First ever Bad Diaries Salon, feat. Imbi Neeme, Jenny Ackland, Jane Rawson, Rosalie Ham and Cas Austin (Melbourne 2017)
Bad Diaries Salon
Bad Diaries Salon was established mid-2017 with a call out from Melbourne writer Jenny Ackland on Twitter – were there any writers who still had their old, bad teenage diaries, and would they be prepared to read them live, in front of an audience?
The response was overwhelming, and Bad Diaries Salon was born.
Each Bad Diaries Salon features writers reading, to a theme, from their diaries and other unpublished juvenilia. Each salon is a unique combination of theme and readers, a performance that is raw, unedited, original and candid: the written word, rediscovered and shared.
Follow Bad Diaries Salon on Instagram for news about upcoming salons
Bad Diaries Podcast
Spawn of Bad Diaries Salon, it’s Bad Diaries Podcast!
In 2023, Jenny Ackland and Tracy Farr launched Bad Diaries Podcast, bringing the Bad Diaries Salon ba-goodness to the airwaves. Co-hosted by Jenny and Tracy for the first two seasons, from Season 3 (2025), Bad Diaries Podcast is hosted by Tracy Farr,
Follow Bad Diaries Salon on Instagram for all the goss.
Listen to episodes right here on the website, or find us wherever you find your podcasts.
Tracy Farr
Tracy is Bad Diaries Salon mother hen, keeper of spreadsheets, maker of marks.
A writer who used to be a scientist, Tracy has three novels out in the world, with her most recent novel, Wonderland, published in 2025. You can read more about Tracy and her writing here.
Tracy was born in Melbourne, grew up in Perth, but for nearly 30 years she has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Jenny Ackland
Jenny is the creator of Bad Diaries Salon — the salon birth mother, the Diary Queen.
You might know Jenny as an author. She’s published three acclaimed novels, most recently Hurdy Gurdy (2024). You can read more about Jen and her writing here. Perhaps you heard her on ABC radio, talking about the salons and reading from her (old, bad) diaries.
Jenny founded Bad Diaries Salon in 2017. In 2023, she launched Bad Diaries Podcast with co-host Tracy Farr.
Jenny is also the creator, with daughter Lilika, of the podcast My Mum’s Bad Diaries, and from 2025 that’s where her focus lies, as she leaves Bad Diaries Salon and Bad Diaries Podcast in Tracy’s capable hands.
Jenny lives, works, writes and podcasts from Melbourne, Australia.
Follow Jenny on Instagram.