It's Canberra Writers Festival time again. The theme continues to be Power, Politics, Passion, reflecting Canberra's specific role in Australian culture and history. I understand this. It enables the Festival organisers to carve out a particular place for itself in the crowded festival scene, but the fiction readers among us hunger for more fiction (and, for … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2019, Day 1, Session 1: Capital culture
Literary events
National Bookshop Day 2019
Time for another National Bookshop Day, given my last posts were in 2013 and 2012. In those posts I named some of my favourite Canberra bookshops, particularly the National Library Bookshop, Paperchain and Beyond Q (secondhand booksellers). They are still among my favourites, but, since then, two more excellent bookshops have opened, Muse (which runs Festival Muse about … Continue reading National Bookshop Day 2019
Lecture and Book Launch: Australia’s first naturalists
I don't usually write up book launches, mostly because the speeches are brief, and I hope to eventually read and review the book itself. However, as the title of this post tells, the launch for Penny Olsen and Lynette Russell's book, Australia's first naturalists, was also billed as a lecture, hence this exception. Australia's first … Continue reading Lecture and Book Launch: Australia’s first naturalists
Stan Grant in conversation with Mark Kenny
Who could resist a conversation involving Australian journalist, author and academic, Stan Grant? Not many, it seems, which is why this ANU/The Canberra Times conversation event was held in a bigger venue than usual, Llewellyn Hall, and just as well, because the audience was indeed bigger than usual. Such is the drawcard of Stan Grant … Continue reading Stan Grant in conversation with Mark Kenny
Sydney Writers Festival 2019, Live and Local (Session 3)
And now my final event from the Sydney Writers Festival live-streamed (#SWFLiveAndLocal).program at th National Library of Australia. "I do not want to see this in print", Sunday 5 May, 4.30pm Panel: Annabel Crabb (convenor), with Samantha Maiden, Sharri Markson, Niki Savva Australian journalist Annabel Crabb, as cheeky as ever, introduced the session as being one … Continue reading Sydney Writers Festival 2019, Live and Local (Session 3)
Sydney Writers Festival 2019, Live and Local (Session 2)
I returned to the National Library of Australia today for two more live-streamed events from the Sydney Writers Festival (#SWFLiveAndLocal). As I did last year, I'll write each event up in separate posts, so here is the first of my Sunday events. Andrew Sean Greer: Less (Conversation), Sunday 5 May, 3.00pm Conversation: Andrew Sean Greer with … Continue reading Sydney Writers Festival 2019, Live and Local (Session 2)
Sydney Writers Festival 2019, Live and Local (Session 1)
As in 2018, selected Sydney Writers Festival events were live-streamed this year to 35 sites, including Canberra's National Library of Australia (#SWFLiveAndLocal). I had planned to attend most of Saturday's events, but then our annual day-trip to our friends' place in the country came up, and that's unmissable, so I only attended the last event … Continue reading Sydney Writers Festival 2019, Live and Local (Session 1)
Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading marathons
Today's post was inspired by two comments on yesterday's post which featured a public reading event I'd taken part in. Lisa (ANZLitLovers) commented that she is taking part in a reading of James Joyce's Ulysses in a Queenscliff bookshop next Bloomsday, while Karen (Booker Talk) said she wasn't sure she'd heard of such a grand … Continue reading Monday musings on Australian literature: Reading marathons
My literary week (15), readings and readers
As regular readers here know, my "literary week" posts are irregular affairs, usually inspired by something I really want to share (or document for my own benefit!) And so it is this week … Reading Boochani in public ... and related thoughts I was especially pleased, given the events in Christchurch last Friday week, that … Continue reading My literary week (15), readings and readers
Festival Muse 2019: Alice Pung in conversation with Sam Vincent
Festival Muse, a literary festival run by one of our favourite places in town, Muse, now seems to be a fixture on the Canberra Day long weekend calendar. For the last two years Mr Gums and I have attended the Opening event, which this year was titled Moments of Wonder. As Opening Night was also International Women's Day, … Continue reading Festival Muse 2019: Alice Pung in conversation with Sam Vincent
Whispering Gums 