WRITERS FESTIVAL
TICKET INFORMATION There are weekend passes and day passes as well as special events that are ticketed individually. Festival Pass $55/$45 conc. (excludes ticketed special events)
Saturday Pass $35/$28 conc. (excludes ticketed special events) Sunday Pass $35/$28 conc. (excludes ticketed special events) Tickets can be purchased online at www.bendigowritersfestival.com.au, by phoning the box office on 5434 6100 or over the counter at The Capital in View Street Bendigo.
The festival takes place in the heart of Bendigo’s View Street arts precinct. All the venues are in close proximity, either under the one roof at The Capital, next door in the Old Fire Station and Bendigo Art Gallery or just over the road at La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre (VAC) and Pondalowie Cellar and Store. The only exception where you’ll have to travel a little further is for Deep and Meaningful, held at Central Deborah Gold Mine in High Street.
CAPITAL THEATRE
BENDIGO BANK THEATRE
OLD FIRE STATION
LA TROBE UNIVERSITY VAC
10-11am The Switch – How I turned to writing. Robin Baker was a funeral director, Graeme Simsion an IT consultant, Andrea Goldsmith a speech pathologist, Glenda Millard worked for the gas company; they talk with Tom McWilliam about how – and why – they became writers.
9.30-10.30am What children want, what children need. Lorraine Marwood, Ambelin Kwaymullina and Dianne Wolfer talk with Pam Harvey about quality in children's literature.
9.30-10.30am How to make-believe. Kate Forsyth and Jess Anastasi talk with Mary Pomfret about writing fantasy.
10-11am A reader’s guide to Shaun Tan. Sarah Mayor Cox and Paul Morris curated the exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery on the work of the internationally renowned illustrator. They are joined by Tan’s editors Helen Chamberlin and Jodie Webster to talk about his beautiful and challenging books.
11.15-12.15pm When Australians think out loud, does anybody listen? Tim Soutphommosane, James Boyce and Shane Maloney talk to Zoe Dattner about the role of the public intellectual.
10.45-11.45am The Real Me – Are we more honest when we write? Ben Law, Christie Nieman, Shane Howard and Robert Hillman join ABC Central Victoria’s Jonathan Ridnell to talk about how hard it is to be sincere on the page and whether writing reveals truths otherwise hidden.
10.45-11.45am Alice Pung. The award-winning author and human rights lawyer (Unpolished Gem, Her Father's Daughter) in conversation with La Trobe University Bendigo academic Jennifer Jones.
11.15-12.15pm The Lead Pencils present – Judging Miles. Dianne Dempsey leads the outspoken reviewers’ group discussion on Questions of Travel, the book that won this year’s Miles Franklin Award. With Jane Sullivan, Judith Armstrong and Kathy Hunt. Did the judges get it right?
12.30-1.30pm What matters more, the speech writing or the delivery? Margaret Simons, James Button and Dennis Glover talk with Peter Kennedy about the great speeches and how they were shaped by the person who made them. Is the great age of speeches now gone?
12-1pm Mind mysteries. Kate Richards, Graeme Simsion, Jo Case and Shona Innes have all written books about people (and children) coping with mental health; chaired by Sarah Mayor Cox.
12-1pm Gabrielle Lord. Fearless and groundbreaking the awardwinning crime writer has also written thrillers for younger readers. She talks to Steve Kendall about why she is fascinated by crime.
12.30-1.30pm Not just books – the future library. As Bendigo’s central library gets a major makeover, Victorian state librarian Sue Roberts and Goldfields library CEO Carolyn Macvean in conversation with Rod Fyffe about how libraries are changing and why.
1.45-2.45pm The Transformation – turning a book into film. Lisa McCune and Gus Howard are producing a film based on the Outback books by children’s author Christine Harris. They talk with ABC Central Victoria’s Fiona Parker about how they went about it.
