March 11 - 16 will see a fever of literature across the Wellington region, and for LGBT readers, two Australian-based authors stand out - Christos Tsiolkas and Elisabeth Knox. Christos Tsiolkas An openly-gay Greek Australian hailing from Melbourne, Christos Tsiolkas' first novel Loaded was filmed as Head On in 1998, starring Alex Dimitriades as a young gay Greek man living in central Melbourne. The film gained notoriety upon its release for its sexual explicitness, including a full-frontal masturbation scene performed by Dimitriades. Tsiolkas' novel Dead Europe won The Age Book of the Year Fiction Award in 2006. During New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week, Tsiolkas will appear in a variety of panel discussions covering topics including prohibitionand defiance, taboos including rough sex, religious belief, cultural identity, self destruction and anti-semitism in his native Australia and a decaying Europe. Wellington's Writers and Readers Week takes place biennially, as a key event in the three-week, multi-arts New Zealand International Arts Festival. Elizabeth Knox, the author of The Vintner's Luck, regarded as one of New Zealand's best gay themed novels, is also in Wellington for the literary week. For bookings and further information on New Zealand Post Readers and Writers' Week, visit the official website on the link below.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 26th February 2008 - 11:04pm