It’s that time of year again, when the programs and author schedules for the annual Sydney Writer’s Festival are announced. Held between the first and the sixth of May, mostly at Carriageworks but with some events at a variety of other places around Sydney, there will be many events to choose from, and many authors to meet and hear speak.
Below is a sampling of the authors published by Hachette who will be attending this year, which has a diverse and intriguing calendar of events that I am sure will sell out quickly! So here are some of the authors appearing, and when and where they will be appearing.
American author, Jennifer Egan, author of Emerald City and Other Stories, The Invisible Circus,â¨The Keep,â¨Look at Me, Black Box,â¨A Visit From the Goon Squad, and Manhattan Beach. Jennifer will be appearing at the following events, all in Bay 17 at Carriageworks.
Thursday, the 3rd of May, at 3pm – On the Record: Historical Fiction
Saturday the 5th of May at 6pm – Jennifer Egan: Manhattan Beach
Sunday the 6th of May at 6pm: Closing Address: Jennifer Egan.
Also from America, Zack McDermott, author of Gorilla and the Bird, will be appearing on the following dates at the following locations:
Thursday, the 3rd of May at 7pm, Carriageworks, Bay 20: The Full Catastrophe
Friday, the 4th of May, at 11.30am, Carriageworks, Track 8: Zack McDermott: Gorilla and the Bird
Alexis Okeowo, author of A Moonless, Starless Sky, also from America, will be appearing at four different events over the course of the week, all at Carriageworks, where the majority of the events are held.
Tuesday, the 1st of May at 6.30pm, Carriageworks Bay 17: Opening Address: AndrĂŠ Aciman, Min Jin Lee and Alexis Okeowo
Friday the 4th of May, 3pm, Carriageworks, Bay 17: Conflicting Narratives
Saturday, the 5th of May, 1.30pm, Carriageworks Bay 17: Resisting Unjust Authority
Sunday, the 6th of May, 1.30pm, Carriageworks Bay 20: Alexis Okeowo, A Moonless, Starless Sky
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Michael Mohammed Ahmad, an Arab-Australian writer, editor, teacher and community art s worker will also be appearing. His book, The Lebs, is about breaking down stereotypes and showing people that a small minority don’t determine the majority of a culture. Michael will be appearing at the following events at the Seymour Centre, and the Riverside Theatres.
Monday, the 30th of April, at 9.30am, Seymour Centre, Workshop Room 1: Michael Mohammed Ahmad: Good Writing versus Bad Writing.
Wednesday, the 2nd of May, 11.15am Seymour Centre York Theatre: Student Session: The Next Wave.
Friday, the 4th of May, Seymour Centre, Sound Lounge, 4.30PM: New Australian Voices.
Saturday, the 5th of May, Riverside Theatres, Lennox Theatre, 10am: From the Sidelines AND at 5pm in the Everest Theatre of the Seymour Centre, Return of the Big Black Thing.
Walkley Award winning journalist, Michael Brissenden will also be appearing at the festival, at will have one event at the Seymour Centre.
Thursday the 3rd of May, at 1.30pm, Seymour Centre, York Theatre: Straight from the Headlines,
The third Australian author published by Hachette to appear is Indigenous author, Claire G Coleman, author of Terra Nullius, a speculative fiction looking at the concept of invasion and settlement, using aliens taking over the world as a metaphor and symbol. It was an interesting and eye-opening book to read, my review is here. Claire will be appearing at three events across each precinct of the festival.
Thursday, the 3rd of May, at 11.30am, Seymour Centre, York Theatre: Home Truths: Telling Australian Stories.
Friday the 4th of May, at 11.30am at Carriageworks Blacksmith’s Workshop: Claire G Coleman: On Fiction, Villains and the Nature of Evil
Saturday the 5th of May, 1.30pm, Riverside Theatres: Architects of New Worlds.
Another Australian author appearing at the festival is Sophie Green, author of The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club, reviewed on this blog as well and it, and the previous book, Terra Nullius, were included in my Australian Women Writer’s Challenge last year. Sophie will be appearing at one event this year.
Thursday, the 3rd of May, at 10am at the Seymour Centre, Reginald Theatre: Family Ties.
Royce Kurmelovs is another author appearing, and he has written the following books: Death of Holden, Rogue Nation, and Boom and Bust (2018). He will be appearing at an event about the rise of Australian populism.
Saturday the 6th of May, at 11.30 at the Seymour Centre, York Theatre: The Rise of Australian Populism.
Peter Polites, author of Down the Hume will also be in attendance at the following events and is another new Australian author whose book has come out recently.
Peter will be appearing at two events this year:
Saturday, the 5th of May at 5pm in the Everest Theatre of the Seymour Centre, Return of the Big Black Thing, with Michael Mohammed Ahmad.
Sunday, the 6th of May, at 10am at the Seymour Centre, Sound Lounge: Pajtim Statovci: My Cat Yugoslavia
Award winning journalist, Hugh Riminton, a news presenter and foreign correspondent, will be at the festival chatting about his book, Minefields. Hugh will be appearing at three events across the week of the festival.
Thursday, the 3rd of May at 11.30am, Seymour Centre, Reginald Theatre: Becoming the Story.