1.15-2.15pm Crime isn't what it used to be. John M Green, Angela Savage and Annie Hauxwell talk with lawyer John McPherson about how far crime fiction has come since Agatha Christie.
1.15-2.15pm My Brilliant Career. Marcie Jones (Marcie and the Cookies) and Maggie Millar (Prisoner, The Sullivans, Neighbours) are two women who stayed the distance. They talk with Dianne Dempsey.
1.45-2.45pm Humour them. Children’s book authors Claudia Rowe, Chris Kennett and Katrina Nannestad talk to David Beagley about what makes young readers laugh.
3-4pm Good sports are hard to find. Peter Lalor, Anna Krien, Tony Wilson talk with Ben Eltham about the tragi-comedy of contemporary sports reporting.
2.30-3.30pm Screenwriting. Christopher Lee (Paper Giants, The Secret Life of Us, Police Rescue), lecturer and director Robin de Crespigny and Bendigo filmmaker Jamie Roberts (Cornerstone Media) talk to Dianne Dempsey.
2.30-3.30pm The Tapestry of Story. Richard Hillman (biographer of Gurrumul) and Najaf Mazari (storyteller, and the subject of The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif) talk with Sue Gillett.
3-3.30pm Speedwriting. A workshop with Bendigo Writers Council’s Dawn Rasmussen shows you how to get organised and writing, fast. Bring your pad and pen.
5-6pm The Wheeler Centre presents – Denise Scott. The comedian, actor and writer, talks with Wheeler Centre director Michael Williams about how she got started, what kept her going, and where she is headed in her fabulous career.
3.45-4.45pm Family matters. James Button, Monica Dux and Ben Law talk with David Beagley about the ethics, pitfalls and pleasures of writing about relatives.
3.45-4.45pm Steven Carroll. The Miles Franklin Awardwinning author has turned Melbourne's suburban history into evocative novels. He talks about his new book, A World of Other People, with Jim Evans.
CAPITAL THEATRE
BENDIGO BANK THEATRE
OLD FIRE STATION
LA TROBE UNIVERSITY VAC
9.30-10.30am Has our cultural golden age ended? Tim Soutphommosane, Gus Howard and Gabrielle Lord talk with SD Thorpe about the pluses and minuses of the information age.
9.30-10.30am Christopher Lee The screen -writer’s credits include Rush, Secret Life of Us, Paper Giants and Howzat!, just released as a book to accompany the tv series. In conversation wth IPTV presenter, Keith Sutherland.
9.30-10.30am Where can we search for meaning? Nathan Curnow, Kate Richards, Robin Baker and Sal Kimber talk with Ian Robinson about belief, spirituality and inspiration.
10-11am A passion for publishing. Alison Green, Catherine Lewis and Ross Donlon talk with Kirsty Wilson about why, despite all the pitfalls, book publishing remains so important.
10.45-11.45am History is written on the land. Adrian Hyland and James Boyce in conversation with Emma Robertson about the stories that link us to our past.
10.45-11.45am Soul seekers Bendigo musician Aaron Wales talks with Charles Jenkins and Geoffrey Williams about where they find their inspiration for songwriting
10.45-11.45am Tree-change Bendigo writer-illustrator Sally Van Gent’s first book is a diary about starting up an organic orchard. She talks with artist and lecturer Julie Millowick.
11.15-12.15pm Something old, something new – Bendigo. Lauren Mitchell, Peter Lalor and Charles Fahey talk with Bendigo Weekly editor Anthony Radford about the changing face of the city.
12-1pm To understand others. David Bridie, Angela Savage, Robin de Crespigny and Alice Pung talk with Sue Gillett about the inspiration they draw from other cultures.
12-1pm Drink to me only... Max Allen in conversation with literary wine writer Andrea Frost about the poetic relationship between wine and words – and what makes a good wine writer.
12-1pm Nature is telling us something. Poet Lisa Jacobson and her partner, philosopher David Tacey, talk with Bendigo TAFE's Ian Irvine about the importance of writing to express our relationship with the environment.
