Sydney Writers' Festival — Live and Local

Stuff you need to know...

 After the success of Live & Local in 2016, the Sydney Writers’ Festival will return to Armidale for the weekend 26 – 28 May.

 One of Australia’s best-loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, the Sydney Writers’ Festival will stream its headline events from Roslyn Packer Theatre in Walsh Bay direct to cities and towns throughout the country. The Armidale venue will be the newly opened War Memorial Library.

 So prepare to be stimulated and engaged by conversations, debates and discussions as the Festival brings the world’s finest authors to Armidale in real time.

 As well as hearing new ideas from great thinkers, audiences can participate in Q&A sessions at each event, sending questions direct to the Sydney stage via a live feed.
 Live & Local will be streamed live by the Sydney Writers’ Festival and facilitated by the the Armidale Regional Council and the New England Writers’ Centre.

When: May 26—May 28
Where: Armidale Dumaresq Library in its new location at
             2/182 Rusden St
             Armidale
How much: FREE!
Contact: Armidale Dumaresq Library on 67703636

The events...

Friday May 26

10am-11am
A Murderer in the family
Panel
Facilitator: Michael Williams
Susan Faludi, Hisham Matar and Nadja Spiegelman mine their extraordinary family histories to create stirring works of memoir. Join them in conversation with Michael Williams as they reveal what happens when writing gets personal.
 
11:30am-12:30pm
Deng Adut: Songs of a War Boy
Conversation
Facilitator: Suzanne Leal
Raised as a Sudanese child soldier, today Deng Adut is a lawyer, refugee advocate and NSW Australian of the Year. He talks to Suzanne Leal about his memoir Songs of a War Boy.
 
1:30pm-2:30pm
James Shapiro: Year of the Lear
Conversation
Facilitator: Tom Wright
Shakespeare expert and fan, James Shapiro, takes us back to the year 1606: The Year of Lear (and also the year of Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra) and the troubled times that inspired the Great Bard.
 
3pm-4pm
Susan Faludi: In the Darkroom
Conversation
Facilitator: Sofija Stefanovic
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Susan Faludi first came to international prominence with her bestseller Backlash. She joins Sofija Stefanovic for an intimate conversation about her unforgettable new memoir, In the Darkroom.
 
4:30pm-5:30pm
Writing Race
Panel
Facilitator: Roanna Gonsalves
 Writers discuss race in their work, and in today’s literary and cultural landscape. Roanna Gonsalves leads a discussion with Anuk Arudpragasam, Paul Beatty, Maxine Beneba Clarke and guest curator Ellen van Neerven.
 
6pm-7pm
Elaine Welteroth: On Editing Teen Vogue
Conversation
Facilitator: Julia Turner
At 29, Elaine Welteroth is the youngest ever Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue. She speaks with Slate Editor-in-Chief Julia Turner about why she showcases powerful stories on politics, women’s issues and more.
 
7:30pm-8:30pm
I Love Dick
Conversation
Facilitator: Krissy Kneen
Cult author Chris Kraus’ hit novel I Love Dick has now been adapted for TV by Transparent creator Jill Soloway. Chris appears in conversation with Krissy Kneen.

Saturday May 27

10am-11am
All the Girls to the Front
Panel
Facilitator: Jan Fran
Jan Fran talks to those on the front line of feminist writing. Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Clementine Ford and Tracey Spicer discuss taking action and writing for change.
 
11:30am-12:30pm
Dreams of Her Real Self: Writers on Helen Garner
Panel
Facilitator: Rebecca Giggs
Both celebrated and controversial, Helen Garner’s 40-year career has been distinguished by a trademark candidness. Bernadette Brennan, Annabel Crabb, Benjamin Law and Fiona McFarlane speak to Rebecca Giggs about her influence.
 
1:30pm-2:30pm
Henry Marsh: Admissions – A Life in Brain Surgery
Conversation
Facilitator: Sofija Stefanovic
Henry Marsh’s first book, Do No Harm, was lauded as a memoir of startling candour and insight. In his new memoir Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery, he reflects deeply on his 40 years of experience operating on the surgical front line.
 
3pm-4pm
Hisham Matar: The Return
Conversation
Facilitator: Jason Steger
Fairfax literary editor Jason Steger talks to Hisham Matar about his memoir The Return, which recounts his search for Hisham’s father who was kidnapped and taken to Libya more than two decades ago.
 
4:30pm-5:30pm
Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales: Our Reading Year
Conversation

Join acclaimed journalists Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales for some bookish banter as they take us through 12 months of reading highs and lows.
 

6:30pm-7:30pm
Viral and Verse: Hera Lindsay Bird and Rupi Kaur
Conversation

Don’t miss poets Hera Lindsay Bird and Rupi Kaur as
they talk about their ‘dirty’ work and the gloriously messy project of challenging sanitised notions of femininity.

Sunday May 28

10am-11am
Lauren Child’s Quirky Characters!
Author Talk

Award-winning writer and artist Lauren Child lifts the lid on her characters Clarice Bean, Ruby Redfort, and Charlie and Lola. You’d be as silly as Sizzles to miss it!
 
11:30am-12:30pm
Andy Griffiths - Are you ready to roll?
Author Talk

Rock star author Andy Griffiths is back with his side-splitting antics and topsy-turvy tales. Get ready for loads of laughs with the bestselling author of the Treehouse series.
 

1:30pm-2:30pm
Lion: A Long Way Home
Conversation
Facilitator: Janice Peterson
Saroo Brierley’s A Long Way Home is a remarkable story of getting lost and finding home. In a very special event, Saroo and his adoptive mother Sue Brierley speak to Janice Petersen about his extraordinary life, which has been made into the award-winning movie Lion.
 
3pm-4pm
Clementine Ford: Fight Like A Girl
Conversation
Facilitator: Jane Caro
‘Don’t accept the status quo’, urges Clementine Ford in her incendiary debut, Fight Like a Girl. She speaks to Jane Caro about her feminist manifesto, a call to arms for feminists new, old and soon-to-be.
 
4:30pm-5:30pm
SWF Gala: Maybe This Will Help
Panel
Facilitator: Sofija Stefanovic
How do we keep calm in anxiety-inducing times? Sofija Stefanovic talks to Bill Hayes, Ivan Coyote, Jamie Morton, Pamela Paul and Ruth Quibell about remedies for chaos – from chicken soup to Valium.
 
6pm-7pm
2017 Closing Address

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Susan Faludi (In the Darkroom, Backlash) delivers the Festival’s closing address. She explores the theme of refuge, from the metaphorical shelter of books to the basic physical safety that millions seek today.