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The days are getting shorter and the mornings increasingly crisp which in the Australian publishing world can only mean one thing – the Sydney Writers’ Festival is upon us. Between Monday 16 and Sunday 22 May Sydney will be swarming with writers and festival-goers and this year Artistic Director Chip Rolley is treating us to over 400 events with some amazing writers in locations all over the city. He says “We live in a world that is ultimately understood only through language. It is the writer who has the power to name, create and shape our world – to give us the words we live by.” The program features some fantastic Random House authors, including Fatima Bhutto, Gail Jones, James Fergusson, Suelette Dreyfus, Anita Heiss, Mike Carlton, Georgia Blain, David Hicks, Craig Cliff and Tom Keneally.
During the festival we’ll be tweeting and blogging throughout the week. This year if you’re on Twitter you can use the hashtag #swf2011. And SWF now have an iPhone app – you can download it here.
Here are some events we think you shouldn’t miss:
Opening Address: Nation on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown with Fatima Bhutto
Tuesday, May 17 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Ticketed: $35/$25
Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Pakistan is a country plagued by natural disasters, endemic political corruption, religious fundamentalism and is claimed by many to be the central headquarters of Islamist terrorism. And it’s a nuclear power. Fatima Bhutto, scion of the Pakistani political family, addresses the current state of her country. Fatima Bhutto is an Afghan-born Pakistani poet and writer. She studied at Columbia University and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. She is the granddaughter of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and niece of Benazir Bhutto. She is active in Pakistan’s socio-political arena but has no desire to run for political office. She currently writes columns for ‘The Daily Beast’, ‘New Statesman’ and other publications.
Mike Carlton: ‘Cruiser’ and the HMAS Perth
Wednesday, May 18 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM Free, bookings 9847 6614
Hornsby Central Library, 28-44 George Street, Hornsby
Mike Carlton’s ‘Cruiser: The Life and Loss of HMAS Perth and Her Crew’ recounts the ordeal of ‘Perth’ and the men who took her to war around the globe. Nearly lost in a hurricane in the Atlantic, bombed by the Luftwaffe in the Mediterranean and directly hit during the evacuation of Crete, ‘Perth’ was finally sunk off the coast of Java in 1942. Half her crew were lost with her. Less than a third lived to return home to Australia at war’s end.
Join journalist Mike Carlton as he discusses the passions and questions that led him to painstakingly research and write the history of HMAS ‘Perth’.
Presented with Hornsby Central Library.
Too Close to Home with Georgia Blain
Thursday, May 19 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Ticketed: $15/$10
Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
In her new novel Georgia Blain explores uncomfortable domestic drama and the failings of a couple who cannot lead the exemplary lives they pretend they want. She speaks to James Bradley.
Georgia Blain has published six novels: ‘Closed for Winter’, ‘Candelo’, ‘The Blind Eye’, ‘Names for Nothingness’, ‘Too Close to Home’ and the young-adult novel ‘Darkwater’. She was named one of the ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Novelists in 1998 and has been shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards. Two of her novels have been optioned for feature films. Her most recent book for adults, ‘Births Deaths Marriages’, was shortlisted for the Nita B. Kibble Award in 2009. Her latest novel, ‘Too Close To Home’, will be published in May. Set in an inner city suburb of Sydney at the time of Kevin Rudd’s overthrow, it takes us right into the heart of a relationship turned upside down by the clash of the personal and the political.
Thursday, May 19 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Ticketed: $15/$10
Pier 2/3 Main Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Scottish journalist James Fergusson has exhaustively researched the rise, fall and rise again of the Taliban, whose stated aim is to “seek knowledge” but whose actions have engaged Australia and the Allies in a deep and protracted war. He talks to Peter Collins.