12.30-1pm Speedwriting. A work shop with romance writer Jess Anastasi who shows you how to get writing, fast. Bring your pad and pen.
1.15-2.15pm Personal best – boundaries of self-expression. Tony Wilson, Margaret Simons, Jo Case and John Holton talk with Fiona Parker about confessional writing, sincerity and discretion.
1.15-2.15pm Eye-witness. Anna Krien has reinvigorated reportage with her books on the Tasmanian forests and sexism in sport. She talks with Jane Sullivan about the role of the writer as observer and social commentator.
1.15-2.15pm Chrysalis – a performance. Poet Bronwyn Lovell journeys through the lifecycle of the butterfly, accompanied by music from harpist Michael Johnson.
1.15-2.15pm New ways to be outrageous. SD Thorpe and Ben Law talk with Megan Burke about the inducements of social media and how it has influenced writing styles and audiences.
2.30-3.30pm Shane Maloney. The creator of Melbourne anti-hero Murray Whelan, alternative public intellectual, and anti-style guru, in conversation with Dianne Dempsey.
2.30-3.30pm Unbecoming. In the wake of powerful debates about sexism and equal rights, Dennis Altman, Andrea Goldsmith and Monica Dux talk with Shannon Kerrigan about what's changed for men and women and why.
2.30-3.30pm Three poets. Lisa Jacobson, Sue King-Smith and Kristin Henry, talk with Ross Donlon about how to balance the desire for a message with the need for subtlety.
2.30-3.30pm Bridie unbridled. Bendigo musician Steve Lane in conversation with David Bridie about his ever-expanding career.
3.45-5pm The best song ever written. Sue Gillett and Aaron Wales lead the debate, with Sal Kimber, Lucie Thorne, Marcie Jones, Colin Thompson and Tony Wilson. It’s bound to get feisty as favourites get defended.
3.45-4.45pm Your idea is my idea – is copyright dead? Broderick Smith, Ian James, Ben Eltham and Sue McKerracher talk with Carolyn Macvean about how accessibility is challenging ownership rules, and whether anything can – or should – be done about it.
3.45-4.45pm Poetry vs performance. John Holton talks to Bruce Oakman, Bronwyn Lovell and Nathan Curnow about the difference between poetry on the page and poetry delivered to a live audience.
BENDIGOWRITERSFESTIVAL.COM.AU ALL PROGRAM INFORMATION IS CORRECT AT TIME OF PRINTING AND sOME PROGRAM CHANGES MAY OCCUR.
Text marks the spot
Spain Downunder Sunday August 11 | 2.15-3.15pm Pondalowie Cellar and Store, View Street | Entry: $15 Hosted by winemakers Dominic and Krystina Morris, food writer Richard Cornish, co-author of the MoVida Spanish cooking books, will share his knowledge of what makes Spanish cuisine so distinctive. Bookings 5444 4842, or online at pondalowie.com.au.
POETRY SLAM Sunday August 11 | 5-6.30pm | The Festival Hub, entry by Festival Pass 2013 BWF Poetry Slam. Bendigo writer Tru Dowling hosts the finale, in the Festival Hub of The Capital, with judges Nathan Curnow, Lisa Jacobson and Melbourne Poets Union president Randall Stephens. Participating poets can register online at bendigowritersfestival.com.au.
Friday August 9 Bendigo Writers Festival free program for schools On Friday August 9, The Capital opens its doors to primary and secondary school students and their teachers, with a day of talks and workshops, continuing the tradition of the La Trobe University Biennial Children’s Literature Conferences, first held in 1995. Writers presenting talks and workshops throughout the day include: Robin de Crespigny, Kate Forsyth, Christine Harris, Robert Hillman and Najaf Mazari, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Lorraine Marwood, Glenda Millard and Dianne Wolfer, with a songwriting workshop presented by Shane Howard. Schools from across Bendigo and the region are invited to attend these free one-hour sessions held in four venues around The Capital in View Street.
