WRITERS 22-25 AUG 2013
www.mwf.com.au
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Steve Grimwade Festival Director/CEO
WELCOME GET CONNECTED Stay close to the action with exclusive content, insights from our writers and giveaways. Sign up to our e-bulletin for the latest news and tune into our YouTube channel for interviews and reviews.SUBSCRIBE @ mwf.com.auTWITTER. com/MelbWritersFest #MWF2012FACEBOOK.com/ MelbourneWritersFestivalMWF BLOG @ mwf.com. auYOUTUBE.com/ MelbourneWritersFestFLICKR. com/ melbwritersfestPINTEREST.
com/MelbWritersFestTHE FESTIVAL CLUB: BEER DELUXELocated in the heart of Fed Square’s Atrium, the Festival Club: Beer DeLuxe is the perfect place to begin and end your festival. Open from 8am till late.FESTIVAL CONCIERGEDazzled by what we have in store, but not sure what events to choose? Let our friendly festival staff provide you with a tailored experience. Call us on 9999 1199 or complete our quick and easy form at mwf.com.au – go to Festival Concierge.
CONTENTS EVENTS BY DATE
Thursday 23 August Friday 24 August
Robert Doyle Lord Mayor
Getting Started
Ted Baillieu MLA Premier and Minister for The Arts
MELBOURNE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Melbourne Writers Festival is a home for stories and storytellers, for writers and readers: a destination for the curious-minded. And this is what we invite you to do – to be curious, to revel in matters of the mind and heart, to delight in thinking not just of your favourite writers, but also of those new to you. So enjoy the ideas and stories on offer, engage and be entertained. This festival is about questioning our place in the world, as men and women; as lovers, friends and partners; as workers and ‘economic units’, and as global citizens. Winter may be a good time to curl up with a book, but the Melbourne Writers Festival has plenty to get you off the couch, out of the house and into our great City of Literature. Celebrated British actor and writer Simon Callow will talk Dickens, a minifestival will celebrate the iconic magazine The New Yorker, and leading international philosophers Richard Holloway and Martha Nussbaum will give us plenty to think about. Add to this an expanded schools’ program that will bring more festival programs to young Victorians than ever before. The City of Melbourne is delighted to support the Melbourne Writers Festival. Each year in the midst of winter Melburnians head inside to venues across the city and immerse themselves in the cerebral. The breadth of offerings continues to impress as the festival connects us to remarkable local, interstate and international talent and contributes to Melbourne’s success as a UNESCO City of Literature. I would like to acknowledge Steve Grimwade on his great work as he directs his last festival. I commend the 2012 Melbourne Writers Festival to you
SPECIAL EVENTS
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Keynote Speakers
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Big Ideas Series
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Level 1, 176 Lt Lonsdale Street, The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne VIC 3000
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T 03 9094 7859 F 03 9650 6467 E admin@mwf.com.au W mwf.com.au BOX OFFICE 03 9999 1199
Saturday 25 August
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Sunday 26 August
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Monday 27 August to Thursday 30 August
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Friday 31 August
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Saturday 1 September
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Sunday 2 September
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Workshops
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION How to Buy Tickets Venues and Maps
MELBOURNE WRITERS FESTIVAL BOARD 2011/2012 18
Chair: Michael Webster Deputy Chair: Caroline Cornish Treasurer: Bernard Marin Secretary: Nick Ruskin Committee: Maree Davidson, Jayne Dullard, Karen Monaghan, John Myers, Henry Rosenbloom
THANKS
MELBOURNE WRITERS FESTIVAL DONORS
PROGRAM SUPPORTERS
Patrons Philip Cornish John Myers The Hart Line subfund of Australian Communities Foundation Ambassadors Anonymous x 2 Philip and Vivien Brass Charitable Foundation Laureate Dr George and Rosa Morstyn Ricci Swart Associates Dominic Dirupo and Natalie Dwyer Bettie Kornhauser McLeod Family Foundation Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE Paul and Angela Riggs 6A Foundation Many thanks to our other donors who are proudly acknowledged on our website.
2013 VOLUNTEERS
General Manager: Liz Chappell
Graphic Designers: Lanz Martin
A very special thanks to all our wonderful volunteers who are essential to the success of the festival, and particularly: Joan Cashion, David Muller and Bronwen Roy for their help throughout the year. Thanks also to Anna Funder, John Hinkson and the team at Arena Printing, Chris Ashe of Cordial Creative, Fiona Sanna, Margaret Simons and Ellen Koshland.
Marketing Manager: Juliette Kringas
Marketing Manager: Stefan Treyvaud
Program Manager: Mike Shuttleworth
Marketing Assistant: Imogen Kandel
Administrator: Shona Barrett
Production Manager: Tom Abud
CONTRACT STAFF
Regional Tour Coordinator: Patrick Cronin
Artist Liaison Officer/Program Assistant: Bhakthi Puvanenthiran Box Offce and Customer Service Coordinator: Lillian Birch
Volunteer and Front of House Coordinator: Daria Wray
107.9 ABC Ballarat ABC Radio National Arts Access Cinema Nova City of Ballarat D Publishing Evatt Foundation Fed Ed Freeplay Independent Games Festival Immigration Museum John Button Foundation Kids’ Own Publishing Liberty Victoria Melbourne PEN Centre Melbourne Poets Union Melbourne Recital Centre National Gallery of Victoria National Year of Reading New Zealand Book Council North Fitzroy Star Hotel Responsible Investment Association Australasia Rivus TV State Library of Victoria St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral,
McLennan, Bob Sessions, Renata Singer, Jeff Sparrow, Jason Steger, Estelle Tang
SCHOOLS’ PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE Debbie Delaps, Anna Ryan-Punch, Melissa Traverso, Adele Walsh, Jenna Williams, Lili Wilkinson
Online Coordinator: Thomas Caldwell
2013 FESTIVAL INTERNS Cherry Byford-Sibbing, Natalia Cheng, Daniel Coghlan, Michael Kingston, Victoria Musgrove, Roni Shewan, Kimberley Wolsley
FESTIVAL STAFF
Festival Bloggers: Stephanie Honor Convery, Angela Meyer
Copywriter: Michael Nolan
Festival Director/CEO: Steve Grimwade
Festival Photographer: Carla Gottgens
Development Manager: Collette Stewart
Festival Publicist: Prue Bassett Publicity
Kym Bagley, Jo Case, Alison Croggon, Sophie Cunningham, Chris Flynn, Peter
PROGRAM ADVISORY GROUP
SPECIAL EVENTS KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
SIMON CALLOW: CHARLES DICKENS AND THE GREAT THEATRE OF THE WORLD In the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth, Melbourne Writers Festival is proud to present Simon Callow, acclaimed British actor, writer and director. Callow’s latest biography, Charles Dickens
QUEEN VICORIA WOMEN’S CENTRE KEYNOE ADDRESSGERMAINE GREER: SPEAKING AUSTRALIAN To define us is to negate us. Those who are trying to impose a standard English on all the varieties of Australian speech are not simply wasting their time; they are applying
ROBERT DESSAIX: THE TIME OF OUR LIVES If you’re clinging precariously to life in a hospital ward, as Robert Dessaix was recently, it can be hard to think of heartening answers to the question ‘What are days for?’. And yet, while contemplating Philip Larkin’s poem, Dessaix began to think on the particular pleasures of being older – as
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and the Great Theatre of the World, combines two of his abiding passions and explores Dickens’ life and times with readings from his enduring novels. What better way to open the festival than in the company of one of theatre’s greats sharing his love for
MELBOURNE TOWN HALL WHEN THU 23 AUG 7PM TICKETS $40/$30 Proudly supported by the Graduate School of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Melbourne
WENDOUREE CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS, BALLARAT WHEN SAT 25 AUG 7PM TICKETS $40/$30 BOOKINGS wcpa.com.au or 03 5338 0980 Brought to you by the City of Ballarat and proudly supported
of correctness? In this keynote address Germaine Greer will discuss our language and its use, in an oration that will make you think seriously about our place in the world and the role that language plays in putting us there.