James Fergusson is a freelance journalist and foreign correspondent who has written for many publications including ‘The Independent’, ‘The Times’, ‘The Daily Telegraph’, ‘The Daily Mail’ and ‘The Economist’. His book, ‘The Vitamin Murders: Who Killed Healthy Eating in Britain?’, was shortlisted for the André Simon Award for gastronomic literature. His latest book, ‘Taliban’, is the definitive history of the religious movement which became the world’s most feared fighting force. He is married with two daughters and a son and lives in Edinburgh.
Gail Jones and Those Five Bells
Sunday, May 22 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Ticketed: $15/$10
Pier 2/3 Club Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
When Gail Jones moved from Perth she succumbed to the allure of the harbour city and has produced a brilliant novel of her fascination with Sydney. She talks with Michelle de Kretser.
Gail Jones is the author of two short-story collections and five novels including ‘Sorry’. She has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award three times and won the WA Premier’s Award for Fiction, the Nita B. Kibble Award, the Steele Rudd Award, ‘The Age’ Book of the Year Award, the Adelaide Festival Award for Fiction and the ASAL Gold Medal. She has also been shortlisted for the IMPAC and the Prix Femina. Gail has recently taken up a professorship at UWS.
David Hicks and Donna Mulhearn
Sunday, May 22 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Free, bookings essential (limit 4 per booking) 9250 1988
Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
David Hicks was in the Pakistan/Afghanistan region undertaking training to help the people of Kashmir when the September 11 attacks changed everything, leading to his imprisonment in Guantánamo Bay. He has re-counted his experience in his book, ‘Guantánamo, My Journey’.
Donna Mulhearn was a human shield during the war in Iraq, part of an international civilian movement to protect sites from US aerial bombardment. Her memoir is ‘Ordinary Courage’.
In his first public appearance since the publication of his memoir, David Hicks will be in conversation with Donna Mulhearn. They will discuss the motivations that led them to be in harm’s way, respond to the accusations against them – naivety, foolishness, terrorism – and explain what really happened.
Who’s Afraid of WikiLeaks? With Suelette Dreyfus
Friday, May 20 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM Ticketed: $20/$15
Sydney Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney
A political movement or a media organisation? A risk to national security or the open government we need? Is Julian Assange a hero or a traitor? Suelette Dreyfus is the author of 1997 book ‘Underground’, an investigation of the hacking world researched by Assange himself. Guy Rundle has covered WikiLeaks since the beginning. UK journalist Barbara Gunnell zeroes in on Assange’s role as whistleblower. Robert Manne uncovers the high-minded ideals and anarchist influences on Assange and WikiLeaks. In his brand-new book, Andrew Fowler tracks how Julian Assange became “the most dangerous man in the world”. They dissect the Assange myth, the role of WikiLeaks in our democracy, and ask what we’ve got to be so afraid of. Chair: Paul Barratt.
We’re excited and can’t wait to see you there!
As the sun began to fall, I was privileged to be witness to one of the best writers’ festival sessions I have seen (and I have seen many!). Out on the lawn of UWA, amidst fairy lights and lanterns, a number of long dining tables were set up for the lucky attendees at the Feast of Words. Milling around with a drink on the lawn beforehand, the authors Armistead Maupin, Joanne Harris and Adam Ross mingled with the audience. Armistead induced fits of laughter from a group of women by posing for a photo looking down a woman’s shirt, proclaiming that as a result rumours were going to fly that he turned straight in Perth.
The event was seamless, with the writers’ doing readings from their work that relate to food. Armistead Maupin began with a hilarious reading from Mary Ann in Autumn about a dinner party of eccentric gay men in San Francisco, followed by the very funny Adam Ross reading about his character Alice Pepin crash dieting from Mr Peanut. Dessert was Joanne Harris reading from Chocolat for the first time in over ten years! Her pronunciation of French words was as delicious as the descriptions of food.
