SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER
SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER
Welcome to Country
Dr Jodi Edwards is a Yuin woman with Dharawal kinship connection who has dedicated her life to community, culture, education and language. She delivers the Welcome Address for this year’s festival.
1:15–1:30pm
Mr Wollongong
Former mayor of Wollongong Frank Arkell was flamboyant, successful, well-off and a relentless champion of the city he loved. But there was a sinister, dark underside to his life that involved predatory sexual behaviour towards young boys as part of an alleged paedophile ring of powerful men. In his book Politics, Pride and Perversion, historian Erik Eklund has done forensic research to tell a story that is disturbing and continues to divide people to this day. He tells crime reviewer and scholar Sue Turnbull how he uncovered the secrets of Arkell’s network and his brutal murder.
1:30–2:30pm
True Locals
Four locals—music writer Jeff Apter, business writer Erin O’Dwyer, Electrify Everything guru Saul Griffiths and Voice referendum advocate Jeremy Lasek—tell ABC Wollongong host Melinda James about their newest books AND recommend something they’ve watched, read or heard that they think is worth sharing. And we’d love to hear what you’ve read, watched and listened to as well, so come prepared!
2:45–3:45pm
Big Lives
Two of the best new Australian biographers talk about how they bring to life remarkable lives that deserve another look. Vicki Hastrich celebrates deep sea fishing champion and millionaire author Zane Grey, who spent time fishing for marlin on the South Coast of NSW, while Anthony Sharwood travels in the footsteps of his hero, Enlightenment freedom fighter Tadeusz Kosciuscko—from Poland to France, from the US to our own high country—to ask how his name got given to our tallest peak. They are in conversation with Caroline Baum, host of Life Sentences, a podcast about contemporary biography.
4:00–5:00pm
A Way Forward
Stella prize-winning historian Dr Clare Wright has long been a source of inspiring stories about our past with her award-winning accounts of the Eureka Stockade and the early Australian feminist movement. We are honoured that this year she delivers our keynote address, which tells the story behind the bark petitions created by the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land to stake their claim to their country, thereby establishing a landmark legal premise. This promises to be a thought-provoking speech that no one interested in justice and a better future can afford to miss.
5:15–6:15pm
SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER
SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER
Would I Lie to You?
Nothing could be more topical than conspiracy theories, as recent events such as the tragedy at Porepunkah demonstrate; and in a so-called post-truth world, what role does scepticism have in determining who we trust and what we believe? To discuss these thorny, burning issues, we have assembled a formidable panel: Walkley award winner Ariel Bogle and her co-writer Cam Wilson, authors of Conspiracy Nation, which covers everything from pandemic origin theories to school shootings; and Tracey Kirkland, author of Beyond Doubt, in conversation with fearless media commentator Jan Fran.
10:00–11:0am
Women’s History
11:30am–12:30pm
TBA.
The F Word
It’s bandied around a lot these days in conversations about the US and right-wing politics, but what exactly is fascism and why would it prompt Sydney man Jim McNeil to go and fight against it in the Spanish Civil war, just as George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway did? Michael Samaras has uncovered a remarkable story of idealism and courage in Anti-fascists: Jim McNeil and his mates in the Spanish Civil War. Meanwhile, Dennis Glover brings the subject into the modern day in his book Repeat: A Warning from History, drawing our attention to the perils of populists, dictators and authoritarianism. This conversation is hosted by Walkley-award winning author and podcast producer Siobhan McHugh.
1:30–2:30pm
Head On
In public, they looked poised, confident and fearless, but as high-profile social researcher Rebecca Huntley (Sassafras) and acclaimed musical star of Les Mis Josh Piterman (Behind the Mask) both admit, they have been haunted by trauma and anxiety. So how did they find a way to cope? They talk candidly with award-winning author and celebrant Dr Jackie Bailey.
2:50–3:50pm