Vanishing Histories
Kerrie Davies I Susan Wyndham I Yves Rees
Miles Franklin is a literary legend now, but her story, and those of women like her, were nearly lost to the passage of time.
Kerrie Davies unwinds the mysteries of Miles Franklin’s lost years in Miles Franklin Undercover: The little-known years when she created her own brilliant career, constructing a real-life sequel to My Brilliant Career using never-before-published material. Yves Rees dives into the early days of Australia’s relationship with America through the forgotten lives of 10 Australian women, from an artist to an advisor to JFK, in Travelling to Tomorrow: The modern women who sparked Australia’s romance with America.
Join Kerrie and Yves in conversation with journalist and co-editor of Hazzard and Harrower: The Letters, Susan Wyndham.
This event is presented by the Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Sydney. Presented in partnership with the State Library of NSW.
UNSW SYDNEY X SYDNEY WRITERS' FESTIVAL
UNSW Sydney is the exclusive university sponsor and proud Premier Partner of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Featuring UNSW academics and researchers on Sydney Writers’ Festival stages, this partnership brings together a shared vision of creativity, curiosity and thought leadership.
TICKETS & VENUE INFORMATION
Ticket Prices
All Tickets – $30
*plus booking fees
Venue Information
This event will take place live at the State Library of NSW. For all venue and visitor safety information, please visit State Library of NSW.
ACCESS
Wheelchair Access
The wheelchair and pram-friendly entrance is on Macquarie Street, opposite Hunter Street. There are lifts in the building, accessible toilets and baby change room facilities. If you require assisted entry contact the Library on 02 9273 1414 or find our more here.
Accessible Parking
For patrons with a mobility parking sticker, parking spaces at Shakespeare Place, on the corner of Macquarie Street and the Cahill Expressway, are available.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT & PARKING
The closest train stations are Martin Place (200 metres) and St James (450 metres). Ferries arrive into Circular Quay which is only a short walk away. The Sydney Explorer bus stops outside the Library on Macquarie Street, and the nearest parking station is Sydney Hospital, located on Hospital Road. For more information on transport, visit sl.nsw.gov.au/plan-your-visit or visit transportnsw.info.
CONTACT
Sydney Writers' Festival
For all event enquiries, contact the Sydney Writers' Festival on 02 9256 4200 or email ticketing@swf.org.au.
UNSW Centre for Ideas
For all other enquiries, contact the UNSW Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485 or email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au.
National Relay Service
The UNSW Centre for Ideas and Sydney Writers' Festival are happy to receive phone calls via the National Relay Service. TTY users, phone 133 677, then ask for the applicable organisations phone number (listed above). Speak and Listen users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for applicable organisations phone number (listed above). Internet relay users, visit relayservice.gov.au, then ask for applicable organisations phone number (listed above).
Kerrie Davies
Kerrie Davies is a non-fiction author and senior lecturer at UNSW Sydney. Her latest book is Miles Franklin Undercover. Her previous book, A Wife's Heart, created national discussion about the poet Henry Lawson and his marriage. A former journalist, Kerrie was a visiting fellow at the State Library of NSW (SLNSW) while researching Miles Franklin Undercover. Kerrie writes for The Conversation, and lives on the NSW North Coast and Sydney with her husband, Oliver and their two dogs, Ursa and Loki. She is attempting to learn to surf.
Susan Wyndham
Susan Wyndham is a writer, journalist and former literary editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. She is co-editor with Brigitta Olubas of Hazzard and Harrower: The Letters, published in May 2024.
Yves Rees
Dr Yves Rees is a writer and historian based in Naarm. They are a senior lecturer at La Trobe University, the co-host of Archive Fever podcast and author of Travelling to Tomorrow (NewSouth, 2024) and All About Yves (Allen & Unwin, 2021). They are also co-editor of Nothing to Hide: Voices of Trans and Gender Diverse Australia (Allen & Unwin, 2022). Yves has been awarded the Calibre Essay Prize, a Varuna Residential Fellowship and the Serle Award. They are the 2025 KSP Writers' Centre Emerging Writer-in-Residence.