Shaun Tan: the real and the imaginary
Oodles of doodles and stories galore: Shaun Tan
9 August – 1 September 2013 | Bendigo Art Gallery
Saturday August 10 | 1-3pm | Bendigo Art Gallery
Shaun Tan is widely recognised for his illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Shaun Tan: the real and the imaginary is an exhibition of original artworks by this internationally celebrated Australian artist. The exhibition highlights the breadth of Tan’s creative practice and technical skill, presenting paintings, drawings, collages and sketches selected almost exclusively from the artist’s private archive. Presented in partnership with Bendigo Art Gallery.
Let your imagination run wild with a family fun day jam-packed with activities for all ages inspired by the exhibition Shaun Tan: the real and the imaginary. Learn about different illustration techniques with demonstrations and hands on activities. Turn simple shapes into whimsical characters, your shadow into a fantastical creature, draw with text and read aloud. This is a free event presented in partnership with Bendigo Art Gallery. Bookings required. Call 5434 6088.
Anna Krien
Anna Krien is a commentator and writer. Into the Woods is about the Tasmanian forestry debate and she has written on animal rights. Her new book is Night Games, about sex and power in sport.
Ambelin Kwaymullina
Ambelin Kwaymullina is from the Palyku people of the Pilbara in WA, the daughter of My Place author, Sally Morgan. Her books for children include How Frogmouth Found Her Home and the Two-hearted Numbat. Her new novel is a sci-fi/fantasy, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf.
Peter Lalor
Tom McWilliam is coordinator in creative writing at Bendigo TAFE. Maggie Millar is an actor, who starred in the long-running television series Prisoner, The Sullivans and Neighbours. She now specialises in live readings, and workshops about how to read.
Glenda Millard
Glenda Millard, shortlisted this year for the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year awards, is the author of, among others, The Naming of Tishkin Silk, Bringing Reuben Home, A Small Free Kiss in the Dark and Angel Breath.
Julie Millowick
Steve Lane
Paul Morris
Benjamin Law
Christopher Lee
Katrina Nannestad
Catherine Lewis is founder and publisher at Wild Dingo, based in St Kilda.
Katrina Nannestad lives in Bendigo. Her books include the Red Dirt Diaries and The Girl Who Brought Mischief.
Christie Nieman
Christie Nieman co-edited Just Between Us, a collection of essays about female friendship. She is a writer, editor and playwright.
BN Oakman
Gabrielle Lord has written more than a dozen crime novels, including The Sharp End and Whipping Boy, and several series for younger readers, including Conspiracy 365, adapted for television, and the Gemma Lincoln series, the latest of which is Death by Beauty.
Fiona Parker
Bronwyn Lovell
Mary Pomfret is a Bendigo writer.
Carolyn Macvean
Alice Pung is a writer, editor and lawyer. Her memoir Unpolished Gem won many awards when it was published in 2006. She edited the book, Growing Up Asian in Australia. Her new book, also a memoir, is Her Father’s Daughter.
Bronwyn Lovell is a poet whose performance, Chrysalis, is a series of poems set to music, about the lifecycle of the butterfly. Carolyn Macvean is chief executive officer of the Goldfields Library corporation. Najaf Mazari is an Afghan rugmaker who now lives with his family in Melbourne. He co-wrote The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif and The Honey Thief.
Shane Maloney
Shane Maloney wrote the Murray Whelan crime novels, including Stiff and Sucked In, which were adapted for film by John Clarke and starred David Wenham. He has a lifetime achievement award from the Crime Writers Association.
Lorraine Marwood
Lorraine Marwood was the inaugural winner of the Prime Minister’s literature award for younger readers. Her books include Star Jumps, Ratwhiskers and Me, and Guinea Pig Town.
Sarah Mayor Cox
Sarah Mayor Cox is on the BWF programming committee. She teaches children’s literature at La Trobe University Bendigo.