Poet Simon Armitage topped off the evening by unexpectedly having the audience in stitches – over poetry no less! A very special evening indeed…
Kate Mayor is a Publicist at Random House Australia
Day 2 of the festival started for me at a session called People Who Eat Darkness, which is also the name of Richard Lloyd Parry’s book which follows the story of a young British woman Lucie Blackman, who fell prey to unspeakable evil while working as a hostess in Japan. Richard’s insights into the world of the hostess were fascinating to say the least. Having an ex-hostess in the audience to shed further light, and the family of Carita Ridgeway, a Perth woman who also fell prey to the same man Joji Obara, made the discussion feel all the more vivid.
After leading Richard Lloyd Parry to the signing table, it was off to the green room to meet Adam Ross and Miguel Syjuco for a session called Breaking the Mould, also with Rodney Hall. So, basically there was talent just flying off the stage, with all three authors wowing the audience with tales of taking a completely different and individual approach to writing their latest works. I always think a writers’ festival session is especially good when the authors really connect with each other on stage. Their enjoyment translates to the enjoyment of the audience and this was certainly the case in Breaking the Mould.
Kate Mayor is a Publicist at Random House Australia
The beautiful UWA grounds where the Opening Night Party was held
Perth Writers’ Festival was a huge success over the weekend, and over the next few days I will be giving a run-down of some of the highlights and on–the-ground stories from this 4 day event.
Perth Writers’ Festival is held in the leafy grounds of the University of Western Australia, predominantly in the halls and lecture theatres, with a few special events out on the open lawn. Most authors participating in the event arrived on Friday to 35 degree heat, but thankfully the evening cooled in time for the Opening Night Event and Opening Night Party on the lawn afterwards.
The theme for this year’s festival was Truth and Fiction, and six authors spoke impressively on the topic, including our own Miguel Syjuco, author of the critically acclaimed novel Illustrado. The drinks on the lawn following the formalities is where all the fun starts, brushing shoulders with writers from all genres, catching up with publishing industry friends, drinking wine, eating canapés! Among our tribe of Random House attendees of the festival were Armistead Maupin, Joanne Harris, Adam Ross (AKA Mr Peanut), Richard Lloyd Parry, Miguel Syjuco, Caroline Overington, Gail Jones, Roger McDonald, Maria Tumarkin, Lev Grossman, and Sophie Gee (and their adorable 8 month old Halcyon), Leah Giarratano, Gregory Day and of course our very own Publisher-extraordinaire Meredith Curnow (who, after her Publishing Seminar had aspiring writers pushing manuscripts into her hands all weekend).
There is no bigger relief than that of a Publicist discovering that all the authors under her care are charming and lovely and this was certainly the case in Perth. Retiring to bed on that first night (some of us may or may not have gone for a night-cap after the party) I could tell that this was going to be a great weekend…
Kate Mayor is a Publicist at Random House Australia
As an American who has recently moved to Australia I am VERY excited for my first holiday season on the beach. Since moving here with my husband we have embraced the lifestyle, new TV shows, Australian authors, music and more. The first show we started watching was Top Gear (not widely available in the US), followed by Master Chef! He is now totally obsessed with Top Gear (James May is his favourite) so I am definitely planning on getting him a copy of The Big Book of Top Gear 2011. With the geeky car facts, photos of fast cars and fun trivia from Clarkson, Hammond and May he’ll be very happy on Christmas morning!
When we were contemplating our move from chilly Boston to sunny Sydney one of the biggest draws was the beach. We are lucky enough to live very close to the beach and try to go every weekend (weather permitting). My husband has started surfing and despite a small injury that resulted from his knee twisting around the board he can’t get enough! I will be giving him a copy of Surf For Your Life: Grommets Edition by Mick Fanning & Tim Baker. What surf enthusiast or sports lover in general wouldn’t want to read the inspirational story of Mick Fanning overcoming the odds to become a two-time world champ?
I am feeling very confident in my gift choices for him and can’t wait to see what thoughtful treasures he has chosen for me!
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