Queer Writers Naarm

A monthly space for queer, gender/neuro diverse folk and kin to meet, write and share.

An inclusive, monthly event in a comfy and welcoming space, designed to support thinking, feeling humans to show up for their practice and themselves.

Write, connect and reflect in the Hearth Space, an inspiring, diversity driven, sensory delight, dedicated to fostering a fully expressed community.

Gently guided, flexible format events with uninterrupted writing time, optional sharing/feedback and a sexy snack selection! (sweet, sour, salty, chewy, crunchy, zesty, spongey, spicy.. we treasure treats as much as tactile tablecloths and tenaciously tend to a satisfying spectrum of taste, temp and textures.

Time:

First Wednesday each month.

Doors open 6:30 | Lock 7:00 | Immersion until 9:30

Place:

We collect first timers and walk you to the venue from ;

Sacred Monkey Tattoo | 99 Denmark St, Kew

Getting Here:

Tram: #48 & #109 from City via Richmond

Bus: #200 & #207 from City via Carlton, Fitzroy and Collingwood

Closest parking: Denmark st/Wellington St -check clearways and parking restrictions

If you get lost, run late, or have waited a while, call Ange on: 0424 074 607

Who QWN is for:

Anyone kind and curious who writes or wants to write.

You can be mid-manuscript or word curious, prefer using a laptop, a journal or a scrunched napkin scrawling system. You can write in silence, with music, while paintng or dancing. You can share your work or not, receive feedback or not, engage with our prompts, or not. You could snug on a rug, stand on a stool, sprawl on the stairs, or perch on a chair. Choose your own adventure, we love it.

Maybe you’re queer, neurodiverse, asexual, gender fluid, polyamorous, stardust

Maybe you’re an artist, lover, dreamer or 3 dragons taped together

Maybe you manage many masks to survive

Maybe you’re a caterpillar, a butterfly or in pre-winged goo form

Maybe not.

Our Venue is cosy af but has so much room for the kind and curious. The alternatives, the explorers, the misfits, the so-called ‘too much'ers, the ‘not enough’ers, the 'too sensitive's, the 'too weird's, the 'too loud's, the 'too quiet's, the too fews, the tutus..

We think humans are great but even greater together.

Our art, heart and community driven events are about feeling safe, seen and welcome to be all you are. So, those of you with delicious, ambrosial flavours that may have become scapegoats for the dysgeusia of others ..we see you and we’ve made us all a comfy space to play.

Those at the helm:

Gently led by inspiring heartist, Phil Soliman

Phil is a writer, filmaker, artist, educator, podcast host and DJ who recently returned to Naarm's warm bosom after a rather ill-advised attempt to resettle in the plastic fantasyland known as Sydney.

He is fascinated by the myriad ways language shapes and creates our existence, and finds inspiration in the banal horror of mobile phone game advertising, the hypnotic meat-shaking thud of a dancefloor, and the ineffable splendour of the visible & invisible universe.

and warmly hosted by Angelafaithheartist, our dynamic lover, feeler, writer, theatremaker, performer and general shenaniganist.

Ange has a big fat passion for designing welcoming experiences for people to art and play. As panther as she is monkey and as buffalo, hummingbird, Ange has been facilitating delight, supporting emotional unravellings and assisting transformational journeys for over 20 years. She loves hugging, dancing, flash mobs that go deep and regularly forgets that she unwittingly smuggled a maggot into several countries while it lived in her head.

What to bring:

Anything you use to write- but if you forget, we'll sort you out.

If you'd like to eat your dinner here, we'd love you to bring it and utilise our full kitchen -and we'll also have refreshments here

Heartist Events at The Hearth:

Our 'Why':

❤️People

We enjoy meeting others and value community.

❤️Self Love

Living in a city, -or just on earth during these times- in a society that promotes hustle and prescribes obligation to everything but ourselves, we find that our art and heart time can be an afterthought

❤️ADHD Hack

In our ADHD experience, no matter how much we love, need and recognise the importance of social/art/connection dates, staying in integrity with them hasn't been a thing we've achieved. Showing up for a plan we've made with others however, is a piece of delicious, dopamine cake. So, this is our hack. Maybe it will work for you too.

❤️Kin

We are queer, late diagnosed neurosparklies. We did the curious, arty, rose-coloured glasses, unboundaried-dreamer game for a long while. And although we enjoyed the confusing and disappointing fruits of the 'codependent, tragic romantic' story and the 'hermitting weirdo,' story, now we wanna hang out with other sexy misfits and make stuff.

We may not know a lot, but we do know that we always feel better after (and during) connecting with kind, curious community. Maybe you will too.

The Hearth monthly events:

Writing | Queer Writers Naarm |1st Wednesday

Craft-Visual Art-Process Art | Hearts and Crafts | 2nd Wednesday

Consent centred Cuddle Puddle | Cuddle Club | 3rd Wednesday

The Hearth previous events:

Cardmaking, Watercolour self love reminders, Partner massage, Face painting, Ballooning, Improv, Flash mobs, Dance journeys, Sharing circles/ Intention setting circles, Play readings, Live performances, Wheel of consent workshops, Queer/kink/poly/ND socials, Poetry readings, Fairy parties and a neurodivergent Choir.

So, if you:

-have stuff in you that you sense may be good to write down,

-need brain space freed up for Kate Bush lyrics,

-could benefit from regular allocated writing time/body doubling/accountability/being near people with glasses,

-wanna show up for you/your expression,

-gotta get away from the kids to give your publisher that 11th novel,

-can't find time to priorise your expression whilst operating within late stage capitalism,

-had your love of writing tainted by previous groups/classes that felt rigid/unfriendly/elitist or narrow minded,

-have a story that says you're 'not writery enough',

-wanna write in the vicinity of people while tucked away under the stairs in a blanket OR

-forgot that people exist and sometimes they're surprisingly wonderful

then join us at Queer Writers Naarm!

Your contributions help us continue offering unique gatherings in a gorgeous, comfy, sensory space, offer refreshments and provide supplies. It is important to us, however, that our events be accessible and strongly encourage anyone to reach out to thehearthexperience@gmail.com, should finances (or anything else) keep you from attending.

❤️