Tracy Farr – Tell it Slant: Truth and lies, and using fact in fiction

5pm to 7pm, Tues, 26 August

When writing fiction, Tracy Farr likes to take the truth and – taking her cue from Emily Dickinson – tell it slant. In this workshop we’ll look at how, as writers, we might take elements of fact and twist them (by telling them slant, or making them strange) into fiction.

We’ll celebrate the playful, puzzle-like process of meshing together facts that at first might seem disparate and disconnected, and making them belong together.

This two-hour workshop is suitable for aspiring or experienced writers of fiction (and has some application to memoir and non-fiction).

Tracy Farr is a writer who used to be a scientist. She was awarded the 2024 NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize for her third novel, Wonderland (The Cuba Press, 2025).

Tracy’s debut novel, The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt was long- or shortlisted for three prestigious literary awards in Australia, and her second novel, The Hope Fault, was one of NZ Listener’s 100 Best Books of 2017. Both novels were published internationally. Her short fiction has won awards (including the Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award) and been published in anthologies, magazines, and literary journals. The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt and many of Tracy’s short stories have been adapted for radio and broadcast by RNZ, and The Hope Fault was adapted for the stage, premiering in Australia in 2019.

Tracy curates live literary series Bad Diaries Salon and its sister project, Bad Diaries Podcast. She’s taught writing workshops at festivals, writing centres and NZSA Roadshows, and has been awarded residencies, fellowships, and funding in Aotearoa and Australia.

Born in Melbourne, Tracy grew up in Perth, Western Australia. She’s lived in Wellington for nearly 30 years. Through her non-writing work, she has substantial experience in the administration and promotion of professional membership organisations in the science and knowledge sectors. Tracy was NZSA Vice President in 2022 and 2023. Link to website: http://tracyfarrauthor.com/