A Quick Guide to Australia’s Literature Festivals

Australia is a country of beaches and barbeques, a place not normally known for literature but unbeknownst to the international literati, there is a culture of literary genius brewing just beneath the surface, ready to explode.

February – Adelaide Writers’ Week

The literary year kicks off with Adelaide Writers’ Week in February, an event which has been announced as going annual from next year and is one of the oldest festivals of its kind in Australia with a history of more than 40 years. It will be playing host to a number of Australian writers as well as some big names from the international community.

Writers in attendance include Brian Castro, Nicholas Drayson and Michelle de Kretser whose latest novel The Lost Dog was long listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2008. Joining them are international big hitters Irvine Welsh, Richard Dawkins and Jim Crace.

March – Perth Writers Festival

Perth Writers’ Festival is held in Early March and this year saw a number of international writers in attendance such as Annie Proulx, Simon Armitage among many and a huge list of Australian writers.

The festival takes the normal format with various events including seminars, readings, launches, discussions and workshops with something for everyone.

May – Sydney Writers’ Festival

Sydney Writer’s Festival from 16^th to 22^nd of May is without a doubt the largest in the year and the biggest in the southern hemisphere. On offer is a plethora of big names including David Mitchell, Michael Cunningham and Howard Jacobson.

There are a huge number of events featuring a bewildering number of writers. Around 60 percent of the events are free and include interviews, workshops, readings, lunches and panel discussions.

There is something for everyone over the week from politics (Naomi Oreskes) to food (AA Gill), fiction to poetry, current affairs (Fatima Bhutto) to history and Business to Art. The festival is so popular that many of the events are already sold out.

May – Emerging Writers’ Festival

The Emerging Writers’ Festival in Melbourne from 21^st to the 30^th of May is the place to go for new talent and is summed up by the words of Richard Watts, Director of the first Emerging Writers’ Festival in 2004.

“Our Festival aims to support grassroots writing by providing a place to showcase the amazing diversity of work that new Australian writers are creating. At the Emerging Writers’ Festival, authors outside the mainstream can present their writing without the normal boundaries of literary fashion or favour. It’s a great opportunity for readers too, to hear fresh work from the best writers they haven’t heard of – yet.”

Tickets go on sale four weeks prior to the event and amateur writers are welcomed to contact the festival and get involved no matter what stage they are at in their journey. This is a really interactive event where anyone can take part as long as they have a passion for writing and something to say.

August – Melbourne Writers’ Festival

Melbourne Writers’ Festival runs from August 26^th to September 4^th and features over 300 writers from across Australia and the world. Each year the festival breaks its own box office record, over 40,000 people attended in 2010, its 25th year and this year’s festival is expected to be even bigger and better.

Last year one of the most eagerly anticipated events was a speech by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The full festival program including attending writers will be released in July.

September – Brisbane Writers’ Festival

From September 7^th to 11th Australia the Brisbane Writers’ Festival is held in the State Library and plays host to a range of national and international writers. It has been running for a staggering 50 years. Much of this year’s programme is still to be confirmed.

Many of Australia’s literature festivals are undergoing a degree of change; both the ACT Fiction Festival and the ACT Poetry Festival for example will no longer be running; instead the collective will be offering a series of seminars for those interested. Presumable while some festivals grow and gain a following others die out.

More details of any of the festivals will be announced closer to the time of the program being released so keep an eye out for all the latest information.

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