Lisa McCune
Lisa McCune is a four-time Gold Logie winner, best known for tv roles in Blue Heelers and Sea Patrol and her stage performances in Cabaret and South Pacific. She is co-producing an adaptation of a children’s book.
Sue McKerracher
Sue McKerracher is executive director of the Australian Library and Information Association.
John McPherson
John McPherson is a Bendigo lawyer.
Graeme Simsion is a writer, data modeller and wine importer. He won the 2012 Victorian Premier’s Award for his play turned novel, The Rosie Project.
Broderick Smith
Broderick Smith is a songwriter, who performed with The Dingoes..
Tim Soutphommosane
Tim Soutphommosane is a political philosopher and theorist, whose books include Don’t Go Back to Where You Came From, Reclaiming Patriotism, and his most recent, The Virtuous Citizen. He is a columnist and commentator.
Jane Sullivan
Fiona Parker is an ABC Local Radio presenter.
Jane Sullivan is a Melbourne writer of fiction and literary journalism, and one of the Lead Pencils reviewing group.
Mary Pomfret
Keith Sutherland
Alice Pung
David Tacey
Anthony Radford
Najaf MaZari
Graeme Simsion
Lauren Mitchell’s second volume of collected articles is Dear Bendigo.
BN Oakman is a Bendigo poet. His new book is Secret Heart.
Gabrielle Lord
Margaret Simons is a journalist, academic, media commentator, and author of ten books, including Journalism at the Crossroads, and Malcolm Fraser’s political memoirs.
Paul Morris lectures in Graphic Design and Illustration at La Trobe University Bendigo campus.
Lauren Mitchell
Catherine Lewis
Margaret Simons
Julie Millowick teaches visual arts at La Trobe University Bendigo.
Benjamin Law is the author of the memoir, The Family Law, and a journalist with The Monthly. His new book is Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East. Christopher Lee created drama series Rush and Stringer and was writer on Police Rescue, The Secret Life of Us and Paper Giants. He wrote the tv series Howzat!: Kerry Packer’s War, which is also published as a book. He has lectured on screenwriting and has won four AWGIE.
Denise Scott is a comedian and actor. Her most recent book is The Tour, the follow-up to her memoir, All that Happened at Number 26.
Maggie Millar
Peter Lalor is a journalist whose books include The Bridge (about Sydney Harbour), a biography of Ron Barassi, and a true crime book. Steve Lane is a Bendigo musician who fronts the Autocrats.
Denise Scott
Tom McWilliam
Keith Sutherland presents The Pointy End on Bendigo’s IPTV. David Tacey is Professor of English at La Trobe University. His new book is Gods and Diseases: Making Sense of Our Physical and Mental Wellbeing.
Colin Thompson
Anthony Radford is editor of the Bendigo Weekly.
Colin Thompson is founder and director of the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival.
Dawn Rasmussen
Lucie Thorne
Dawn Rasmussen is president of Bendigo Writers Council.
Kate Richards
Kate Richards is a doctor, who has lived all her life with schizophrenia and psychosis. She has just published her first book, Madness: A Memoir.
Jonathan Ridnell
Jonathan Ridnell is regional manager for the ABC in Bendigo.
Jamie Roberts
Lucie Thorne is a singer songwriter whose latest album is Bonfires in Silver City.
SD Thorpe
SD Thorpe is a producer with the arts unit at Radio National. Her e-novel for young readers is Getting Up, a story about grafitti and growing up.
Sally Van Gent
Sally Van Gent’s first book, Clay Gully, is published in August. It is an illustrated diary about trying to maintain her heritage apple orchard near Bendigo.
Jamie Roberts is a Bendigo filmmaker, whose company Cornerstone Media has created films about cyberbullying and young people’s body image.
Aaron Wales
Sue Roberts
Jodie Webster
Emma Robertson
Geoffrey Williams
Sue Roberts is the Victorian State librarian. Emma Robertson is a La Trobe University Bendigo historian.
