Magazine

No, we haven’t been smuggling illicit substances into the country stuffed inside cuddly toys and ‘antique’ furniture. In MWF’s tribute to season 2 of The Wire we have our very own shipping container down by the river. (Ah, season 2, what a bitter pill…)

Inside this imposing black behemoth you will find a cavalcade of free events programmed and hosted by the finest literary magazines and journals on these Antipodean shores. For those who popped their heads in last weekend, you would have borne witness to the delights provided by Overland, The Lifted Brow, Going Down Swinging and Kill Your Darlings. This weekend sees Meanjin, Ampersand, harvest and The Big Issue fronting up to stare you down.

The lineup: Meanjin (Sat 10am-130pm); Ampersand (Sat 130pm-5pm); harvest (Sun 10am-130pm); The Big Issue (Sun 130pm-5pm).

Now, what do they all have in store? I can and now will exclusively reveal a bit more than what’s in the program. Meanjin have Adrian Hyland giving us the lowdown on synaesthesia, as well as readings from Ruby Murray and Belinda Rule, and conversations betwixt eds Sophie Cunningham & Jessica Au and Ben O’Mara & Michael Harden. Bam!

Ampersand take the reins with ed Alice Gage introducing us to Bad Idea’s Dan Stacey & Alyssa McDonald, with guest spots from Miles O’Neil previewing his Fringe show and Gavin Pretor-Pinney starting a global society from his back room (or his container, in this case).

On Sunday harvest have readings from Emmett Stinson, Anjum Hasan & Jake Adelstein talking about the chapter that was cut from his book. Watch out for Poetry Fight Club too, with David Astle doing a Tyler Durden and trying to smackdown the pretenders (including, sadly, me ‘rapping’, oh dear).

The weekend comes to a close with The Big Issue trotting out the heavy hitters. China Mieville will play a huge game of exquisite corpse, Mic Looby talks columns, whilst Chris Womersley & Toni Jordan get into the nitty gritty of fiction.

Yes folks, all this is FREE. Get down to that container this weekend and be quick if you want a comfy seat. S’all in the game, yo.

Big Ideas

With so much going on during the festival, it’s hard to know where to start sometimes but every year I find myself getting to grips with it by looking at the major themes. What are the topics on everyone’s minds? What have we been thinking about this past year? What should we be talking about? With the country in the grip of election fever it’s easy to be hoodwinked into discussions about the undoubtedly important topics of how much will the winner spend on new wallpaper in the Lodge and just where does Julia get those sharp suits? But there are other, wider discussions to be had on topics that genuinely affect all of us. That’s where our Big Ideas series comes in.

It is serendipitous of course that we have former PM Bob Hawke kicking off this series at the beautiful Capitol Theatre (reason alone to attend one of these sessions if you’ve never been inside) talking about the machinations that go on in the corridors of power, the juicy behind-the-scenes stuff we all want to hear. Waleed Aly and another former PM Malcolm Fraser get to grips with what’s happening with the Liberal party on Sunday 29th in a mouthwatering session that is guaranteed to have a lot of resonance one week after the election result.

Homegrown politics aside, there are some really enticing sessions to get your teeth into on privacy, terrorism, copyright, journalism, poverty, indigenous rights & the Jewish establishment. On Sat 28th Peter Beinart gets to grips with the effects of Israel’s policies on young Jewish Americans, who he claims are abandoning their faith as a consequence. He’s followed on Sunday by economist and author Loretta Napoleoni (pictured above) who’s breaking down the links between finance and terrorism – with so much money being poured into wars in the Middle East, is the West bankrupting itself?

We take a break then until the second weekend and get stuck into new media. The world’s foremost expert on all matters digital, Cory Doctorow, brainstorms copyright and creativity in the digital world in what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting lectures we have this year, on Sep 2nd. Progressing directly on from that, the ABC’s Mark Scott opens the New News conference with his keynote address on the future for media outlets in this fast-morphing world. Incidentally, the two-day New News conference is worth checking out for a hundred other great reasons. This is simply definitive for anyone interested in a media career.

Friday 3rd sees a change of tack as Miles Franklin-winner and all round legend Frank Moorhouse looks through the keyhole at whether or not we deserve our privacy these days, in the Alan Missen Oration. As someone who is constantly de-tagging photos of myself on Facebook, I can relate. Later that night another legend, Noel Pearson, delivers the John Button oration in what will be an impassioned and informative speech on the need for an indigenous policy shift. Also, some lucky writer will receive 20 grand that night as the John Button Prize is handed out.

Which leaves one of the biggest questions for last – whose problem is poverty? This is part of a series in response to the United Nations DPI/NGO Annual Conference which is taking place in Melbourne and features World Vision CEO Tim Costello. This one goes deep into social and governmental responsibility to work out how we can come to grips with this ever-present and all too easily ignored issue.

Those are this year’s Big Ideas folks. At this late stage some of these may be tricky to get tickets for but if you can get your hands on some they’re well worth it, if only to take your mind off those redecorations up at the Lodge.

