Affection by Krissy Kneen. CREDIT: textpublishing.com.au

For internationally published author Krissie Kneen, there can be no literary issue bigger than that of censorship. Though she has cultivated a fan base for her erotic works such as Triptych and Follow the Sound, she maintains that Brisbane still remains a dominantly conservative society. For Kneen, the disconnect in the acceptance of her work and the country's "hangover from the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era," is a big problem.

Kneen's stories have long been a hot button issue in that she writes not just about the most basic of human sexual interactions but ventures further into the more, shall we say, riskier of imaginations. She relates that it's embarrassing to not be able to sell her own books in her own indie bookshop-- Avid Reader. Kneen recalls that once, a customer came asking for her erotic memoir-- Affection, but then she could not display them on the shelves. Instead, she pulled a copy from under the counter, like some type of contraband. This is, of course, due to Category-1 explicit sexual material in Queensland. As far as Kneen is concerned, there need not be a classification for books as they are meant to enrich the reader experience. To draw a line on what is pornography and what is not should be rethought and perhaps altogether be rewritten.

In an interview with The Guardian, Kneen says, "In Brisbane, people like events and meeting people and to feel connected to the writer. As a sex writer, I find that quite confronting - it's not hard to put your sex life out there, but I was terrified about people's reaction to my physicality." And it's not just issues about self presentation that bothers the author, "I've just watched a naked woman apparently remove a handkerchief from her vagina on stage at La Soiree, part of the Brisbane festival. But Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho is not legally available for sale. It's been banned here since its first publication, and laws prevent it being shipped in from other states. "

As far as Kneen is concerned, the old laws should be adapted to the modern times and just as in her writing, she will not stay silent in this cause.