Ian Robinson
Ian Robinson is convenor of the Central Victorian Freethinkers Gathering.
Claudia Rowe
Aaron Wales is a Central Victorian musician. Jodie Webster is an editor with Allen & Unwin. Geoffrey Williams is an electro-acoustic soul singer-songwriter. His latest album is Yes Is the Answer!
Kirsty Wilson
Kirsty Wilson is sales and marketing director at Text Publishing.
Claudia Rowe is a Castlemaine illustrator and self-publisher, who has written a series of spoof children’s books under her imprint Atlas Jones.
Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson’s books include Making News, a novel about tabloid journalism and Players, about footy. A regular on tv and radio, he has published kids books, and is also a sports feature writer.
Angela Savage
Angela Savage spent six years in Vietnam and Thailand, working with the Red Cross. Her first book, Behind the Night Bazaar won the Vic Premier’s Award. Her second novel, also featuring PI Jayne Keeney, is The Half-Child, set in Thailand.
Dianne Wolfer
Dianne Wolfer is a young-adult novelist. Her prize-winning Lighthouse Girl has been followed by Lighthorse Boy.
Write on Song
Malcolm Fraser Festival Opening | Friday August 9 6.15-7.30pm | The Capital Tickets: $20/15 conc.
Saturday August 10 | 7pm | The Capital Tickets: $20/15 conc.
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was at the centre of the most controversial event in Australian political history – the Dismissal of Gough Whitlam in 1975. When his political career ended in 1983, he began a new career, as a social commentator. Now in his 80s, Mr Fraser campaigns tirelessly via his public speaking and on social media, for human rights. He will be joined on stage at The Capital by his official biographer, Margaret Simons. Hosted by La Trobe University Bendigo Campus.
Saturday August 10 | 4-5.30pm La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre Tickets: $25
Dennis Altman
Dennis Altman is Professorial Fellow in Human Security at La Trobe University. His new book is The End of Homosexuality?.
Jess Anastasi
Jess Anastasi is a Bendigo-based romance writer.
Judith Armstrong
Book launch | Sunday August 11 | 1.30-2pm Festival Hub (Banquet Room) Entry by Festival Pass or invitation
Monica Dux
Monica Dux is a writer, publishing worker and commentator and founding board member of the Stella Prize for women writers. She is co-author of The Great Feminist Denial and author of Things I Didn’t Expect When I Was Expecting.
Ben Eltham
Ben Eltham is National Affairs correspondent with online journal New Matilda, and an arts commentator and research fellow with Deakin University.
Robin Baker
Charles Fahey
David Beagley lectures in children’s literature at La Trobe University Bendigo.
Jim Evans is president of the Bendigo Historical Society. Charles Fahey is a historian and a fellow of La Trobe University Bendigo.
Kate Forsyth
Kate Forsyth is an award-winning author of 25 books, from picture books to novels, including the historical novels The Wild Girl and Bitter Greens.
Malcolm Fraser
James Boyce
Malcolm Fraser is a former Prime Minister and passionate human rights advocate. His political memoirs were co-written with Margaret Simons.
James Boyce wrote 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia, which won a Prime Minister’s Award and three Premier’s Prizes. It followed Van Dieman’s Land which also won the Tasmanian Book Prize. He is an honorary research associate at the University of Tasmania.
David Bridie
David Bridie is a seven-time Aria Award-winning songwriter who specialises in the music of Melanesia. He is a founding member of Not Drowning Waving and My Friend the Chocolate Cake.
Megan Burke
Bendigo author Colin King launches his “full-bodied murder mystery”, A Vintage Death (Bendigo Publishing) about intrigue and dangerous plots in the world-class vineyards of Heathcote.
Ross Donlon is a Castlemaine poet who runs Mark Time Books.
