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The inaugural Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival (SHWF) will take place at the Gibraltar Hotel in Bowral from the 21 – 22 July 2012. Among the 30 book, poetry, play and film writers that will be appearing at the festival, four are Random House authors, including Frank Moorhouse, Candice Bruce, Jaye Ford and Kate Forsyth. Tickets for the SHWF are now on sale. There are...
Last night at the launch down at Pier 9 on Sydney Harbour, we waited with bated breath as Chip Rolley announced the 2012 Sydney Writers’ Festival program. It was definitely worth the wait – this year we’re being treated to a spectacular program and we’re really excited about all of the international and local Random House authors who will be appearing at the festival. With...
Day five of the festival is a big one with sessions including Gail Jones, Mike Carlton, Anita Heiss, Suelette Dreyfus, Frank Moorhouse, Matt Condon, Craig Cliff, James Fergusson, Lucinda Holdforth and Fatima Bhutto. Session one with Gail Jones was all about Sydney - looking at three different ways it has been represented in literature by three very different authors. Gail's latest book,...
It’s day four of the 2011 Sydney Writers’ Festival and today is the day that the main adults program begins. It’s a lovely day here in Sydney and the atmosphere down at the site is buzzing. The coffee queues are manageable (thank god!) and the view of Sydney Harbour is simply spectacular. It’s a big week of sharing, words, ideas, and of course, meeting...
The Sydney Writers’ Festival opened with a bang last night with the Opening Address delivered by Fatima Bhutto, author of SONGS OF BLOOD AND SWORD. The beautiful and erudite Fatima had the sold out audience at the Sydney Theatre on the edge of their seats as she spoke about the corruption and injustices in her home country, Pakistan, as well as that of several other nation states. ...
Hey all, it’s Dot here, the Children’s and YA Publicist at Random House. I have just had three days of awesome sessions with three of our authors – Jacqueline Harvey, Deborah Abela and Michael Pryor. Each talk was fantastic but here are the highlights . . . Jacqueline Harvey revealed her tips and secrets for writing a children’s book. Did you know that her latest series...
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...
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...
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...
[caption id="attachment_2346" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The beautiful UWA grounds where the Opening Night Party was held"][/caption] 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’...