WHEN THU 30 AUG 6.30PM TICKETS $40/$30 WHERE THE ATHENAEUM THEATRE
one of literature’s giants? Melbourne’s own passionate thespian Max Gillies.
an inappropriate notion of standardisation that would crush the life out of the living language. Australians contribute to literary culture all over the English-speaking world. Are they bilingual? Are they secure enough to distinguish between - and enjoy - different kinds of Australian, or are they hamstrung by spurious notions
a reader, a writer and a man – even in a society infatuated with youth. In this inspirational closing night oration, one of our great thinkers and speakers shares his enlivening refl ections with us.
WHEN SUN 2 SEP 7.30PM TICKETS $30/$27 WHERE BMW EDGE BOOKINGS mwf.com.au
SPECIAL EVENTS BIG IDEAS SERIES
ALAN MISSEN ORATION:LITERATURE ANDGLOBAL CITIZENSHIP SAT 25 AUG 6.30PM Global citizenship is an old idea that has acquired new salience in our increasingly multicultural societies. In this lecture, Kwame Anthony Appiah explores the importance of imaginative
INDIGENOUS EXCEPTIONALISM SUN 26 AUG 6.30PM Twenty years after Mabo, our constitution is yet to recognise Indigenous Australians. A referendum could change that, but what are the challenges ahead? Upon the release of the Expert Panel Report on constitutional recognition, some commentators made
TELLING THE WORLD’S STORIES: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE JOURNALISTS LEAVE? TUE 28 AUG 6.30PM FREE News is now instantaneous and 24/7. Attention spans are short in such an informationheavy environment. While traditional news media have responded by fi lling
literature in sustaining cultural interactions both across and within societies, which energise the global movement in support of human rights. As President of the American PEN Center, Appiah argues that non-governmental alliances across nations are central to the struggles in defence of the right to free expression, which is an essential enabling
condition for literature. Appiah, awarded the National Humanities Medal by President
extraordinary claims. One person contended that Aboriginal child bride practices would be legalised. Another claimed it was a racist attack on Australians. The success or failure of a proposed referendum will have consequences for all Australians. The main challenge is a poorly understood friction between
bringing Indigenous Australians fi rmly into the national polity and maintaining their status as essentially different. Professor Marcia Langton proposes a solution to this dilemma. Proudly supported by Ricci Swart.
pages and screens with relentlessly rehashed reports, obsessive details of small events and commentary on commentary, social media and the blogosphere have become genuine, savvy news forums. What changes when people start telling their own stories and news media becomes a tool for effecting change? Twitter journalist
Andy Carvin, whose networks provided the must-see news as the Arab Spring unfolded, will join Myanmar activist Susanna Hla Hla Soe; CEO of Solomon Islands’ One News Television, Dorothy Wickham; and Head of ABC International Development, Domenic Friguglietti. Hosted by Jo Chandler (The Age).
Obama earlier this year, is an internationally renowned philosopher, currently teaching at Princeton University. Presented in partnership with Liberty Victoria and made possible with support from the Alan Missen Foundation.
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SPECIAL EVENTS BIG IDEAS SERIES
JOHN BUTTON ORATION: CULTURAL PLURALISM IN A TIME OF FEAR FRI 31 AUG 6.30PM Americans and Europeans once prided themselves on their sense of religious understanding and tolerance. Today there are many reasons to doubt this complacent self-assessment. Our situation
THE SECOND WORLD WAR SAT 1 SEP 6.30PM Antony Beevor, acclaimed author of Stalingrad, Berlin: The Downfall, and D-Day, will discuss his new narrative history of the Second World War, an account that extends from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific, from the snowbound steppe to
OBAMA’S BIG IDEAS SAT 1 SEP 8PM Less than three years ago U.S. President, Barack Obama, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. How successful has he been in fulfi lling his promises of a world more
now calls for searching self-examination as we try to uncover the roots of ugly fears and suspicions that disfi gure all Western societies. Focusing on recent bans on the Muslim burqa and related developments in Europe, Martha Nussbaum will argue we need a two-pronged approach: sound philosophical and legal principles of religious
respect and equality, and a critical examination of majority practices that refuses to apply to the minority a critique it does not seriously investigate about the dominant culture. Brought to you by the U.S. Consulate General, Melbourne, and proudly supported by the John Button Foundation and the Philip and Vivien Brass Charitable Foundation
the North African Desert, from jungle fi ghting in Burma and on islands and atolls, to SS Einsatzgruppen in the borderlands, Gulag prisoners drafted into punishment battalions, and the unspeakable cruelties of the Sino-Japanese War. He seeks to correct the view of a monolithic clash of the Axis and Allied states, describing
the disparate conflicts and rifts within states that each contributed to the most terrible war in history.
peaceful, more just, and more secure? His international record has been questioned by disappointed supporters and pilloried by opponents. What could a second-term President Obama mean for his unfi nished efforts to shape the emerging global order? Martin Indyk was formerly US Ambassador to Israel and an advisor to President Bill Clinton
on the Middle East. Now at the Brookings Institution, Indyk weighs up the past and future of President Obama’s foreign policy. Proudly supported by The Wheeler Centre.
