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Remnants: When The Past Comes Home

Sunday August 2, 2026 — 10:30 am
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General Admission: $30

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THIS EVENT is proudly supported by:

Sophie Stern, Joseph Toltz, Michael Visontay – moderator Benjamin Preiss

Estranged sisters are forced to reckon with their wounds when they inherit their grandmother’s dilapidated home; a rare and fragile booklet of Holocaust songs is almost discarded when found deep in a cupboard; and an obscure legal document in a strongbox leads to a trail of leaves from the Gutenberg bible. In this session, a novelist, a musicologist and a journalist traverse the real and fictitious, to uncover remarkable stories in which physical remnants ‘speak’ from the past.

Artists

  • Sophie Stern

    Sophie Stern is from Sydney, where she lives with her husband and son. Her debut novel What Is Left For Us was published in 2026. Her short fiction has been published in magazines and literary zines including Yen Magazine and Ellipsis Zine, and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. The manuscript of her first novel was shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize in 2024.

  • Dr Joseph Toltz

    Dr Joseph Toltz is an ethnomusicologst and research manager at the University of Sydney. An expert on Jewish music and its migrations to Anglophone countries, his ethnographic work incorporates creative research (performance, composition, and arrangement), Jewish studies, Holocaust studies, and History. Out of the Depths: The First Collection of Holocaust Songs is his first book.

  • Michael Visontay

    Michael Visontay has worked as a writer and senior editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian and taught journalism at university. He has written six non-fiction books, including Who Gave You Permission? The memoir of Manny Waks (co-authored), and most recently Noble Fragments: the maverick who broke up the world’s greatest book. Currently he works as Commissioning Editor of The Jewish Independent.

  • Benjamin Preiss

    Benjamin Preiss is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience. He is currently The Age’s regional editor and has previously covered state politics and education. Benjamin is also undertaking a family history project as part of a PhD through the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University.