Bendigo, Ep. 1

May 6, 2023 — In what can only be described as the event of the literary millennium, Literary Death Match teamed with the word wizards at Bendigo Writers Festival for a wondrous night of wit, lit and wow that saw Melina Marchetta topple co-finalist Briar Rolfe in a battle of Arithme-Lit, winning Marchetta the LDM Bendigo, Ep. 1 crown, and literary immortality to go with it. 

Here's the full lineup from the night of: 

JUDGES: 
Literary Merit: Phil Cleary, former teacher, football legend, independent member of the Australian Parliament, and author of Cleary Independent, Just Another Little Murder and Getting Away With Murder

Performance: Oslo Davis, illustrator, artist and author of This Annoying Life: A Mindless Colouring Book for the Highly Stressed and Oslo's Melbourne, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Age, The Monthly magazine, a 29-metre drawing for a Melbourne tram and merch designs for the Tokyo Olympics

Intangibles: Akuch Kuol Anyieth, a graduate researcher at La Trobe University in Crime, Justice and Legal Studies, and author of South Sudanese Manhood and Family Crisis in the Diaspora and the memoir Unknown 

READERS: 
Round 1: 
* Briar Rolfe, a nonbinary cartoonist shortlisted for a Ledger Award in 2017, they were highly commended by the Kat Muscat Fellowship in 2020, and is working on their debut graphic novel, Get Your Story Straight 

* Sarah Ayoub, journalist, academic and bestselling author of teen novels Hate is Such a Strong Word, The Yearbook Committee, and The Cult of Romance; picture books The Love that Grew and Nice and Slow; and contributed to the anthology Arab, Australian, Other. She's on the board of the Australian Society of Authors

Round 2:
* Melina Marchetta, internationally bestselling and award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi (celebrating its 30th anniversary), which she adapted into the AFI Award and Independent Film Awards-winner for best screenplay, and New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award and Film Critics Circle of Australia Award. Her latest novel: The Place on Dalhousie

* Sophie Cunningham, author of City of Trees, Melbourne, Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy and her latest, This Devastating Fever which was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award for Fiction. She's the chair of the Australian Society of Authors and in 2019 was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her contributions to literature

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga (author of the award-nominated novel Collision Theory)

Where: Ulumbarra Theatre, 50 View Street, Bendigo
When: May 6, 8pm start, 9:15pm finish
Cost: $28 ($25 Concession) or grab a Saturday Pass ($130) or 3-Day Pass ($260)