Big Ideas Sessions BMW Edge, Fed Square Tickets $30/$27 mwf.com.au
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PROFESSIONAL
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS VENTURING INTO FICTION WHEN: Sat 1 Sep, 10am – 4pm CODE: 7101 COST: $215/$195 Haven’t written a story since leaving school? Friends keep telling you to write a novel but you’ve no idea how to start? Working with a small class, bestselling novelist, and experienced fiction tutor, Patrick Gale will use short, enjoyable writing exercises to introduce the basics: characterisation, plotting, dialogue and sense of place. Patrick aims to inspire you to face down your inner critic and leave with the makings of short story or even a first novel.
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP: THE BASICS OF CREATIVE NONFICTION WHEN: Sun 2 Sep, 10am – 4pm CODE: 7111 COST: $215/$195 Creative Nonfiction Editor and author of You Can’t Make This Stuff Up, Lee Gutkind leads a workshop to comprehensively examine the genre from a literary and a practical perspective. Lee will share the techniques that are the anchoring elements of the creative nonfiction essay or book, and lead a unique exercise to deconstruct creative nonfiction works, to discover the elements.
THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL GENRE FICTION WHEN: Sat 25 Aug, 2pm – 5pm CODE: 7307 COST: $120/$100 Stephanie Laurens has 49 published works available in print and digital formats, including a staggering 28 New York Times bestsellers. This masterclass will focus on the critical elements of successful genre fiction - voice, story, and style - and on developing a well-informed storyteller’s mindset to enable attendees to make the most of their talent. Not suitable for those not committed to writing genre fiction.
BEGINNING GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMICS WHEN: Sun 26 Aug, 10am – 1pm CODE: 7402 COST: $120/$100 Why write in pictures when words can say so much? Or if a picture is worth 1000 words, why bother with text? Illustrator and comics creator Badaude introduces the elements of comicbook storytelling and will help you towards developing your own visual language. Come with a story to tell: you don’t have to be able to draw for this workshop.
MASTERCLASS: WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION WHEN: Sun 26 Aug, 10am – 1pm CODE: 7403 COST: $120/$100 John Boyne will use a variety of historical novels to explore different authors’ methods of bringing the past to life in fiction. Point of view, research, the use of real life characters and the relationship between historical accuracy and the truth of the fiction will be discussed. Students may be required to write a short piece during the class to highlight some of these themes, so please come ready to write!
UNAVOIDABLE TRUTHS WITH ROBIN HEMLEY WHEN: Sun 26 Aug, 2 – 5pm CODE: 7401 COST: $120/$100 This workshop will cover thorny issues of writing memoir: who “owns” the story you want to tell, legal and ethical issues, when does honesty topple into the territory of Too Much Information, and how do we balance the need to be “truthful” with artistic merit? Participants should bring in a sample of their work, (three to five pages, doublespaced). The sample should get to the heart of one or more of these issues, something that represents a concern or struggle in the area of truthtelling.
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FESTIVAL EVENTS friday 24.AUG.12 8AM QVWC BREAKFAST WITH JOUMANA HADDAD VENUE:Victoria Room, QVWC CODE:9281 TICKETS: $25. Join QVWC CEO Vivia Hickman and renowned Lebanese firebrand, poet and journalist Joumana Haddad, a ferocious critic of sexism in Lebanon, whose new book, I Killed Scheherazade, unveils the hypocrisy of Arab society. (90 mins, includes a light breakfast) Presented in partnership with Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
9AM NEW NEWS OPENING VENUE:Yarra Building FREE
10AM THE ACTOR’S LIFE VENUE:BMW Edge CODE:1201 Celebrated British actor and writer, Simon Callow discusses his passion for writing and writers, on show in his latest book Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World and his stage play Being Shakespeare. A live-to-air broadcast with Michael Cathcart for ABC Radio National’s Books and Arts Daily.
WALK: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT MELBOURNE VENUE:MWF Box Office CODE:9291 PAGE: 10 With Jenny Sinclair
11:30AM TELLING AUSTRALIA’S STORY VENUE:BMW Edge CODE:1202 What responsibility do historians have to tell the whole story? What about storytellers - what debts do they owe history? Award-winning writers Tom Keneally, Mark McKenna and Marilyn Lake talk with Sylvia Lawson.
NEW NEWS: INSIDERS OR OUTSIDERS? VENUE:ACMI Cinema 1 CODE:3202 PAGE: 9 With Chris Uhlmann, Tim Dunlop, Melissa Fyfe, Sue Roff and Denis Muller.
12PM LUNCH: THE NEW YORKER: BIG STORIES, BIG IMPACT VENUE:Eureka 89 CODE:9201 PAGE: 4 With Henry Finder, David Grann and Louise Adler.
ILLUSTRATOR IN RESIDENCE: BADAUDE VENUE:The Atrium FREE
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1PM COOKING CONFIDENTIAL VENUE:BMW Edge CODE:1203 Some of our most famous food lovers talk about how their personal passion survives public scrutiny. Dani Valent (The Age) speaks with Stephanie Alexander (A Cook’s Companion), Tony Bilson (Insatiable) and novelist Charlotte Wood (Love & Hunger) about what remains hidden in their pantries.
NEW NEWS: TWEETS FROM THE STREET VENUE:ACMI Cinema 1 CODE:3203 PAGE: 9 With Andy Carvin (NPR), Tim van Gelder (Your View), Derryn Hinch, Adrian Lowe (The Age), Kerry O’Shea and Margaret Simons.
of the Year 2012 Awards, (announced at our Opening Keynote), read from their winning works and discuss their writing with Jason Steger. Proudly supported by The Age, a festival major partner
NEW NEWS: LIVING WITH THE FINK?
also novelists, journalists and performers respectively. They talk with Ellen Koshland (The Poet’s Voice) about poetry’s ability to express ideas and sentiments, how to read a poem and why indeed you should. Proudly supported by Melbourne Poets Union
VENUE:ACMI Cinema 1 CODE:4205 PAGE: 9
6PM
With Julian Disney, Matthew Ricketson, Alan Sunderland, Phil Gardner and Denis Muller.
VENUE: Melbourne Recital Centre PAGE: 11
4PM
BOOKINGS melbournerecital.com.au or 03 9699 3333.
