Sydney Writers' Festival

AMY CORDEROY (LOCAL)
Amy Corderoy is a journalist and commentator who has been published in The Sydney Morning Herald, New Matilda and Interface. She is a radio broadcaster on FBi 94.5fm and has freelanced for 2ser and Triple J’s current affairs show Hack.
She presents a weekly radio show, Sunday School, which features a regular book review, comedy segments, and new music. She was also the editor of the FBi magazine.

Amy recently graduated from the University of Sydney where she edited the student newspaper Honi Soit and completed an Honours degree in political philosophy.

CHARLES FIRTH (LOCAL)
Charles Firth is a co-founder of The Chaser, Australia's longest running fortnightly satirical newspaper.

His TV credits include The Election Chaser, CNNNN: Chaser Non-stop News Network, The Chaser Decides and The Chaser's War on Everything.

Charles has also worked as a writer/presenter on Australia's Triple M network, and co-written and edited five comedy books in The Chaser Annual series. American Hoax is his first book, which he wrote after living in America.

ANTONY LOEWENSTEIN (LOCAL)
Antony Loewenstein is a Sydney-based freelance journalist, author and blogger. He has written for publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Nation, Crikey, New Matilda and The Washington Post.

Antony contributed a major chapter to 2004's best-seller, Not Happy, John! on the Hanan Ashrawi affair. His bestselling book on the Israel/Palestine conflict, My Israel Question, was shortlisted for the 2007 NSW Premier's Literary Award. His next book, on the internet in repressive regimes, will be released in September.

He is a board member of Macquarie University's Centre for Middle East and North African Studies and an Honorary Associate at Macquarie University's Department of Politics and International Relations. He is the co-founder of advocacy group Independent Australian Jewish Voices. Antony appears regularly on radio, TV, in public and at universities discussing current affairs and politics.

antonyloewenstein.com

ALECIA SIMMONDS (LOCAL)
Alecia Simmonds is a scholar, lawyer, theatre critic and freelance writer whose opinion pieces appear regularly on the pages of The Sydney Morning Herald, New Matilda, The Guardian Weekly, Media-Culture Journal and Arena Magazine.

She writes on contemporary legal issues concerning civil rights and political freedoms from an historical and cultural perspective. Her subjects range from confrontations between cross-dressing police impersonators and the humourless state, to civil liberties campaigns conducted by medieval knights. Most recently she has published articles on the moral regulation of pregnancy and the politics of inter-stellar communication.

Alecia has also published widely in a range of academic journals including Le Panoptique and The Australian Feminist Law Journal. She is a researcher and teacher in the history department at the University of Sydney where she is completing her doctoral thesis on the torrid affair between love and law in early colonial Australia. Her academic work involves exploring a range of legal suits peculiar to the 19th Century such as Breach of Promise of Marriage and Seduction which involved jilted lovers taking their partners to court to seek damages for wounded feelings.

Alecia is an active member of the Council for Civil Liberties.

OZI BATLA (LOCAL)
Ozi Batla is one of Australia's best-known MCs, fronting both The Herd and Astronomy Class. A Triple J and FBi favourite, he penned the Australian anthem ‘77%’ and shared credits on cult tracks such as ‘We can’t hear you’ and ‘Only 19’. Ozi earned his ‘battler’ tag in 2002 by winning a swag of MC battles and titles. He has been the Verbal Mechanics NSW champ and the NSW Stealth Battle champ. He has also been a semi-finalist in Melbourne's Revolver MC Battle and a grand finalist in the National Stealth Battle.

No stranger to controversy, The Herd’s songs ‘77%’, ‘Burn Down the Parliament’ and ‘Starship Troopers’ have been credited with sparking national debates about racism, political representation and Australian values. The Herd have achieved widespread popularity in Australia and have had four of their songs voted into Triple J's prestigious Hottest 100 list.

As well as being a leader in the Australian hip hop scene, off the stage Ozi has conducted hip hop workshops for disadvantaged youths in aboriginal communities and the inner city.
www.elefanttraks.com/chooser.cfm?view=artists&artistId=4

also appearing at...
263: Hip Hop Projections 3