About Queerstories
There’s more to being queer than coming out and getting married. Queerstories celebrates the culture and creativity of the LGBTQI+ community, one true story at a time. Vulnerable and fierce, hilarious and heartbreaking, Queerstories features both professional storytellers and emerging talent, each guest sharing the story they want to tell, but are never asked to; unexpected tales of pride, prejudice, resilience and resistance.
Queerstories is curated, produced and hosted by independent artist, writer and theatremaker Maeve Marsden. Find out more about Maeve’s work at maevemarsden.com
Events
Raucous and joyful, regular events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have sold out for 5 years, and curator and host Maeve travels to regional venues, often partnering with local councils, festivals and community groups. Queerstories has featured at Sydney Writers Festival, Adelaide Writers Week, Mudgee Readers Festival, Newcastle Writers Festival, Byron Writers Festival, Antidote Festival at Sydney Opera House and Ubud Readers and Writers Festival in Bali, as well as at independent venues around the country.
Queerstories – The book
A collection of the stories edited by Maeve and published by Hachette Australia was launched at the Sydney Opera House in 2018. From hilarious anecdotes of an awkward adolescence, to heartwarming stories of family acceptance and self-discovery, the collection features stories from Benjamin Law, Jen Cloher, Nayuka Gorrie, Peter Polites, Candy Royalle, Rebecca Shaw, Simon ‘Pauline Pantsdown’ Hunt, Mama Alto, Jax Jacki Brown, Candy Bowers, Quinn Eades and more.
Other Projects
Under the Queerstories umbrella, Maeve has produced and hosted live music event HOMAGE, where LGBTQI+ musicians play tribute to their favourite queer artists; she curated two years of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras’ talks and ideas festival Queer Thinking, programming panels on issues as diverse as religion, prison abolition, class, queer nightlife, data marginalisation and public health; she edited the ABC’s Sydney Mardi Gras 40th Anniversary Magazine in 2018; and she’s produced comedian Annaliese Constable’s tragicomedy, Perfect Child.