THE NEW YORKER: THE ART GAME VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1205
COLLIDER: SOLO IN RED
Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre and Collider in association with Melbourne Writers Festival
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With Peter Schjeldahl and Tony Ellwood. Chaired by Michael Cathcart (ABC Radio National Books and Art Daily). Proudly supported by the Hart Line subfund of Australian Communities Foundation
BIG IDEAS: NEW NEWS: GOTCHA! A HYPOTHETICAL IN THREE ACTS VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1206 PAGE: 9
VENUE:MWF Box Office CODE:9295 PAGE: 10
5:30PM
With Sophie Cunningham
VENUE:ACMI Studio 1 CODE:4207 Why choose poetry? Is poetry still changing lives? Former UK Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion, poetry editor Gig Ryan (The Age) and Luka Lesson (Centre for Poetics and Justice) are poets, and
With Peter Clarke, Gay Alcorn, Nick McKenzie,Andrew Crook, Neil Mitchell, Justin Quill and Kathy Bowlen.Proudly presented by the Centre for Advanced Journalism at the University of Melbourne, supported by Melbourne Press Club and Copyright Agency Limited
2PM WALK: FINDING MELBOURNE’S HEART AND SOUL
2:30PM THE AGE BOOK OF THE YEAR READING VENUE:BMW Edge CODE:1204 PAGE: 5 The winners of The Age Book
HOW TO READ A POEM
PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS We read in search of answers to life’s questions, whether they are the deepest contemplations or the small, everyday considerations. This year, Melbourne Writers Festival brings together some of the world’s leading thinkers to guide and challenge us. Moral philosopher Martha Nussbaum will question the absence of the human dimension in definitions of wealth, and discuss the meaning of modern ethical living with Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh. Holloway will talk about his chosen path away from the church, and question its future with Geoffrey Blainey (A Short History of Christianity). US intellectual Kwame Anthony Appiah will explain how collective shame has influenced key moments of history.
THE THIRD ANNUAL PHILANTHROPY AND ETHICS FORUM: EDUCATION, DEMOCRACY AND PHILANTHROPY
WHEN: SUN 2 SEP 1PM TICKETS: $21.50/$19.50 WHERE: BMW EDGE
Are schools too focussed on producing workers rather than citizens? Are there insoluble links between education and democracy? Does the source of funding matter? Martha Nussbaum (University of Chicago), John Daley (Grattan Institute), Ellen Koshland (Foundation for Young Australians) and John Hattie (Melbourne Education Research Institute) consider philanthropy’s role in shaping the best education for all children. Chaired by Peter Clarke.Proudly supported by the Australian Communities Foundation
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FESTIVAL EVENTS saturday 25.AUG.12 10AM THE FIRST CASUALTY VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1301 Tom Keneally (The Daughters of Mars) and Ross McMullin (Farewell, Dear People and Pompey Elliott) talk with Bruce Scates (On Dangerous Ground: A Gallipoli Story) about infusing history with narrative to get to the truth of war. Proudly supported by Monash University
IN CONVERSATION: SIR ANDREW MOTION VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3301 Sir Andrew Motion, the UK’s Poet Laureate for a decade, talks with Chris WallaceCrabbe about his distinguished literary career, from his poetry to biography and Silver, his rollicking sequel to the classic Treasure Island.Proudly supported by the University of Melbourne School of Culture and Communication
MONEY? DON’T WORRY VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4301 Philosopher John Armstrong talks with Antoni Jach about how financial anxieties divert us from thinking about what’s really important.
THE MORNING READ VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Start your day with Angela
Meyer, as she hosts readings with Majok Tulba, Sloane Crosley, Zoe Foster and Gig Ryan.
THE MAN AND HIS FACE VENUE: NGV Theatrette CODE: 9301 Patrick White’s face became one of the most famous in Australia. In this illustrated lecture, his biographer David Marr charts White’s life in his face, from society child to angry prophet.
NEW NEWS: TEXTBOOK JOURNALISM VENUE: The Wheeler Centre FREE Alex Wake, Matthew Ricketson, Chris Nash and current journalism students talk with Nick Richardson about whether tertiary courses are delivering the next generation of gun journos.
11AM MEET THE GRIMSTONES VENUE: ArtPlay CODE: 5301 PAGE: 12 With AsphyxiaThis event will be signed in AUSLAN and spoken.
WALK: ECLECTIC BOOKSHOPS - EAST VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9391 PAGE: 10 With Shelley Cohney
11:30AM
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IN CONVERSATION: STEVE BRACKS VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1302 Victoria’s longest-serving Labor premier, Steve Bracks, reflects on life in and out of politics, with George Megalogenis (The Australian).
THE NEW YORKER: WHAT’S THE STORY? VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3302 PAGE: 4 With Henry Finder, David Grann, Sasha Frere-Jones and Michelle Griffin.Proudly supported by the Hart Line subfund of Australian Communities Foundation
HUMANISING THE VIRUS VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4302 For his new book Our Kind of People, New York-based Uzodinma Iweala returned to Nigeria to talk to AIDSravaged communities about the realities of life on a continent devastated by disease. He talks with Peter Mares.Launch:
I CONFESS REVELATIONS IN EXILE VENUE: Yarra Building FREE In a damp, dark basement in the slums, a young boy frantically carves a Star of David onto the rough wall. As he takes an oath on the sacred symbol, overhead, the first horrifying cries of the Islamic
Revolution shake the streets. A true story of Jewish survival and betrayal in Iran.
transform lives. Chaired by Antoni Jach.Proudly supported by The Smith Family
MEET LEIGH HOBBS
CENSORSHIP, THE BODY AND PORN
VENUE: NGV Theatrette CODE: 9303 PAGE 12
NEW NEWS INCUBATOR: CROWDSOURCING A NEW PUBLICATION VENUE: The Wheeler Centre FREE Join Daniel May, Fiona Armstrong, Paul Ramadge, Bronwen Clune and Croakey blogger Melissa Sweet to help gestate a new media startup.
12PM ILLUSTRATOR IN RESIDENCE: ROZ CHAST VENUE: The Atrium FREE
12:30PM THAT’S NOT A DAFFODIL & TEN BLUE WRENS STENCIL WORKSHOP VENUE: ArtPlay CODE: 5302 PAGE: 12 With Elizabeth Honey
1PM WHY I READ VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1303 Authors Drusilla Modjeska, Sir Andrew Motion and Sloane Crosley discuss the power of literacy and literature to
VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3303 Jeff Sparrow (Money Shot), David Marr (The Henson Case) and Joumana Haddad, editor of controversial Lebanese erotic magazine Jasad, put some adult content into the censorship debate, with Lynne Haultain.Proudly supported by Vice
WORK IN PROGRESS VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4303 Eminent historian Geoffrey Blainey and Gideon Haigh (The Office: A Hardworking History) talk with chair Catherine Gardner about how we are defined by work and whether it’s always been this way.
LAUNCH: A BIT OF DIFFERENCE VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Sefi Atta’s third novel, A Bit of Difference, takes us into contemporary middle-class Nigeria as seen through the eyes of returned expatriate and financier Deola.
