South Coast Readers & Writers Festival 2024 Sessions
Saturday 13 July
Welcome Address
10.00-10.15am
By 2024 Wollongong Citizen of the Year Aunty Barbara Nicholson.
Palestine
10.20-11.15am
Journalist, author, and filmmaker Antony Loewenstein’s book, The Palestine Laboratory, has been called “a triumph of investigative journalism.”
He discusses this Walkley Award winning work on Israel’s technology of occupation, and the Gaza conflict, with Palestinian writer Sara Saleh.
Yarning Poetry
10.20-11.15am
Join award-winning author, artist and proud Gunai woman Kirli Saunders (OAM) and Australian-born Māori poet Anne-Marie Te Whiu
as they yarn about First Nations poetry with Judi Morison.
Happy Families
11.30am-12.25pm
Winnie Dunn’s Dirt Poor Islanders and Emma Darragh’s Thanks for Having Me
are contemporary Australian meditations on family, culture, selfhood and belonging.
Their authors discuss family dynamics with Chrissy Howe.
The Business of Publishing
11.30am-12.25pm
What’s going on in the business of publishing?
Author Dinuka McKenzie, editor Michael Earp and Collins Thirroul bookseller Amanda Isler
unpack the secrets, concerns and successes of the publishing business with Meredith Jaffé.
The News
1.15-2.10pm
Antony Loewenstein, Bri Lee and Anne Manne are esteemed journalists, social philosophers and commentators.
No strangers to writing the news, they talk about the risks, controversies and imperatives inherent in writing current affairs with Dom Knight.
Modern Fairytale
1.15-2.10pm
What is it that keeps our love for fairytales alive? Why do we still crave new ways to connect with these old, old stories?
Author Kell Woods shares her magical debut novel After the Forest starring Hans and Greta,
and editor Michael Earp discusses the intent behind their collection Everything Under the Moon: Fairy Tales in a Queerer Light with Samson Soulsby.
The Work
2.25-3.20pm
Multi-award-winning author of Eggshell Skull, Beauty and Who Gets to Be Smart,
Bri Lee discusses her debut fiction novel The Work with Laura Brading,
a book about the intersections of love and passion, politics and power.
War Fiction
2.25-3.20pm
Parramatta Laureate in Literature Yumna Kassab, author of Politica,
and award-winning poet and novelist of Songs for the Dead and the Living, Sara Saleh, whose poetry collection The Flirtation of Girls released in 2023,
sit down with Zohra Aly to talk their novels, refugees and writing war fiction.
Wayside Chapel
3.45-4.40pm
Playwright, dramatist, librettist and director Alana Valentine shares the fascinating and deeply personal true story of the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross with Leland Kean.
Inspired by a wedding photo of her mother taken in 1969, her book Wed by the Wayside is the riveting tale of rebellion and marriage.
Poetry Showcase
3.45-5.15pm
Saturday is crowned by our all-female poetry reading showcase!
Hear poetry from Shady Cosgrove, Sara Saleh, Kirli Saunders, Julie Janson, Anne-Marie Te Whiu and Erin Shiel.
Presented by Red Room Poetry’s Nicole Smede.
Sunday 14 July
Ways to Water
10.00-11.00am
James Bradley’s latest book, Deep Water, is a hymn to the beauty, mystery and wonder of the ocean.
James talks writing, the future, and all our ways to water with Joshua Lobb.
Historical Fiction
10.00-11.00am
Both Julie Janson’s Compassion and Michelle Cahill’s Daisy & Woolf give voice to some of the overlooked women in history.
They discuss these stories and the lessons, challenges and rewards of writing authentic historical voices with Suzanne Leal.
Crime Fiction
11.15am-12.15pm
What makes crime fiction so compelling? Why do we keep coming back for more?
Halifax screenwriter, producer and novelist Roger Simpson talks all things crime with Andy Muir.
In Progress: Writing Craft
11.15am-12.15pm
In this inspired chat, Shady Cosgrove and Catherine McKinnon get into the nitty-gritty of how to give and receive feedback,
how their feedback affected these projects, what to look for in a workshopping partner,
and how workshopping strengthened and reshaped their bond.
We’re With the Band
1.00-2.00pm
Jeff Apter and Stuart Coupe have been ‘with the band’ for multiple decades.
They discuss music writing and what really goes on behind-the-scenes with our favourite musicians with journalist Mitch Jennings.
Crimes of the Cross
1.00-2.00pm
For decades the Anglican diocese of Newcastle harboured a dark secret.
Anne Manne speaks with SCWC Director Sarah Nicholson, who grew up as a parishioner in this diocese,
about her investigation into the child sex abuse network and the long struggle of survivors to bring perpetrators to justice.
To Sing of War
2.15-3.15pm
Catherine McKinnon’s latest novel, To Sing of War, is a rich, layered novel of love, war, friendship and interconnectedness.
She sits down with Caroline Baum to explore the novel’s central question of how one person can make a difference in a complex world, plus much more.
Secrets and Justice
2.15-3.15pm
Both Sarah Clutton and Suzanne Leal were lawyers before becoming novelists.
They talk with novelist Meredith Jaffé about how secrets, lies and justice feature in their fiction.
Coming of Age
3.30-4.30pm
A brutal murder in a town called Treachery?
Sounds like a case for eleven-year-old Matty Finnerty, if only he can get the local journo to play along.
Join Mitch Jennings as he launches his debut coming-of-age crime novel with Malcolm Knox.
Reading the Classics
3.30-4.30pm
What is the enduring relevance of classic literature? What's considered a classic?
How should we feel about renovating the classics for modern audiences?
Join Shakepeare Reloaded’s Lauren Weber and Susannah Fullerton, President of the Jane Austen Society,
as they explore why we still read and love the classics with Ellie Crookes.
PLUS! Writing Workshop
Stories Behind the Storyteller: Using Ancient Myth to Tell Classic Stories
Friday 12 July, Coledale Hall
Historical fiction author Siobhan O’Brien offers a two-hour workshop on the art of novel writing that explores classic storytelling.
Undertake the counterintuitive art of breaking the novel into parts and learn how to use the Greek archetypes as a guide in your novel.
FREE Young Readers & Writers Sessions
FREE Young Readers & Writers Session: Sage and the Journey of Grief
Saturday 13 July, 10.00-11.00am
Bring your middle-grade children to hear author Liv Lorkin read an excerpt from Sage and the Journey of Grief and stay for mindful colouring page activity.
FREE Young Readers & Writers Session: The Quiet and the Loud
Saturday 13 July, 11.30am-12.30pm
Helena Fox will chat about her award-winning YA novel, The Quiet and the Loud, describe her writing process, and read an excerpt from her book. As part of the event, she will also invite participants to do a short writing task where they’ll play around with the concept of ‘writing what you know’, in a way that is not at all boring.