Other Events & Activities

To make a booking phone 03 8664 7099, email bookings@slv.vic.gov.au or book online through What's On, unless other booking details are listed.

Literary Melbourne walking tours
Take a jaunt through the literary landscape of Melbourne with storytellers Fiona Sweetman and Dale Campisi. Choose from a range of tours focusing on 'books on film', typography, radical writing, Indigenous and immigrant stories, or song and verse. Coffee, giveaways and special offers included. Presented by Hidden Secrets Tours.
Time: Thurs 23 April; 7 & 21 May; 4 & 18 June; 2, 15 & 23 July; 6 & 13 August; 1.30–3.30pm
Cost: $60 ($55 Library Foundation)
Bookings: 03 9329 9665 or through the Hidden Secrets Tours website

Walkin' Birrarung cultural tour
Explore the stories, culture and knowledge of Indigenous Australia. Take a walk along the Yarra River – 'Birrarung' – with an Aboriginal cultural interpreter from the Koorie Heritage Trust, and uncover stories embodied in the ancestral lands of the Kulin people.
Venue: Meet at Enterprise Park (behind Melbourne Aquarium) 
Cost: $13
Bookings & inquiries: Koorie Heritage Trust, 03 8622 2600 or dean@koorieheritagetrust.com 

The Bedside Books Club: Autumn favourites
What are the books on your bedside table – books you've loved, books you can't wait to read, and ones begging to be finished? Share them with other book lovers at the Library's quarterly book club. Bring a great book to share, and meet our special guest author and reader.
Time: Tues 12 May, 6–7.30pm
Venue: Mr Tulk café (State Library, La Trobe St)
Free (bookings required)

Eleven Independent Types
This special weekend event will feature eleven acclaimed Victorian writers and thinkers taking literary conversation to the next level. Be prepared for some highly stimulating and probably surprising conversations with some of the state's finest minds. Presented by Reader's Feast Bookstore in association with the State Library.
Time: 5–7 June (Queen's Birthday weekend)
Venue: State Library Conference Centre (Entry 3, La Trobe St)
Cost: $17/$15  per session
Bookings (from 11 May): 03 9685 5111 or online at M-Tix

Joyce and Wilde: Celebrating James Joyceís Ulysses
Oscar Wilde's ghost haunts Joyce's Ulysses, being mentioned often, both explicitly and implicitly, and arguably present in the character of Buck Mulligan. See Joyce and Wilde come together in an antechamber of Heaven to sort out their differences, in a contest between two modern ways of writing. This event is part of Bloomsday in Melbourne, supported by the Irish Embassy, the City of Melbourne, the State Library and Deakin University.
Time: Tues 16 June, 1pm & 8pm
Venue: Queen's Hall 
Entry fees apply
Bookings & inquiries: 03 9898 2900 or online at the Bloomsday In Melbourne website

Press Play: Doing digital storytelling (forum)
Everyone can be a director, editor and publisher. Digital storytelling is increasingly popular as a way of preserving and sharing community and individual stories. This forum will focus on the process of developing a digital story, and opportunities offered by various organisations. Join in the discussion with Helen Simondson, Screen Events Manager, Australian Centre for the Moving Image; and Sara-Jane Smith, Library Learning Officer, State Library of Victoria.
Time: Tues 7 July, 6–7.30pm
Venue: Experimedia
Free (bookings required)

Teenage winter writing week
Calling all young writers! Spend a whole week focusing on your writing, with writer and editor Penni Russon, author of the acclaimed Undine trilogy and Indigo Girls in the Girlfriend fiction series. Hone your skills, experiment and meet a 'who's who' of writing and publishing. (For ages 13 to 17; limited to 15 places; morning tea provided daily.) Presented by the Centre for Youth Literature.
Time: Mon 6–Fri 10 July, 10am–1pm daily
Venue: Meet in front foyer
Cost: $90 (bookings required)

Queen's Hall: Open House
This is a unique opportunity to step inside the original Public Library building and view its beautiful 19th-century interior. Queen's Hall opened in 1856 and was the Library's main reading room until the dome (now the La Trobe Reading Room) opened in 1913. It was then used as a museum space and later as the Arts Library. Queen's Hall was closed to the public in 2003 and still awaits refurbishment. It will be open for one day only, free of charge, as part of the Melbourne Open House program.
Time: Sun 19 July, 10am–5pm
Enter via front foyer
Free (bookings not required)

Flashpoint: New writing for theatre
Hear exciting new theatre by established and emerging Victorian playwrights, as outstanding performers read excerpts from the winning plays of the 2008 R.E. Ross Trust Playwrights' Script Development Awards. Followed by a Q&A session.
Time: Wed 29 July, 7.30–9.30pm
Venue: Queen's Hall
Free (bookings required)

Press Play: Doing digital storytelling (Play)
Ever wanted to make a digital story on a Mac or PC? Find out what you need to make a great story and share it online, and experiment with styles and formats. Experts will be on hand to assist.
Time: Tues 4 August, 6–7.30pm
Venue: Experimedia
Free (bookings required)

The Bedside Books Club: Book chat at Fed Square
Come and chat about the events and books that have captivated you at the Melbourne Writers Festival in 2009.
Time: Thurs 27 August, 6–7.30pm
Venue: Federation Square (details at the Melbourne Writers Festival website)
Free (bookings required)

Digital Storytelling Workshop
Want to capture your personal story and memories to share with family and friends? This fun, one-day workshop combines storytelling skills with the use of digital tools. Simply bring along some photos and other special objects, and take your story home on DVD. Group bookings are available.
Time: Tues 29 September & 27 October, 10am–4pm; also in Seniors Week, Mon 5–Fri 9 October, 10am–4pm
Venue: Meet in front foyer
Free (bookings required)

Drusilla Modjeska in conversation with Hilary McPhee
Hear two of Australia's leading literary figures discussing writing, publishing and the writer's life, then enjoy a special evening viewing of the Independent Type exhibition. Presented in association with RMIT and Copyright Agency Limited, supporter of RMIT's Writers in Residence program.
Time: Tues 20 Oct, 6–7pm
Venue: Experimedia
Free (bookings required)

Illustration

Stream vol. 1, no. 1, Melbourne, 1931 (detail)