CREATIVE NONFICTION Creative Nonfiction is the world’s leading literary journal of non-fiction prose (sometimes known as narrative or literary non-fiction). It is the strongest advocate for such writing, and defines the ethics and parameters of the field. Melbourne Writers Festival is proud to present a day dedicated to the disciplines of literary journalism, memoir and personal essay, under the auspices of the founder and editor of this legendary journal, Lee Gutkind.LAUNCH: CREATIVE NONFICTIONOn Saturday 1 September, editor Lee Gutkind (pictured above) will deliver a keynote address and launch Creative Nonfiction’s first Australianthemed issue, in a free event. Prizes valued at almost $10,000 will be awarded for the best two essays.Vanity
Fair proclaimed Gutkind ‘the Godfather’ behind creative nonfiction, the fastest growing genre in the publishing industry. Founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction, he has written 15 books, including his latest handbook You Can’t Make This Stuff Up, and edited 18 collections in the past 25 years. Don’t miss the chance to hear from this master of factual storytelling.
PANELS, SEMINARS AND MASTERCLASS Throughout the day, join some of the world’s leading exponents of creative nonfiction as they discuss their writing. In addition, Lee Gutkind will conduct a seminar on the foundations and future of the genre, whilst experienced writers can join Lee for a masterclass on Sunday 2 September.
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FESTIVAL EVENTS Sunday 26.AUG.12 10AM A FINE ROMANCE VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1401 Regency queen Stephanie Laurens (The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae), crosscultural chick-lit author Sumudu Dharmapala (The Wedding Season) and blue-ribbon rural romancer Rachael Treasure (The Girl and the Ghost-Grey Mare) tell Caroline Lowry why they love writing about love. Proudly supported by D Publishing
IN CONVERSATION: TOM KENEALLY VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3401 Tom Keneally’s first novel was published in 1964 and his most recent, Daughter of Mars, in 2012. This Booker Prize-winner talks with David Francis about his longevity as a writer, his most recent novel and his narrative national history Australians.
IN CONVERSATION: ROBIN HEMLEY VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4405 Robin Hemley is a stalwart of American literature, possessing that unique ability to turn even the most mundane aspects of life into great writing. The author of ten books, including the Guggenheim Fellowshipawarded DO OVER! talks
with David Carlin about his unique meld of fiction and non-fiction.
THE MORNING READ VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Start your day with the Festival’s early bird, Angela Meyer, as she hosts readings with Sefi Atta, Carrie Tiffany, Honey Brown and Uzodinma Iweala.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER VENUE: ArtPlay CODE: 5401 PAGE: 12 With Anna Walker
WALK: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT MELBOURNE VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9491 PAGE: 10 With Jenny Sinclair
11AM WALK: MELBOURNE STREET ART TOURS VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE:9492 PAGE: 10 With Adrian Doyle
11:30AM YOU ANIMALS VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1402 To treat animals as we do, we must separate ourselves from them. Where do they fit in our urbanised world? And where do we fit in the
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animal kingdom? Sonya Hartnett (The Children of the King), Charlotte Wood(Animal People), Tim Flannery (Here on Earth) and Anna Krien (Us and Them) discuss our complex relationships with domesticated, farmed and wild animals with chair Hilary Harper.
THE NEW YORKER: THEORIES OF EVERYTHING
SEIZING THE AUSTRALIAN MOMENT
WALK: JJ CLARK AND THE AUSTRALIAN RENAISSANCE
VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3402 George Megalogenis (The Australian Moment) says our institutions and intuition have delivered the best economy left standing in the developed world. Laura Tingle (Great Expectations) says that we have unrealistic expectations of what our largest institution - government - can deliver. How do we seize the moment and restore our faith in politics? They talk with Michael Gordon (The Age).
LAUNCH: VERANDAH 27 VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Clear the decks for the launch of Verandah 27, the art and literary journal produced out of Deakin University’s Professional and Creative Writing course, showcasing art, poetry and prose from some of the best emerging talent. Proudly supported by Deakin University
VENUE: NGV Theatrette CODE: 9401 PAGE: 4 With Roz ChastProudly supported by the Hart Line subfund of Australian Communities Foundation
VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9493 PAGE: 10 With Andrew Dodd
12PM A Stretch of the Imagination VENUE: ArtPlay CODE: 5402 PAGE: 12 With Tohby Riddle.
ILLUSTRATOR IN RESIDENCE: SUE DEGENNARO VENUE: The Atrium FREE
1PM IN CONVERSATION: GILLIAN MEARS VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1403 Her first novel in 16 years, the Miles Franklinshortlisted Foal’s Bread, has immediately returned Gillian Mears to the literary spotlight. The award-winning author of Ride a Cock Horse, The Mint Lawn and The
Grass Sister talks with Ramona Koval about her life, living with MS, and her love of northern NSW, so often the setting for her writing.
THE NEW YORKER: DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3403 PAGE: 4 With Sasha Frere-Jones and Robert Forster.Proudly supported by the Hart Line subfund of Australian Communities Foundation
WHO SPEAKS FOR THE 99%? VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4402 After the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, has resistance returned to politics or simply found a stronger voice? Protest, occupation, claiming public space … is something coherent going on? Sylvia Lawson (Demanding the Impossible), Jeff Sparrow (Left Turn, Overland) and Matthew Gordon (Our Say) fly the resistance flag, with chair Ali Alizadeh.Proudly supported by Monash University
FESTIVAL EVENTS Monday-Thursday
27.AUG.12 - 30.AUG.12 MON 27 AUG 7.30PM A TASTE OF THE LAND AT SARTI VENUE: Sarti CODE: 9581 PAGE: 10 Adventurous diners will love this Indigenous- Calabrian
players really gods who, on a very special Sabbath, battle for the Holy Grail? Or is football a cult, a lifestyle or simply a sport? Historian Joy Damousi; Catholic priest Father Kevin Dillon; writer John Harms; Anglican Bishop Philip Huggins; writer and broadcaster Angela Pippos.
themed dinner with Riccardo Momesso, Aunty Carolyn
TUE 28 AUG 6.30PM
BIG IDEAS: TELLING THE WORLD’S STORIES: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE JOURNALISTS LEAVE?
CODE: 1605 PAGE: 7 With Andy Carvin, Susanna Hla Hla Soe, Dorothy Wickham, Domenic Friguglietti and chair Jo Chandler.Proudly supported by One Just World
7:30PM BALI DREAMING VENUE: Wantilan Bali CODE: 9681 PAGE: 10 Enjoy an evening of Balinese cuisine and culture with Inez Baranay, Ruby J Murray and Janet De Neefe.
VENUE: BMW Edge
7:30PM GUY AND MAMMA GROSSI AT MERCHANT VENUE: Merchant CODE: 9781 PAGE: 10 A celebration of family and food, with four courses and wine at Guy Grossi’s Venetian
osteria Merchant. This much-loved chef will be in conversation with his mother about the food they grew up with in Italy’s northeast, and Guy will demonstrate the art of gnocchi and Italian hospitality.
