John Morrissey in conversation with Declan Fry

Join acclaimed Kalkadoon writer John Morrissey in conversation with award-winning author and critic Declan Fry as they discuss Morrissey’s striking debut novel, Bird Deity.

Set on a distant (yet strangely familiar) planet, Bird Deity is a darkly satirical work of speculative fiction that interrogates empire, extraction and the human cost of colonisation. Through the story of a solitary scout tasked with harvesting mysterious artefacts from an Indigenous species, Morrissey explores themes of violence, alienation and the fragile possibility of transformation.

John Morrissey, winner of the 2020 Indigenous Writers Mentorship and author of the award-winning collection Firelight, brings his distinctive voice and sharp political insight to this powerful first novel. He will be joined by Declan Fry for a rich and wide-ranging conversation about storytelling, speculative fiction and writing against the grain of colonial narratives.

John Morrissey is a Melbourne writer of Kalkadoon descent. He was the winner of the 2020 Indigenous Writers Mentorship and runner-up for the Nakata Brophy Prize in 2018. John’s debut Firelight won an Aurealis Award and a Queensland Literary Award, and in 2024 he was named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist. Bird Deity is his first novel.

John in also one of our Warm Winter Read ambassadors for 2026 so this is a perfect opportunity to meet a wonderful new author and celebrate reading with us.

Declan Fry's fiction and poetry have appeared in Another Australia (Affirm), The Uncollected Animals (Turtle Point Press), and Woven (Magabala). A recipient of the Hilary McPhee Award, the Peter Blazey Fellowship, and the Griffith Review short story prize, Fry has written for the Guardian, the Age/Sydney Morning Herald, Memo, The Monthly and is a regular contributor to the ABC.