Jim Evans
David Beagley
Sunday August 11 | 12-1.30pm | Central Deborah Gold Mine | Tickets: $17
Ross Donlon
Judith Armstrong is a writer and critic, and a member of reviewing group, the Lead Pencils. Robin Baker is a former English teacher and funeral director, based in Perth. He writes action novels, including Killing Richard Dawson and Chasing the Sun. His writing explores the themes of belief and mortality.
Deep and Meaningful
A Vintage Death
Max Allen and Richard Cornish are award-winning storytellers obsessed with flavour. Their interactive tasting masterclass – a hit at both the Melbourne and Sydney Food and Wine Festivals – will change the way you think about flavour and teaches you how to get maximum pleasure from your palate.
Max Allen is a wine writer, educator and judge, and author of the best-selling Red &White: Wine Made Simple, and Crush: The New Australian Wine Book, as well as a critical guide to biodynamic wines.
Hosted by ABC Local Radio, presented by Bendigo TAFE.
It’s the ultimate atmosphere: in the beautiful underground function room, 61m below the surface at Central Deborah Gold Mine, actor Maggie Millar (Prisoner, Neighbours, The Sullivans) takes fairy tales out of the realm of children’s stories, and into the mysterious and uncanny. This intimate event is your chance to experience a unique reading, in a unique venue, with one of Australia’s most experienced actors.
Sensation!
MAX ALLEN
Six acclaimed songwriters talk to ABC Radio’s Hilary Harper about the power of words and their passion for song. With David Bridie, Shane Howard, Charles Jenkins, Sal Kimber, Lucie Thorne and Geoffrey Williams.
Andrea Frost
Andrea Frost is a wine columnist for ABC’s Delicious magazine, wine blogger at New Ruby Press, and author of Through a Sparkling Glass, a book about wine in literature.
Rod Fyffe OAM
Rod Fyffe OAM is a Greater Bendigo councillor and chairman of Bendigo Writers Festival.
Sue Gillett
Megan Burke is a blogger, based in Castlemaine.
Sue Gillett is on the BWF programming committee. She lectures at La Trobe University Bendigo.
James Button
Dennis Glover
James Button is a Walkley Award-winning journalist whose book, Speechless: A Year in my Father’s Business, is about the time he spent as speechwriter to Kevin Rudd when he was PM. He was European correspondent and an editor with The Age and is a fellow of the Grattan Institute.
Steven Carroll
Dennis Glover is a writer, political advisor and speechwriter, author of Orwell’s Australia and Understanding Great Speeches, a member of the thinktank Per Capita, and editor of books of essays, including New Voices for Social Democracy.
Andrea Goldsmith
Steven Carroll was a rock musician before becoming a drama critic, then a fiction writer. The third of his trilogy about growing up in Melbourne, The Time We Have Taken, won the Miles Franklin. His new novel, A World of Other People, is set in London in 1941.
Andrea Goldsmith trained as a speech pathologist, pioneering communication aids, before becoming a writer. A creative writing teacher and essayist, her first novel, Gracious Living, was published in 1981, followed by six more. Her new novel, The Memory Trap was published in May.
Jo Case
Alison Green
Jo Case is an editor and senior writer with the Wheeler Centre, and the author of Boomer and Me: A Memoir of Motherhood and Asperger’s.
Helen Chamberlin
Helen Chamberlin is a long-time editor who worked with Shaun Tan for many years.
Richard Cornish
Richard Cornish is a food writer (Epicure) and co-writer of the Movido series of Spanish foodbooks. He is also a comedy writer for radio and tv, and has been co-creative director of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
Robin de Crespigny
Robin de Crespigny is a Sydney filmmaker and author of The People Smuggler (Penguin), which won the Queensland Literary Award. She is an alumni of La Trobe University, and was a lecturer in directing at the Australian Film and Television School.
Nathan Curnow
Nathan Curnow is a poet and performer whose books include The Ghost Poetry Project and RADAR.
Zoe Dattner
Zoe Dattner co-founded Sleepers Publishing.