NED KELLY AWARDS VENUE: The Toff in Town FREE
PAGE: 11 A night of intrigue, suspense and revelation at Australia’s leading crime-writing awards with host Jane Clifton, Gabrielle Lord, Rochelle.
THURS 30 AUG 6:30PM QUEEN VICTORIA
WED 29 AUG 7PM THE GREAT FOOTBALL DEBATE VENUE: St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral CODE: 9004 TICKETS: $10 Is the MCG Mecca? Are fans loyal disciples? And are the
WOMEN’S CENTRE KEYNOTE ADDRESS: SPEAKING AUSTRALIAN WITH GERMAINE GREER VENUE: Athenaeum Theatre CODE: 9803 PAGE: 5 Proudly supported by Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
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FESTIVAL EVENTS Friday 31.AUG.12 10AM ON CHRISTIANITY: PAST & FUTURE VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1901 The Bishop who walked away from the church, Richard Holloway (Leaving Alexandria) talks with eminent historian Geoffrey Blainey (A Short History of Christianity) about the evolution of Christianity, its principles, its contributions to history, its dogmatic stances and its future. Is Christianity a dying force or an indispensible plank of Western civilisation? Chaired by Morag Fraser.
PHYSICS ON THE FRINGE VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3901 In Physics on the Fringe, award-winning science writer Margaret Wertheim profiles ‘outsider physicists’, non-academics with their own theories of the universe. Margaret also discusses her Institute For Figuring, whose Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project is perhaps the biggest art/science community project in the world. Chaired by Wilson da Silva.Proudly supported by Cosmos Magazine
THE MORNING READ VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Start your day with the Festival’s early bird, Angela Meyer, as she hosts readings with Claire Bidwell Smith, Åsa
Larsson, Eowyn Ivey and CS Lakshmi.
ABC RADIO NATIONAL BOOKS AND ARTS DAILY VENUE: Atrium FREE Join host Michael Cathcart and guests for a live broadcast of Books and Arts Daily direct from Federation Square.
11AM WALK: ECLECTIC BOOKSHOPS - EAST VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9991 PAGE: 10 With Shelley Cohney1
1:30AM IN CONVERSATION: PATRICK GALE VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1902 Patrick Gale speaks with chair Peter Pierce about his life, work and his fourteenth novel, A Perfectly Good Man. Patrick discusses why he considers this novel, which explores the banality of evil and the complexity of goodness, an ‘echo chamber’ of his bestselling Notes from an Exhibition.
AUSTRALIA’S PLACE IN THE ASIAN CENTURY VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3902 What’s Australia’s relationship to Asia? Is it cultural as well as financial and strategic? Barbara Demick (Los Angeles
14 MELBOURNE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Times Beijing bureau chief), Marcus Westbury (writer and festival director), David Uren (The Quarry and the Kingdom) and Tim Soutphommasane (commentator and government adviser) discuss whether Australia ‘gets’ its regional neighbours.
MAKING ROBOTS THINK VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Founder and editor of renowned literary journal Creative Nonfiction, Lee Gutkind has written gripping books about baseball, healthcare, organ transplant and more. He discusses the need for great narrative non-fiction, and his latest book, Almost Human: Making Robots Think. Chaired by Leah Kaminsky.Proudly supported by Cosmos Magazine
12PM LUNCH: OUR GLOBAL ECONOMY VENUE: Sofitel Melbourne CODE: 9982 PAGE: 10 John Ralston Saul and John de Graaf with Adele Ferguson. (90 mins)Proudly supported by The Responsible Investment Association Australasia
ILLUSTRATOR IN RESIDENCE: MIRRANDA BURTON VENUE: The Atrium FREE
12:30PM QVWC LUNCH WITH MARTHA NUSSBAUM VENUE: Victoria Room, QVWC CODE: 9981 TICKETS: $25 The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre’s CEO Vivia Hickman hosts a light lunch with one of the world’s foremost philosophers, Martha Nussbaum, professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago. Her latest books The New Religious Intolerance and Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, examine political philosophy, social justice and moral psychology. (90 mins)Presented in partnership with the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
1PM ISRAEL’S DIRECTION VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1903 Is there a two-state solution that will satisfy Israel? Can there be a liberal Zionism? Are the politics of Israel serving the state well? Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk and philosopher Raimond Gaita (ed. Gaza: Morality, Law and Politics) consider the Israeli state’s current direction and the key internal debates underway, with chair Louise Adler.
IN CONVERSATION: ELLIOT PERLMAN VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3903 Elliot Perlman’s monumental novel, The Street Sweeper, takes in the civil rights movement in contemporary New York and the Holocaust. What drives this internationally acclaimed author (Three Dollars) to stories exploring the dignity of individuals in the worst circumstances? Chaired by Corrie Perkin.
THOUGHTS ON THOUGHTS VENUE: Yarra Building FREE In Pieces of Mind, the cognitive neuroscientist and raconteur Michael Corballis explores some of the amazing things the human brain is capable of, including composing music, thinking about thinking, and bullshitting. Join him for some mind-bending revelations and provocative mythbusting. Chaired by Chris Krishna-Pillay. Proudly supported by Cosmos Magazine and New Zealand Book Council
1:30PM WALK: MELBOURNE STREET ART TOURS VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9992 PAGE: 10 With Adrian Doyle
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FESTIVAL EVENTS Saturday 1.SEP.12 10AM IN CONVERSATION: JOHN LANCHESTER VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1102 The London Review of Books’ John Lanchester talks with Jason Steger about his extraordinary range of writing: from awardwinning novels (The Debt to Pleasure) and memoir (Family Romance), to his recent GFC primer Whoops! and his work as The Guardian’s restaurant critic. His latest is Capital, a richly layered novel set in a fictional London street.
SEX AND SENSIBILITY VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3101 When writing about sex, how much is too much? Do women and men write differently about sex? Susan Johnson (My Hundred Lovers), Chris Flynn (A Tiger in Eden) and Emily Maguire (Smoke in the Room) join Enza Gandolfo to discuss whether it’s better to be coy or coital.Proudly supported by Victorian UniversityIn
CONVERSATION: UDAY PRAKASH VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4101 One of contemporary Hindi’s most important writers, Uday Prakash is a poet, author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright
and filmmaker. Winner of the Sahitya Akademi award, one of India’s highest literary honours, he talks with Kabita Dhara about his incredible breadth of work, including his latest satirical book of three novellas, The Walls of Delhi.Proudly supported by the University of Western Sydney, Writing and Society Research Centre
THE MORNING READ VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Start your day with the Festival’s early bird, Angela Meyer, as she hosts readings with Chris Cleave, Mark Watson, Sharankumar Limbale and Toni Jordan.
