Queeries

Jared Richards is an arts critic living on Gadigal Country in Sydney who has written for The Guardian, NME, The Big Issue, The Monthly, Junkee, The Age and more. He's also the brain and brawn behind Queeries.

Freya Daly Sadgrove is a Pākehā writer and performer born in Aotearoa, living on Gadigal Country in Sydney. She is the engine behind live poetry event Show Ponies, and recently debuted her genre-melting show Whole New Woman at the New Zealand Fringe Festival. Her first poetry collection, Head Girl, was published in February 2020 with Victoria University Press.

Bastian Fox Phelan is a writer, musician and zinemaker living in Mulubinba Newcastle on Awabakal land. Bastian's debut memoir about female facial hair and gender identity was published by Giramondo in May 2022. Bastian has been publishing zines since 2004. Their zines are held in collections around the world, and they have worked with the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and National Young Writers’ Festival on their annual Zine Fair events. Bastian is a PhD student at the University of Newcastle, working on an eco-memoir of Mulubinba Newcastle.

Fiona Kelly McGregor’s most recent novel is Iris, longlisted for the Stella Prize. Previously, Indelible ink won Age Book of the Year and story collection Suck my toes/Dirt won a QLD literary award (Steele Rudd). Non-fiction includes Buried not dead, shortlisted for the VPLA, photo-essay A novel idea, and art memoir Strange museums. McGregor writes for The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, Art Monthly and more, is known for a large repertoire of performance art and event curation, and lives on Gadigal land.

Sardonic, unique, and downright weird – Gen Fricker has quickly become one of the nation's brightest stars on the national comedy circuit, with her unique blend of sassy and dark stand up delivered with a butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth smile. Since making her comedy debut in 2011 as a national finalist in the triple j Raw Comedy competition, Fricker is known as a "must-see" act across Aus & NZ comedy festivals, as well as appearing by invitation at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Falls Festival and Splendour in The Grass for multiple years. Fricker was heard nationally for 5 years as the host of triple j’s Lunch show, and makes regular TV appearances, including Have You Been Paying Attention? (TEN), The Project (TEN), Celebrity Name Game (TEN), and Spicks and Specks (ABC). Gen is currently one half of the Netflix weekly movie podcast The Big Film Buffet alongside Alexei Toliopoulos.

Vonne Patiag is a multiple AACTA, AWGIE, Logie and SPA Award-nominated Writer, Director, Producer and Actor based in Western Sydney. His recent credits include writing and producing the 4-part series 'The Unusual Suspects' for SBS, the feature anthology film 'Here Out West', released theatrically in early 2022, and writing on 'Significant Others', a 6-part drama for ABC. Most recently, his short film 'Too Many Ethnics' had its World Premiere at Flickerfest 2023 and his one-man show 'The Life Cycle of Blanco' was presented as a Creative First Look season in March 2023 with the National Theatre of Parramatta and Sydney World Pride.

Following the release of EP The Life Of Montaigne and then debut album Glorious Heights (2016), Montaigne’s evolution as an artist was a journey fans became part of, as they were able to witness their growth as a musician and performer on stages nationally. 2019 saw the arrival of their sophomore album, a collection of observations and stories beautifully delivered against a backdrop of sprawling and theatrical sounds, fittingly titled Complex. 2020 brought another pivotal moment for Montaigne, as they were selected to represent Australia at Eurovision in Rotterdam 2020, before returning in 2021. In 2022, they released eclectic third album making it!, an alt-pop journey through sugary, metallic production featuring two collaborations with David Byrne. 

Etcetera Etcetera is one of Australia’s most well-known and visually striking drag artists. With a rich background in performance, makeup artistry, screen studies and fashion, they have appeared on stages from Australia to New York and back again.

A visible non-binary artist, their activism has created a genuine and vocal fanbase - beyond the world of drag and into the mainstream. Etcetera creates memorable moments in theatre, nightclubs, television, film & online. Just as their name suggests, there’s only more to come.