Recognised annually on 19 November, International Men’s Day celebrates worldwide the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities, highlighting positive role models and raising awareness of men’s wellbeing.
To mark International Men's Day 2022, award-winning West Australian author Holden Sheppard will be in-conversation with an online panel of three celebrated male writers whose books reflect various aspects of what it means to be a man.
Author and former child refugee Yuot A. Alaak's book Father of the Lost Boys - shortlisted for the Hungerford Award and the WA Premier's Book Awards - is a powerful eyewitness account of the four-year journey alongside his father from Ethiopia to Sudan and finally to the safety of a Kenyan refugee camp.
Journalist and author David Allan-Petale's novel Locust Summer - shortlisted for the Vogel and the WA Premier's Book Awards - offers a poignant and compelling exploration of rural masculinity and the mother-son relationship on a farm in the wheatbelt.
Former ABC radio broadcaster and A-grade cricketer Barry Nicholls' memoir Second Innings - a book dubbed "frank and fearless" by The Newtown Review of Books - explores his struggle with mental health and the road to recovery, using his love of the game of cricket to make sense of it all.
And panel chair Holden Sheppard's award-winning Young Adult novels Invisible Boys and The Brink have explored the hardship, humour and heartbreak of growing up gay in regional Australia and the realities of young men who suffer from depression, anxiety, panic disorder and suicidal ideation.
Together, the panel will discuss their books, their writing practice, the importance of talking about men's mental health, and how their works intersect with breaking down stereotypes of masculinity in favour of male vulnerability.
Tickets are free, though registration is essential to receive the link to access the online event.
Donations to Lifeline WA are encouraged and welcome, in recognition of high suicide rates being a key issue for boys and men. Donations can be made here: https://wa.lifeline.org.au/donate.