SEMINAR: CREATIVE NONFICTION VENUE: The Wheeler Centre CODE: 7907 PAGE: 24 With Lee Gutkind
11:30AM IN CONVERSATION: RICHARD HOLLOWAY VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1103 Richard Holloway resigned as Episcopalian Bishop of Edinburgh in 2000 and found himself walking away from Christianity. In his memoir, Leaving Alexandria, he condemns what he sees as dogmatic rules overriding compassion and an insistence on Biblical truth failing to recognise the
16 MELBOURNE WRITERS FESTIVAL
powers of imagination and myth. He talks with Miriam Cosic.
Kate will speak briefly about First Light before reading from the collection.
enabler. Chair Stephen Mayne. Proudly supported by The Evatt Foundation
WHATEVER GINA WANTS
STORIES AND SYSTEMS
BEARING WITNESS
VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3102 Recently crowned richest woman in the world Gina Rinehart is looking to extend her influence from mining to media. What are the responsibilities of Australia’s wealthiest citizen? Rinehart’s biographer Adele Ferguson talks with Gideon Haigh about the woman who will earn $2m during the course of their conversation.
VENUE: NGV Theatrette CODE: 9101 Videogames not only tell stories, they provide spaces for unique, personal stories to emerge. Join games writers, players, and makers Paul Callaghan, Christy Dena, Alison Croggon and chair Dan Golding as they talk about the narratives at the heart of the games they love. What new stories emerged through play? Proudly supported by Freeplay Independent Games Festival
IN CONVERSATION: DAVID VANN VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4102 Alaskan David Vann might be considered an author of family tragedies, given his internationally bestselling debut Legend of a Suicide, for which he drew upon his father’s suicide, Caribou Island and his latest, Dirt. He discusses his grim but unflinchingly honest fiction with Estelle Tang
LAUNCH: FIRST LIGHT VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Giramondo Publishing warmly invites you to the launch of First Light, the new book of poetry by musician and poet Kate Fagan, to be launched by Michael Farrell.
12PM ILLUSTRATOR IN RESIDENCE: OSLO DAVIS VENUE: The Atrium FREE
1PM $ MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1104 Is capitalism the worst system, except for all the others? Must all our endeavours be in support of the global economy? John de Graaf (Affluenza), John Quiggin (Zombie Economics) and Jane Gleeson-White (Double Entry) consider whether money can lose its status as the ultimate
VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3103 Twenty years after the Bosnian War, US journalist Barbara Demick’s award-winning on-the-ground coverage has been updated in Besieged: Life Under Fire on a Sarajevo Street. She talks about bearing witness to atrocity, as well as more hidden oppressions, including those in North Korea, which she describes in her Samuel Johnson prize-winning Nothing to Envy. Chaired by Rafael Epstein, presenter of Drive on 774 ABC Melbourne.
MEMOIR: FACT OR FICTION? VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4103 What is the impulse for memoir writing? To preserve? To offer a yardstick? Claire Bidwell Smith (The Rules of Inheritance), Sydney Smith (The Lost Woman) and Barry Dickins (Barry and the Fairies of Miller Street) talk with Enza Gandolfo about whether the aim is to lay the truth bare, or to discover it.
FESTIVAL EVENTS Sunday 2.SEP.12
10AM STILL GREAT BRITAIN? VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1111 After the riots, Hackgate, the Olympics and even the Diamond Jubilee, is Britain wishing for some time out of the spotlight? Is it still a world leader, and does it want to be? The Wheeler Centre’s Jenny Niven is joined by John Lanchester (Capital), Chris Cleave (Gold) and Susan Johnson (My Hundred Lovers) to discuss the greatness of Britain.
IN CONVERSATION: ALEX MILLER VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE:3111 One of our literary greats, Alex Miller, two-times Miles Franklin-winner (The Ancestor Game and Journey to the Stone Country), talks with Morag Fraser about his life and what drives his writing, including his latest novel, Autumn Laing, drawing on the passions and heartache of the artists and patrons of Heide.
THE MORNING READ VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Start your day with the Festival’s early bird, Angela Meyer, as she hosts readings with writers Michael Duffy, Paul Carter, Amy Espeseth and Emily Perkins.
WALK: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT MELBOURNE VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9193 PAGE: 10 With Jenny Sinclair
11AM WALK: MELBOURNE STREET ART TOURS VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9194 PAGE: 10 With Adrian Doyle
11:30AM CAMPAIGN IN POETRY, GOVERN IN PROSE VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1112 Obama’s campaign oratory was so powerful it not only won him the Presidency, it inspired people around the world. Sally Warhaft asks Don Watson (American Journeys), Martin Indyk (Bending History) and Tom Clark (Victoria University) if there’s something to learn from the American brilliance for rhetoric. Or are they just the masters of spin?
ON THE WING VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3112 An exploration of the beauty and biology of birds, from the perspectives of science, art and nature. Nobel Prize-winner Peter Doherty, art historian Janine Burke, and author and birdwatcher Sean Dooley discuss their fascination with our feathered friends.
INSIDE ASIA
12PM
VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4111 Two travellers cross paths and compare notes. One of the world’s most respected travel writers, Pico Iyer, known for Video Night in Kathmandu, is a veteran Asia visitor. Benjamin Law recently tested life as a gay man in Asia for his latest, Gaysians. They talk with Alicia Sometimes about the allure of the Asian continent.
ILLUSTRATOR IN RESIDENCE: ALISON LESTER
LAUNCH: VERGE
VENUE: BMW Edge CODE: 1113 Are schools too focussed on producing workers rather than citizens? Are there insoluble links between education and democracy? Does the source of funding matter? Martha Nussbaum (University of Chicago), John Daley (Grattan Institute), Ellen Koshland (Foundation for Young Australians) and John Hattie (Melbourne Education Research Institute) consider philanthropy’s role in shaping the best education for all children, chaired by Peter Clarke.Proudly supported by Australian Communities Foundation
VENUE: Yarra Building CODE: 8112 Explore the opposite and the upside down as Monash University’s creative writing students launch the latest edition of their annual anthology, Verge. Featuring poetry, short fiction and illustrations from Monash students and the wider literary community the theme of this issue is ‘Inverse’. Proudly supported by Monash University
WALK: JJ CLARK AND THE AUSTRALIAN RENAISSANCE VENUE: MWF Box Office CODE: 9195 PAGE: 10 With Andrew Dodd
VENUE: The Atrium FREE
1PM THE THIRD ANNUAL PHILANTHROPY AND ETHICS FORUM: EDUCATION, DEMOCRACY AND PHILANTHROPY
FATHER’S DAY VENUE: ACMI Cinema 1 CODE: 3113 Instead of gift-wrapped socks, here’s a Father’s Day package of writers discussing relationships with fathers, being a dad, not being a dad, absent fathers, the importance
of father figures and the responsibilities of fatherhood. Join Patrick Gale, Deborah Robertson and Tony Birch for a chat about all things Dad. Chaired by Toni Jordan.