Meant to be Spoken

Robert Reid at fortyfivedownstairs

Writing for the stage is often sadly neglected at writer’s festivals, but we’re so into it that we’re devoting our first Saturday night to a celebration of playwriting. Tashmadada are one of those rare theatre companies that revel in the spoken word and who manage to corral a staggering range of voices under their banner. Deborah Leiser-Moore is the brains behind it all, and you can catch her in conversation with playwright John Romeril at 4pm on Sat 28th, just 3 hours before the main event.

The Festival Club will come alive at 7pm that night with a pretty intimidating lineup of playwrights performing excerpts from their work. Louise Doughty, Stephen Sewell (Animal Kingdom, The Boys), Van Badham, Melissa Reeves, John Romeril (One Night the Moon), Ross Mueller, Peta Tait, Aidan Fennessy & Jane Harrison are all on the bill, with Robert Reid hosting. This is a really unique opportunity to hear these writers interpret their own scripts – how often would audiences get that chance? I reckon it’s a great idea and I’m honestly surprised no one’s thought of it before. Tashmadada have tapped into something special here and we’re just grateful to be able to present Meant to be Spoken at the festival, particularly given its success earlier this year during the Searchlight Festival at fortyfivedownstairs. Have a browse around the Tashmadada site and check out some videos to get a glimpse of what an exciting night this is going to be!

Beowulf Sheehan

Hot shot New York photographer Beowulf Sheehan will be joining the festival to make special commemorative portraits for the 25th Anniversary of MWF. Beowulf has photographed writers from Salman Rushdie to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and we’re delighted he’ll be coming to give us an extra dash of glamour, and to capture some of our leading festival lights for posterity.

Beowulf is looking for an intern to assist him during his trip. The position is unpaid and will include lifting camera gear around, but it will also give an up and coming photographer an unprecedented opportunity to learn from a master craftsmen. See his stunning pictures here.

If you’d like to be considered for this please send your CV to Jacqui Bateman at admin@mwf.com.au before Monday 23rd August.

Going Down Swinging

The humble literary journal often gets short shrift at writer’s festivals, despite being one of the main avenues through which new writers hone their skills and assume the mantle of being next year’s superstars. Not so at MWF! We love lit journals, big and small, funded and independent. In fact we love them so much we bought a shipping container, plonked it on the riverbank and let them off the leash to run their own mini festivals. Magazine features Overland, Kill Your Darlings, The Lifted Brow, Meanjin, Ampersand, harvest & The Big Issue all doing their thang from 10-5 on the Saturday & Sunday of each festival weekend. It’s FREE and we have no idea what these mags are preparing, so pop your head into the container and join in the ruckus.

There’s one mag I haven’t mentioned there – Going Down Swinging. They’re at Magazine on Sun 29th from 130pm-5pm, but also have something a little special going on at the Toff on Thursday 2nd Sep. Yes folks, GDS celebrates its 30th anniversary with Thursday Night Swing Club, sure to be one of the best parties of the festival! Going Down Swinging is one of those journals that has always dared to be different, presenting not just fiction and poetry but featuring comics long before it was fashionable and highlighting alternative forms of writing. On top of that they’ve included CDs of spoken word performance since 1999, and there ain’t many doing that, friends. A lot of modern journals owe a debt to the path that GDS worked tirelessly to forge and the launch of issue 30 is sure to be a momentous occasion.

Excited yet? How about Rockwiz’s Brian Nankervis hosting a night of performance from the likes of Maxine Beneba Clarke, Ezra Bix, Emily XYZ & Myers Bartlett, alongside Eleanor Jackson and Paul Mitchell. All this goodness launched by Richard Watts and featuring DJ Johnny Topper on the decks, a Silent Disco projection and FLAP putting a trademark swing in your step. Forget the rest, this is the place to be on Thursday 2nd Sep for a once in a lifetime experience at the Toff. Free copy of this amazing issue with the door price, plus fun times guaranteed. Break out those party shoes peeps, and see you there!

The Whole Shebang

For me, one of the most satisfying aspects of MWF is how it involves local writers, particularly those who are beginning to dip their tootsies into the tumultuous waters of publishing. There are a range of great workshops designed to nurture the next generation of talent run by our stellar guests – this year for example we have masterclasses taught by Simon Winchester, Elif Batuman, Nadifa Mohamed, Tiffany Murray, Louise Doughty, August Kleinzahler, Louise Welsh, Arnold Zable, Cory Doctorow, Bryce Courtenay, R J Ellory, Peter James, Barbara Trapido, Francis Wheen, Gavin Pretor-Pinney & Amanda Lohrey. Wow. Be warned though, these indispensable classes have very limited places and tend to sell out quickly (some of these already have, sorry!) which is not surprising – how often would you get the chance to sit down for 3 hours with writers like these to discuss your work?

One of the best sessions I attended last year was The Whole Shebang, a mammoth 7 hours of definitive info on how to get ahead in publishing. Supported by the Victorian Writer’s Centre, the Shebang kicks off the festival this year on Friday 27th at 10am and is unmissable (and great value) if you want to get in the game and pick the brains of the industry’s heavy hitters.

