This is an open invitation to the launch of Overland 204, at the Melbourne Writers Festival at 2.30 pm on Saturday 27 August.

Overland 204 is a special, extended edition. It contains Malalai Joya’s thoughts on why Australia must get out of Afghanistan, and John Martinkus’ account of being kidnapped by insurgents in Iraq and then denounced by shock jocks for surviving. Joya is also delivering a keynote at the MWF; she and Martinkus are speaking together on a special panel on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Other highlights of Overland 204 include Eve Vincent’s account of life in detention, Jessica Whyte’s review of the new radicalism in philosophy, Kirsten Tranter’s argument about the gender politics of China Mieville’s Embassytown, Peter Kirkpatrick’s assessment of Clive James as poet, Richard Seymour on the legacy of the war on terror and Andy Worthington on human rights after Guantánamo.

There’s another graphical reworking of an early Overland story by Bruce Mutard; there’s John Kinsella’s memoir of rural life, and Emmett Stinson’s take on the perils and promise of self-publishing in digital media; there’s Ellena Savage’s argument about the politics of trauma and Jennifer Mills’ take on how to write about Aboriginal Australia. Plus there’s new fiction from Jacinda Woodhead, Charlotte Wood and Anthony Panegyres, and new poetry from Elizabeth Allen, Liam Ferney, Peter Rose, Luke Beesley, Jill Jones, John Leonard, Adam Formosa, Judy Durrant, Nathan Curnow, Ann Vickery and Brenda Saunders.

The edition will be launched by Sophie Cunningham, the ex-editor of Meanjin and the author of, most recently, Melbourne. Sophie’s delivering one of the keynote addresses at the MWF, on feminism and writing today; with Overland 204, she provided editorial support for the CAL-Connections essay, a project intended to foreground writers from traditionally under-represented backgrounds.

All welcome and there’s no need to book.