THE CODE OF LIFE VENUE: ACMI Studio 1 CODE: 4112 Award-winning science writer Elizabeth Finkel explains the science and the debates about genome research in her latest book, The Genome Generation. Can we develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine? What are the implications of tracing our ancestral genetic makeup? How can understanding DNA change our lives? Chaired by Dr Krystal Evans.
LAUNCH: DANCING WITH EMPTY POCKETS VENUE: Yarra Building FREE Celebrate our most creative outsiders at the launch of historian Tony Moore’s Dancing with Empty Pockets: Australia’s Bohemians, a chronicle of the nation’s eccentric and irreverent counterculture figures; from poets, painters, novelists, journalists and philosophers, to actors, filmmakers, comedians and hackers.
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FESTIVAL INFO How to Book & Venues
VEUES IN FEDERATION SQUARE TRAM STOPS: 70, 75,CITY CIRCLE
ST PAUL’S CATHERDRAL
TOILETS ATM
BUS STOPS ENTRANCE
RUSSEL STREET EXIT
TRAM STOPS: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 16, 22, 64, 67, 72
BOX OFFICE
FLINDERS STREET
FLINDERS STREET STATION
ACMI DYMOCKS FESTIVAL BOOKSHOP
VISITOR CENTRE ACMI ACMI STUDIO CINEMAS 1+2 1
NGV THEATRETTE
ANTRIUM SWANSTON STREET
BUS STOPS
ENTRANCE
THE IAN POTTER CENTRE: NGV AUSTRALIA
PLAZA ENTRANCE BIG SCREEN YARRA BUILDING BMW EDGE
PRINCES BRIDGE
RIVER TERRACE
PEDES T
RIAN A CCESS
TO CARPARK
FESTIVAL PASSES CONCESSIONS Concessions apply to children (16 years and under), full-time students, pensioners, seniors, The Age subscribers and members of Writers Victoria. Companion Card holders may book in person at our box office, via phone on 03 9999 1199 or email to ticketing@mwf.com.au. A copy of a valid Companion Card is required. SUPPORT THE FESTIVAL BY MAKING A DONATION Your support is essential in assisting us to make festival events more accessible to audiences. Donate today and help MWF connect with the world’s best writers and involve more children in literary activity. Donations of $2 and more are tax deductible.
Simply add a donation to your cart with your ticket purchase. A receipt will be issued after your payment. Thank you! SCHOOLS’ PROGRAM Our schools’ program events (Monday 27 August to Thursday 30 August) are $7 per person. All adults and children are welcome. Schools’ program Workshops and Film Screenings are $10 per person and are for school groups only. Our schools’ program can be downloaded from mwf.com.au/ schools. For further information on passes and how to book events on a pass call 9999 1199 or visit mwf.com.au.
TO ARTPLAY, BIRRARUNG MARR 100M YARRA RIVER
FEDERATION SQUARE
DISABILITY ACCESS
Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) ACMI Cinema 1 ACMI Cinema 2 ACMI Studio 1
Melbourne Writers Festival welcomes people with disabilities and we are constantly working on ways to improve the experience for all. All venues have disabled access. Please call 03 9999 1199 to book seats with wheelchair access. Selected events will have Auslan interpreters and many venues provide hearing loops. Visit mwf.com.au for more info
BMW Edge Beer DeLuxe (Festival Club) NGV Theatrette at theIan Potter Centre, NGV Art Play, Birrarung Marr Yarra Building
18 MELBOURNE WRITERS FESTIVAL
GETTING TO THE FESTIVAL Fed Square is easily reached by public transport. The closest train station is Flinders Street. Trams run along Swanston Street and Flinders Street, stopping right outside Fed Square. Timetable information is available from Public Transport Victoria on 1800 800 007 or at ptv.vic. gov.au. Free bike racks are available in and around
Fed Square. Public car parking is available at Fed Square and in Flinders Lane. A taxi rank is located across the road from Fed Square outside Flinders Street station.
ASSISTANCE For any assistance during the festival, please ask one of our volunteers or staff, or go to any of our information points in Fed Square.
OTHER VENUES ABC Studios 8 Gordon St, Elsternwick Athenaeum Theatre 188 Collins St Deakin University 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood Eureka 89 Level 89, Eureka Tower Riverside Quay, Southbank Immigration Museum 400 Flinders St
please include email address if possible
CCV NO. )BACK of Card)
Adult
Concession
Paperback
$95
$85
Hardback
$350
n/a
First Edition
$1,000
n/a
New News
$100
$90
$21.50
$19.50
Regular Events*
CARD HOLDERS SIGNITURE:
General Admission
Name on Credit Card:
Expirary Date
Card Number
Visa Mastercard
Credit Card
Cheque (made payable to Melbourne Writers Festival Inc)
Includes GST
Email:
Postcode: Mobile:
Postal Address:
Full Name:
PAYMENT DETAILS
Passes
Keynote Event – Simon Callow, Melbourne Town Hall Reserved Seating
CONCESSION CARD PHOTOCOPY STAPLE HERE
Include all concession details or attach a photocopy. Companion card holders must attach a photocopy.
Card number/Membership number
$40ˆ
$30
Keynote Event – A Night with the New Yorker, Melbourne Town Hall Reserved Seating
$50ˆ
$40ˆ
Keynote Event – Germaine Greer, The Athenaeum General Admission
CONCESSION DETAILS
TICKET SLIP
TICKETS
$40ˆ
$30
Keynote Event – Closing Night Address with Robert Dessaix, BMW Edge General Admission
$30
$27
Big Ideas at BMW Edge General Admission
$30
$27ˆ
•Price Includes GST* •‘Regular Events’ do not include Keynote events, Big Ideas, music and performance, professional development, walks, restaurant events, and other special events. All events without a price listed are regular events. For ticket prices to special events, please refer to the individual event listings in this program or go to mwf.com.au. Transaction Fee: A modest booking fee may apply to each transaction. Visit mwf.com.au for more information. All information correct at time of printing. Program subject to change.
MELBOURNE
WRITERS
FESTIVAL mwf.com.au Level 1, 176 Lt Lonsdale Street, The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne VIC 3000 T 03 9094 7859 F 03 9650 6467 E admin@mwf.com.au W mwf.com.au BOX OFFICE 03 9999 1199