“Thought-provoking panel discussions” will cover topics including racism, indigenous issues and asylum seekers during Geelong’s annual national festival of non-fiction writing this weekend, organisers have announced.
Word for Word festival has unveiled speakers including former ABC journalist Kerry O’Brien, outspoken feminist Clementine Ford and former Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs ahead of tonight’s launch.
This year’s three-day event promised “a long weekend packed full of exceptional authors, writers and personalities … right here in Geelong,” the organisers said.
Six sessions were sold out by Tuesday as the festival prepared to present 76 speakers at 45 events.
The sessions would cover various political and social issues such as the #METOO and #TIMESUP MOVEMENTS, the organisers said.
“Word for Word is bringing Australia’s highest calibre writers and presenters from the literary world to Geelong,” said festival advisory committee chair and Surf Coast councillor Margot Smith.
“The sessions are designed to be interactive with plenty of opportunities for audience involvement.”
Cr Smith said the festival’s first-day master classes would help local writers “really hone their writing, researching and editing skills.”
The festival would extend to Bannockburn Library, where a half-day master class with Greg Pyers would “look at how to make the best use of non‐fiction in creative writing”, the organisers said.
A half-day master class with Bonny Cassidy at Waurn Ponds Library would “teach participants first‐hand about the subtle art of description”.
“Acclaimed Melbourne author Toni Jordan is holding a full day Masterclass at Belmont Library on how to edit your own work, Lee Kofman will look at the memoir genre and writing the self in non‐fiction at Queenscliff Library, while at Torquay Community Centre writer and editor Jo Case’s full-day Masterclass will focus on the step by step process of writing a good memoir,” Cr Smith said.
She was looking forward to the festival’s first Bad Diaries Salon, which would conclude the event on Sunday afternoon.
Involving master storyteller William McInnes, (young-adult) author Sue Lawson, award-winning broadcaster Joel Carnegie and writer and editor Jo Case, this special closing session promises to be a lot of fun, with presenters sharing some of the most hilarious excerpts from their teenage dairies,” Cr Smith said.
She advised anyone wanting more information to visit wordforwordfestival.com.au.
