Sydney Writers Festival
Australia’s most beloved celebration of literature, stories and ideas.
South East Arts and Bega Valley Shire Library present a LIVESTREAM of the Sydney Writers’ Festival sessions. Join us for one of Australia’s most loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling.
Saturday Program $5.00 per session
Tura Marrang Library - Saturday 27 May, 10:00am - 5:00pm
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10:00am – 11:00am: A Life In Food - Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer Culinary icons Stephanie Alexander AO and Maggie Beer have inspired generations of home cooks and fundamentally transformed how we think about food. They reflect on their decades-long friendship, and their partnership in running a cooking school for Australians in a medieval villa in Italy. They also talk about their influential books on preparing, cooking and savouring delicious food, including their co-authored Tuscan Cookbook, which was recently optioned to be made into a feature film. They are joined on stage by cook, writer and presenter Adam Liaw. |
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12:00pm – 1:00pm: Crime and Justice - Helen Garner and Hedley Thomas We are fascinated by stories of crime and how they unfold. There are no finer narrators of such stories than legendary author Helen Garner and The Teacher’s Pet podcaster Hedley Thomas, whose work explores the link between confronting terrible things that happen and the people who are involved. They sit down with Sarah Krasnostein to explore the compelling nature of crime and the pressing question of what happens when justice takes a lifetime – or if it never comes at all? |
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2:00pm – 3:00pm: Great Adaptations - bestselling authors Eleanor Catton, Holly Ringland and Tom Rob Smith Four favourite writers come together to give the lowdown on having their works adapted into TV shows and movies and adapting the work of others. Hear from Eleanor Catton, whose novels The Rehearsal and The Luminaries have made their way to the screen; Holly Ringland, whose bestseller The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is being turned into a series starring Sigourney Weaver; and Tom Rob Smith, whose novel Child 44 became a movie with Tom Hardy and whose adaptations for the screen The Assassination of Gianni Versace have won him an Emmy and a Golden Globe. They chat with Benjamin Law. |
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4:00pm – 5:00pm: The Bookbinder Of Jericho - Pip Williams Australian novelist Pip Williams drew wide acclaim for her bestselling debut, The Dictionary of Lost Words, “a marvellous fiction about the power of language to elevate or repress” (Geraldine Brooks). Her new novel, The Bookbinder of Jericho, covers similar terrain, with the story of a young British woman working in a book bindery who gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when the first world war upends her life. Pip is in conversation with Cassie McCullagh. |
Sunday Program $5.00 per session
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10:00am – 11:00am: Barrie Cassidy and Friends, State of the Nation Relive all the thrills and spills of the year in Australian politics with veteran journo Barrie Cassidy and his hand-picked squad of the country’s sharpest pundits. From ScoMo’s secret ministries to the climate reckoning of the Teal wave and the verdict on Labor’s first year in office, it’s all up for dissection as they take the pulse of the nation. Barrie shares the stage with Amy Remeikis, Niki Savva and Laura Tingle. |
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12:00pm – 1:00pm: Fifty Shades of Teal - MP Helen Haines, Simon Holmes Last year saw Teal candidates spectacularly oust Liberal Party stalwarts from once safe seats and upend the electoral rulebook. Hear from a panel with different perspectives as they consider the role of issues like climate action and political integrity in the independent candidates’ victories, what their ascension reveals about the country’s mood for change, and how they might shape our politics into the future. Independent MP and The Indi Way contributor Helen Haines, The Big Teal author Simon Holmes à Court and The Teal Revolution: Inside the Movement Changing Australian Politics author Margot Saville speak with Barrie Cassidy. |
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2:00pm – 3:00pm: Reckoning not Reconciliation With the campaign for a First Nations Voice to Parliament in full swing, leading First Nations thinkers Stan Grant and Teela Reid ask whether we are entering a new era for Australian democracy. Are we ready to speak and hear the truth about history as we move into the future? Two storytellers with different experiences and perspectives, they talk about what it means to be a First Nations person in a country that is yet to reconcile historical wrongs|. |
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4:00pm - 5pm: The Voice to Parliament: All the Detail You Need What will a Voice to Parliament actually mean? Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and legendary journalist Kerry O’Brien have worked together to write an accessible and engaging guide to this question. Whether you want to understand more about the Voice or would like some clear answers to share in conversations with others, this is a great opportunity to join an inspiring discussion of what our shared future can be. Thomas and Kerry are joined by Amanda Collinge. |