Dianne Dempsey
Dianne Dempsey is a journalist with the Bendigo Weekly, an Age book reviewer, and a member of the Lead Pencils.
Alison Green is a publisher, co-founder of Sydney-based Pantera Press. She is a director of the NSW Writers Centre, and is on the independent publisher’s committee of the Australian Publisher’s Association.
John M Green
John M Green is a business writer, co-founder of Pantera Press and author of three thrillers. His most recent, The Trusted is about cyber-terrorism.
Christine Harris
Christine Harris’s books include the Audrey of the Outback series, and historical novels, fantasy, shorts stories and plays. Her outback books are currently being adapted for film.
Pam Harvey
Pam Harvey is a children’s literature advocate and Bendigo member of the Children’s Book Couuncil. She writes children’s books, including Out of the Blue, Into the Fire and Taking the Chequered Flag.
Annie Hauxwell
Annie Hauxwell lives in Castlemaine, but spends part of each year in London. She has worked as an investigator, and has written several crime novels, including In Her Blood, and A Bitter Taste.
Kristin Henry
Kristin Henry has published five collections of poetry and two books of non-fiction. Her new book is a verse novel, All the Way Home, published by UWA Press.
Robert Hillman
Robert Hillman’s autobiography, The Boy in the Green Suit, won the Australian National Biography Award in 2005. His books include My Life as a Traitor and The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif, with Najaf Mazari, with whom he also collaborated on The Honey Thief, about Afghan storytelling. He has just published a biography of Indigenous singer, Gurrumul.
John Holton
John Holton is a Bendigo writer. His new book is Between Here and Home: One Man’s Search for Meaning in a Tabloid World.
Gus Howard
Gus Howard is a film producer and lecturer, currently working on theatre and television productions with Beyond International.
Shane Howard
Shane Howard founded the band Goanna, and wrote hits including Solid Rock, and recently released the 30th anniversary album: The Other Side of the Rock. He has published two books of lyrics.
Kathy Hunt
Kathy Hunt is a reviewer and one of the Lead Pencils critics group.
Adrian Hyland
Adrian Hyland is the award-winning author of crime novels Diamond Dove and Gunshot Road. He teaches at La Trobe University. His book Kinglake 350 tells the story of the Black Saturday bushfire.
Shona Innes
Shona Innes is a Bendigo psychologist and writer.
Ian Irvine
Ian Irvine teaches creative writing at Bendigo TAFE.
Lisa Jacobson
Lisa Jacobson’s latest book, The Sunlit Zone, is shortlisted for the inaugural Stella Prize for women’s writing and this year’s Prime Minister’s Literary Award for poetry.
Ian James
Ian James is managing director of Mushroom Music Publishing.
Charles Jenkins
Charles Jenkins is a songwriter, with experience from rockabilly to punk, a member of Mad Turks from Istanbul and Icecream Hands, now solo with five albums.
Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson is a harpist, and musician in residence at the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens.
Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones lectures in Australian Indigenous Studies at La Trobe University Bendigo.
Marcie Jones
Marcie Jones began singing in the 1960s, working with Normie Rowe and on the Go Show, then formed Marcie and the Cookies. She now writes and records country music songs.
Steve Kendall
Steve Kendall is a columnist with the Bendigo Weekly. He co-edited Gallipoli Eyewitness.
Peter Kennedy
Peter Kennedy is general manager of the Bendigo Weekly and a former Liberal Party state candidate.
Chris Kennett
Chris Kennett is a Bendigo illustrator whose books include Alpha Monsters and Rudy Toot!
Shannon Kerrigan
Shannon Kerrigan is Equality and Diversity co-ordinator at La Trobe University Bendigo.
Sal Kimber
Sal Kimber is a singer songwriter, whose group is The Rollin’ Wheel.
Colin King
Colin King is a Bendigo feature writer, who will launch his first novel, A Vintage Death, at the festival.
Sue King-Smith
Sue King-Smith is a Bendigo poet and essayist.