Sydney’s being overrun by big-name international authors, local favourites and over 400 other bookish types this week, as the Sydney Writers Festival kicks off with a huge selection of talks, performances, and odd shenanigans that defy description. Head to the official program to scope out all the action, but here are just a few must-see picks.
1. Bankstown Poetry Slam
It’s the largest poetry slam in Australia, and it’s amazingly open to all-comers (the sign-up sheet gets passed around at 6:30pm sharp on the night!) – who knows, that quiet hooded kid in the corner could be our next literary sensation? There’ll be local talent galore and special guests, and if the rapid-fire spitting doesn’t move you, at least you’ll be just down the street from the greatest pho in Sydney.
Tuesday 20 May – further details
2. The Life and Times of Alice Walker
Unless you’re Bono (poor you), it’s not often you get to spend a casual evening in the presence of Pulitzer Prize-winning greatness. Here’s your chance: Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, is joined onstage by one of our most accomplished Indigenous musicians Archie Roach and interviewer Caroline Baum to discuss race, activism, her latest collection of poetry, and lay judgement on Oprah’s acting chops (well, hopefully).
Wednesday 21 May – further details
3. Eleanor Catton: The Luminaries
Earlier this year, 28-year-old Canadian-born/New Zealand-raised Catton became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Man Booker prize for her ambitious second novel, The Luminaries. It’s since become perhaps the most passed-around novel of the year, but if an 832-page historical epic set amongst the 19th century New Zealand coal mines sounds like a hard slog, you can stay in the loop by listening to her talk about it instead.
Thursday 22 May – further details
4. An Unconventional Faith
Religious discussion – it’s the ultimate party-starter! Oh wait, that’s rum. Nevertheless, reflect on old men with beards (or, uh, their existential absence) with Jewish/atheist Antony Loewenstein, Scientist/humanist Jim Al Khalili, and Christian/Muslim scholar Reza Aslan, the Colbert Show and Daily Show regular whose promo push for his latest book Zealot resulted in an hilarious Fox News viral video that saw him shoot to the top of the New York Times Bestseller list.
Thursday 22 May – further details
5. Jacques Roubaud: writer, mathematician and Oulipean
Lovers of obscure literary movements will wanna catch the philosophical musings of Roubaud, the 82-year-old French poet, novelist, essayist and mathematician who was part of the famed Oulipo - alongside the likes of Georges Perec and Italo Calvino - in the mid-60s. Roubaud had his first piece published as a 12-year-old while world war two was still raging, and will be discussing his unique, constraint-based approach to writing.
Thursday 22 May – further details
6. The Madonna-Whore And Other Fictions
Emma Donoghue, the Irish author of 2010’s bestselling coming-of-age thriller Room, joins local personalities Tara Moss, Kate Ceberano, Nakkiah Lui, and columnist Tracey Spicer to take a necessary shaking fist to the labels placed upon women, and its detrimental effect on society in general.
Friday 23 May – further details
7. Humour and Debauchery With a Few Manners in Between
Local columnist and presenter Annabel Crabb chats with three of the festival’s most prominent guests about their recent works: Russian-American sadsack Gary Shteyngart discusses his new memoir Little Failure; UK comedian and television regular Sandi Toksvig reflects on modern manners with Peas & Queues; and Trainspotting legend Irvine Welsh will get doubly dirty, discussing The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins. One to take your mum to.
Friday 23 May – further details
8. 5 x 15
A stellar lineup, a unique set-up, and the potential for a memorable trainwreck or improvised genius: 5x15 is one for you adventurous types. Five speakers – Room author Emma Donoghue; Nigerian poet and playwright Inua Ellams; British fashion writer Colin McDowell; local theatre writer/director Wesley Enoch; and Rake himself Richard Roxburgh – take to the stage without notes for 15 minutes a piece, to blab eloquently on a topic of their choosing.
Saturday 24 May – further details
9. Irvine Welsh: The Sex Lives Of Siamese Twins
Most of us remember where we were when we first read Trainspotting – probably a cluttered room in a stinky share-house or some dingy backpackers in Berlin, with philosophising weirdoes nearby looking to bum all your cigs. Relive those horrible, horrible memories with a night with cult hero Irvine Welsh, who’ll be talking comedy, unsavoury types, and his epically titled new novel, The Sex Lives Of Siamese Twins.
Sunday 25 May – further details
10. Strangers in a Strange Land
Expect awkward, poignant and humorous personal tales that’ll no doubt hit close to home when Gary Shteyngart (Super Sad True Love Story), Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club) and local man about town Benjamin Law (The Family Law) gather to talk about their first-generation immigrant upbringings. If no one drops a line about how much immigrant dads love tracksuit pants and/or WD40, I’ll have to raise my hand.
Sunday 25 May – further details