Thursday, the 3rd of May at 7pm, Hurstville Library: Hugh Riminton: Minefields/
Saturday, the 5th of May, 11.30am, Carriageworks, Bay 17: Peter Greste: The First Casualty.
Michael Robotham will also be appearing, and has written the following books: The Suspect,â¨The Drowning Man, The Night Ferry Shatter,â¨Bombproof,â¨Bleed For Me,â¨The Wreckage,â¨Say Youâre Sorry, Watching You,â¨Life or Death,â¨Close Your Eyes,â¨The Secret She Keeps, and The Other Wife (2018). Michael will be appearing at the following events:
Thursday, the 3rd of May at 1.30pm at Carriageworks, Blacksmith’s Workshop: Michael Robotham: On Plotting the Perfect Crime.
Thursday the 3rd of May, at 6.30pm at Blacktown City Max Webber Library: Michael Robotham: The Secrets She Keeps.
Saturday, the 5th of May, at 10.30am, Seymour Centre, Reginald Theatre: Michael Robotham: The Secrets She Keeps.
Wednesday, the 2nd of May, 7pm, The Concourse Concert Hall: Jane Harper: Force of Nature.
Saturday, the 5th of May, at 1.30pm, Carriageworks Bay 20: Gabriel Talent: My Absolute Darling.
Sha’an d’Anthes, a new Australian author based in Sydney who has had a career as an artist and illustrator and has travelled all over the world. She will be speaking at two events on the final day of the festival. Her picture book, Zoom, was published by Hachette Australia.
Sunday the 6th of May, at 10.00am, Carriageworks, Bay 25: Storytime Clubhouse.
Sunday the 6th of May at 2.15pm. Carriageworks, Track 8: Illustrator Battle Grounds.
Libby Hathorn, well known Australian author of books for children and young adults will also be appearing. Some of her books are: Thunderwith, The Blue Dress, Georgiana, Dear Venny, Dear Saffron, Volcano Boy, The Painter, Feral Kid, Chrysalis, Love Me Tender, Eventual Poppy Day, A Soldier, A Dog and A Boy, and Butterfly, We’re Expecting You!
Libby will be appearing at the following events:
Sunday the 6th of May, at 10.00am, Carriageworks, Bay 25: Storytime Clubhouse.
Sunday the 6th of May, at 11.15am, Carriageworks, Track 12: Outside: A Feast of the Senses.
Binny Talib will also be appearing, at the same event as Libby Hathorn and Sha’an d’Anthes on the Sunday morning of the festival. Binny has two books published by Hachette Australia, Origami Heart and Hark It’s Me, Ruby Lee!
Sunday the 6th of May, at 10.00am, Carriageworks, Bay 25: Storytime Clubhouse.
Another Australian author to appear will be Shaun Tan. who has worked in theatre and films as concept artists and designers. His works include Lost Thing, Memorial, The Red Tree, The Rabbits, The Viewer, Rules of Summer, The Arrival (an acclaimed wordless novel), and Cicada, published in 2018. Shaun will be appearing at one event on the Saturday.
Saturday, the 5th of May, at 3pm, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta: Bringing Imaginary Worlds to Life.
Hachette’s final author to be appearing is Debra Tindall, author of The Scared Book. she began her career as a social worker before becoming an author. The Scared Book is a CBCA notable book for children. She will be appearing at the same event as Libby Hathorn, Binny Talib and Sha’an d’Anthes.
Sunday the 6th of May, at 10.00am, Carriageworks, Bay 25: Storytime Clubhouse.
Check out the Sydney Writer’s Festival website for more events and authors.
Jacky was running. There was no thought in his head, only an intense drive to run. There was no sense he was getting anywhere, no plan, no destination, no future. All he had was a sense of what was behind, what he was running from. Jacky was running.
Set in Sydney, Paris and Sri Lanka, The Life to Come is a mesmerising novel about the stories we tell and donât tell ourselves as individuals, as societies and as nations. It feels at once firmly classic and exhilaratingly contemporary.
Some time in the near future, university lecturer Caspar receives a gift from a former student called Liv: a memory stick containing a virtual narrative. Hooked up to a virtual reality bodysuit, he becomes immersed in the experience of their past sexual relationship. But this time it is her experience. What was for him an erotic interlude, resonant with the thrill of seduction, was very different for herâand when he has lived it, he will understand how.
Sparked by the description of a âMalay trollopeâ in W. Somerset Maughamâs story, âThe Four Dutchmenâ, The Fish Girl tells of an Indonesian girl whose life is changed irrevocably when she moves from a small fishing village to work in the house of a Dutch merchant. There she finds both hardship and tenderness as her traditional past and colonial present collide.
 
The panel also discussed the under-representation of women as winners and nominees of literary prizes in Australia. in 2011, only ten women had ever won the Miles Franklin Award, which had been running for fifty-four years at the time. Since the inception of the Stella Prize, four women have won the Miles Franklin Award and 2013 had the first ever all-female shortlist for the prize. However, women not being nominated or winning is a trend across all major literary prizes, though in general, women are often winners of the fiction category of the state premier Literary Awards across Australia, but not often winners of non-fiction, despite women having written some brilliant and moving non-fiction that I have devoured and enjoyed. A full history can be read 
