At last year's festival, I attended a few excellent book launches, and so decided to do so again. Authors need all the support they can get after all. Book launch: Ian Burnet: Where Australia collides with Asia The first of today's two launches was for a book with a very long title, by geologist Ian … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, 2017, Day 2, Pt 2: Two book launches
Canberra Writers Festival
Canberra Writers Festival 2017, Day 2, Pt 1: A conversation with Tony Jones
Choices, choices. Such a surfeit of riches across such dispersed venues made today a difficult one. In the end I had to make the tough decision to not see Jane Rawson, whose session was across the lake, though it broke my heart. My decision was made harder by the fact that as I was drafting … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2017, Day 2, Pt 1: A conversation with Tony Jones
Canberra Writers Festival 2017, Day 1: A panel and a conversation
It's on again - the newly revamped Canberra Writers Festival, I mean. Due to a family commitment in Melbourne, from which I only returned at midday today, I didn't get to some of the first day's prime events. I missed, for example, a conversation with Graeme Simsion. I also missed a wonderful sounding panel titled … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2017, Day 1: A panel and a conversation
The natural way of things: Conversation with Charlotte Wood
I have just returned from an inspiring evening in which we got to see Aussie author Charlotte Wood in conversation with Guardian Australia's Katharine Murphy. It more than made up for our disappointment last year when Wood had to pull out of the Canberra Writers Festival due to illness. Tonight's event was presented "in association with the Canberra Writers Festival" and had the … Continue reading The natural way of things: Conversation with Charlotte Wood
Canberra Writers Festival 2016: Recap
It's a funny thing about writers festivals: there's nothing really new to be said about reading and writing - surely we've said it all - and yet everything seems to feel new! Why is that? I guess it's the stimulating environment that festivals create (the repartee that occurs between participants) and that there are always different ways of saying … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival 2016: Recap
Canberra Writers Festival, Day 3: Three conversations and a disappointing miss
Oh no! Because, as I explained in my first post, I booked late, I missed some events that I would love to have attended, but I was thrilled that one of my "musts" was still available, Charlotte Wood (author of The natural way of things). However, I woke up in the morning, looked at the Festival … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, Day 3: Three conversations and a disappointing miss
Canberra Writers Festival, Day 2: A morning tea, a launch and some conversations
Let's get the guilt admission over first. I ditched the session I'd paid for this afternoon to attend three free events. I reckon I got my money's worth. I did this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I didn't realise that the afternoon event - on adapting a book (Rosalie Hamm's The dressmaker) to film - occupied the whole … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, Day 2: A morning tea, a launch and some conversations
Canberra Writers Festival, Day 1: Two book launches
Well folks, finally we have another writers festival here in Canberra. From 1983 to 2001, we had something called the Word Festival (though its name varied a little over the time). Since then, to the best of my knowledge, we've only had the one-off Canberra Readers' Festival (on which I posted) in 2012, so it … Continue reading Canberra Writers Festival, Day 1: Two book launches
Whispering Gums 