What’s at stake here? You’ll get the lowdown on grant writing, networking, drafting, submitting, editing, find out who to talk to and who can help you as the cloak of mystery surrounding publishing falls away. Organisations like the Australian Society of Authors, PEN Melbourne, Express Media, SPUNC, the Australian Poetry Centre and Victorian Writer’s Centre will all be in attendance to make your writing life smoother. On top of that we have guests like Penguin’s charming director of publishing Bob Sessions, Text Publishing supremo Michael Heyward, Scribe’s fiction guru Aviva Tuffield, Sue Hines, Tom Cho, Lisa Dempster, Toni Jordan and a dazzling array of others.

Penguin's Bob Sessions

The Whole Shebang is basically an invaluable once-a-year event that no aspiring writer can afford to miss, so sign up now you budding scribes and let’s see what you’ve got!

Next Gen Big Ideas

Look, let’s get one thing straight about the schools’ program section of the festival. It’s for everyone, okay? You don’t have to be in nursery school, primary school, high school or ninja assassin training school to attend. In fact, every year shrewd festival attendees of all ages take advantage of the fact some of our liveliest, most interesting sessions occur during this 4 day period and best of all? Sessions are either free, or only six bucks. Yes, you heard correctly. 6 DOLLARS. I went to a ton of sessions last year and it felt like I was in on some secret no-one seemed to know about, which is why I’m blowing this open right now. You should check out the schools’ program and come along, there is no wink, nod or secret handshake required.

Now I understand that the schools’ program runs Monday 30th August to Thursday 2nd September and that you may be at work (seriously, take the week off, you deserve it). However there is no excuse for missing our Big Ideas for the Next Generation sessions each night at 630. We kick off on Monday night with Tim Flannery giving us the lowdown on the future of the planet, get into politics with three honest-to-goodness cool young politicians (John Shipp, Hayley Conway, Nicholas White) on Tuesday, discuss activism and having your voice heard with Adam Smith and Chris Varney on Wednesday, and embrace the media on Thursday with The Monthly‘s Ben Naparstek, SBS’s James West and writer Emily Maguire. Remember what Jello Biafra said folks, “Don’t hate the media, become the media.”

Did I mention these corking sessions are only $6? I did? Well then, what are you hanging around here for?

Some awesome ninjas who need a bit of schoolin’:

Stories from the Street

The city is full of stories. Really, it is. We know because we put them there. If you’re wandering around Melbourne and happen to see some yellow footprints painted inside a circle, what you need to be able to see the stories we’ve hidden is one of our Stories from the Street booklets. There are 500 out there in various locations, so go a-hunting. (Hint: Readings is our official bookseller, so…)

Once you have said booklet, stand in the circle grasping it firmly ‘twixt your opposable thumbs (aren’t they useful?) as demonstrated by Helen below (squinting may be necessary, which is why it’s best to have someone like Juliette keep lookout lest the wind changes and you stay that way). Try out our different locations to see all the hidden tales.

Those fabulous chaps over at 3000 were totally on the ball as usual and talked all this up last week of course. Check out Brad Dunn’s post here.

The really clever ones amongst you might be able to find the answers on our site without having to hit the streets, but where’s the fun in that? Oh all right, if Readings have no booklets left, let me know and I’ll send you in the right direction.

2010 Posters

With this year’s program launch coming up on July 16th, those of you scooting around Melbourne will start to notice our fabulous new posters around town. We’ve got some really exciting, fun new interactive things happening this year and plenty of giveaways, so keep your eyes and ears open!

New News Conference seeking citizen journos

Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) and the Swinburne University Public Interest Journalism Foundation (PIJ) will partner in presenting a groundbreaking two day conference on the future of journalism on 2nd and 3rd September 2010.

This conference will be about collaboration and creation, and about building new and creative relationships between newsmakers and audiences. This is an optimistic conference that will go beyond tired old debates about bloggers versus journalists to embrace and bring together all those who are using new technologies to communicate and access news.

New News 2010 will be more than just a conference. It will include keynote discussions and panel sessions – both free and ticketed events – and will be open to professional journalists and the general public. There will also be a series of workshops aimed at teaching digital skills to industry practitioners and the general public. It will also include an Expo space in which organisations and individuals using new media to advance journalism are welcome to exhibit their work.

Everyone is welcome. The conference is open to professionals, students, citizen content makers and the general community. New News 2010 will be designed to encourage community engagement, increase digital literacy, involve journalists the media industry and the general public.

MWF and PIJ are now seeking expressions of interest from all those people we don’t know about. If you have an innovative news-based blog, if you are a citizen journalist doing things the mainstream industry should know about, if you have ideas that are seeking a wider audience and want to be part of this event, then we want to hear from you.

Please contact PIJ project officer Tara Peck at tpeck@groupwise.swin.edu.au or (03) 9214 5239 or Dr Andrew Dodd at adodd@swin.edu.au or (03) 9214 8315