyous and announcements. A bunch of us hung out until the End Bar closed and the semester ended with good drinks, good company, and good times.
So, what is the theme for our August Salon? Restrictions! It’ll be on the Wednesday July 24 at the Botanic Bar. Whether it’s a story about restrictions or literal restrictions within their writing style, there are some awesome talented writers showing off their work. We’ll be announcing our August Salon theme that night, too! So, if you want to know what to write about before everyone else, don’t miss out.
QUT Lit Salon is pretty busy this semester – we’ve got event more events coming up! We’ve partnered with Vena Cava Productions for their upcoming Freshblood Festival in August. This is a great opportunity for scriptwriters to read out their work on stage – so get writing! Even if you’re not writing a script, this event is still open to any writing you want to submit.
Just one last reminder. QUT Lit Salon is not limited to creative writing students. If you have a creative inkling or just have a love for words, the Lit Salon is a chance for any university student to share their story. I can surely say that it is a safe and welcoming community – and a great place to practice public speaking.
Ricky Jade is (mostly) a life writer. Her life stories inspire her writing because honestly, they’re weird and she is probably mad or sad or infatuated about something. She spends her days struggling through her final year of Creative Writing and nights focussing on whatever her current hobby is. She is also an editor at the QUT Literary Salon and a freelance copywriter. See what she’s up to on Instagram @rickyjadee and check out her other publications at linktr.ee/rickyjade