Poetry Salon
ABOUT THE SHOW
Maria van Neerven, Mindy Gill, Jane Frank, Liam Ferney, Phil Brown, Eve Phillips, Cheryl Leavy. Ella Jeffery (MC)
This show-stopping literary salon features poetry readings and performances from a dynamic line-up of local and national voices. Enjoy pure poetry in motion in the fine company of these award-winning wordsmiths.
PART OF BRISBANE WRITERS FESTIVAL
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Maria van Neerven is a Mununjali poet from the Yugambeh nation living in Meanjin. Maria was the winner of the David Unaipon Award in 2023 and was a Next Chapter Fellow in 2024. Two Tongues is her first poetry collection.
Mindy Gill is an award-winning poet and critic. She is Australian Book Review’s fifth Rising Star, and also writes essays and criticism for the Sydney Review of Books, Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin, and Griffith Review. Her poetry has most recently appeared in The Penguin Book of Indian Poets and the Saturday Paper. Mindy is a recipient of the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, and her debut collection is forthcoming with UQP.
Jane Frank is an award-winning Australian poet, editor and academic. Her most recent collection is Gardening on Mars (Shearsman Books, 2025) and she is author of two previous collections published by Calanthe Press. Her work is widely published in journals and anthologies in Australia and internationally. In 2025, she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is Reviews Editor at StylusLit literary journal and lectures in the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Liam Ferney’s most recent poetry collection is Shark of Messina (2026). His previous collections include Hot Take (2018), Content (2016) and Boom (2013). His work has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the Kenneth Slessor Prize and the Judith Wright Calanthe Award.
Phil Brown is a journalist, poet, author and editor of the independent arts website InReview Queensland. His most recent book is Confessions of a Minor Poet (Transit Lounge, 2025).
Eva Phillips was born and raised in Magandjin, and now lives and teaches on unceded Wangal land. She was the recipient of the 2024 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Award, and has been published in Cordite, Rabbit, and Sick Leave.
Cheryl Leavy writes across creative non-fiction, poetry and children’s literature. Her bilingual picture book Yanga Mother, published by UQP, was recently shortlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award. Cheryl’s poetry is commissioned widely here and internationally since winning the 2022 Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize. Her creative non-fiction and poetry is included in the recently published First Nations collection, Words to Sing the World Alive.
Ella Jeffery is a poet, scholar and critic. Her debut book of poems, Dead Bolt, won the Anne Elder Award, the Puncher & Wattmann Prize for a First Book of Poems, and was shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in journals and anthologies including The Kenyon Review, Ambit, Australian Book Review, HEAT, Best Australian Poems, Island and many others. She lives in Brisbane.
PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES
VENUE
TICKETS
DURATION
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Suitable for All ages
18 months and under free on the knee; all other ages must hold a valid ticket
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Maria van Neerven is a Mununjali poet from the Yugambeh nation living in Meanjin. Maria was the winner of the David Unaipon Award in 2023 and was a Next Chapter Fellow in 2024. Two Tongues is her first poetry collection.
Mindy Gill is an award-winning poet and critic. She is Australian Book Review’s fifth Rising Star, and also writes essays and criticism for the Sydney Review of Books, Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin, and Griffith Review. Her poetry has most recently appeared in The Penguin Book of Indian Poets and the Saturday Paper. Mindy is a recipient of the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize, and her debut collection is forthcoming with UQP.
Jane Frank is an award-winning Australian poet, editor and academic. Her most recent collection is Gardening on Mars (Shearsman Books, 2025) and she is author of two previous collections published by Calanthe Press. Her work is widely published in journals and anthologies in Australia and internationally. In 2025, she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is Reviews Editor at StylusLit literary journal and lectures in the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Liam Ferney’s most recent poetry collection is Shark of Messina (2026). His previous collections include Hot Take (2018), Content (2016) and Boom (2013). His work has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the Kenneth Slessor Prize and the Judith Wright Calanthe Award.
Phil Brown is a journalist, poet, author and editor of the independent arts website InReview Queensland. His most recent book is Confessions of a Minor Poet (Transit Lounge, 2025).
Eva Phillips was born and raised in Magandjin, and now lives and teaches on unceded Wangal land. She was the recipient of the 2024 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Award, and has been published in Cordite, Rabbit, and Sick Leave.
Cheryl Leavy writes across creative non-fiction, poetry and children’s literature. Her bilingual picture book Yanga Mother, published by UQP, was recently shortlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award. Cheryl’s poetry is commissioned widely here and internationally since winning the 2022 Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize. Her creative non-fiction and poetry is included in the recently published First Nations collection, Words to Sing the World Alive.
Ella Jeffery is a poet, scholar and critic. Her debut book of poems, Dead Bolt, won the Anne Elder Award, the Puncher & Wattmann Prize for a First Book of Poems, and was shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore Award. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in journals and anthologies including The Kenyon Review, Ambit, Australian Book Review, HEAT, Best Australian Poems, Island and many others. She lives in Brisbane.
