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Sydney Writers' Festival 2008 - Online Program

Life Writing

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• Saturday, May 17 2008 •

09 : 30

5: Workshop: Creativity, Memory and Place with Catherine Cole * SOLD OUT * Explore creativity, ideas, memory and place, and learn new ways of thinking about how you write.	Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Woolley Room 09:30 to 12:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Industry, Fiction	Workshops	More Info

13 : 30

335: Workshop: Creativity, Memory and Place with Catherine Cole * SOLD OUT * Explore creativity, ideas, memory and place, and learn new ways of thinking about how you write.	Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Woolley Room 13:30 to 16:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Industry, Fiction	Workshops	More Info

• Monday, May 19 2008 •

13 : 30

13: Conflicting Desires: A New Reading of Edith Wharton Hermione Lee shares the public and private conflicts that lie at the heart of Edith Wharton’s books.	Carrington Hotel, Katoomba 13:30 to 14:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	Lecture	More Info

• Tuesday, May 20 2008 •

10 : 00

24: A Lie About My Father: John Burnside in Conversation Scottish poet and novelist John Burnside discusses his work with Edmund Campion.	Carrington Hotel, Katoomba 10:00 to 11:00	Ticketed Event
Nonfiction, Poetry, Fiction,	In Conversation	More Info

13 : 30

29: An Exacting Heart: The Hephzibah Menuhin Story Jacqueline Kent discusses her biography of Hephzibah Menuhin.	Carrington Hotel, Katoomba 13:30 to 14:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction	In Conversation	More Info

• Wednesday, May 21 2008 •

18 : 30

47: Call Me Mum – Katoomba An affecting and resonant film exploring the human cost of black/white race relations in Australia.	The Edge Cinema 18:30 to 20:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Indigenous	Film	More Info

48: Jan Wong at Ultimo Library Jan Wong shares the story of her journey to Beijing to search for a woman she betrayed.	Ultimo Library 18:30 to 19:30	Free Event
Culture & Heritage, Nonfiction, Life Writing	Author Talk	More Info

• Thursday, May 22 2008 •

10 : 00

60: Holding Up the Sky * SOLD OUT * Sandy Blackburn-Wright tells the very personal story of her 15 years spent in South Africa.	Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 10:00 to 11:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

59: Not Another Misery Memoir... Imran Ahmad, Judith Lucy and Ryan Knighton discuss their humour-infused memoirs with Anton Enus.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 10:00 to 11:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	Panel	More Info

11 : 30

68: Hermione Lee on Edith Wharton Biographer Hermione Lee discloses the back story to her acclaimed life of writer Edith Wharton.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 11:30 to 12:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction	Lecture	More Info

66: Jan Wong in Conversation Jan Wong discusses her new book, 'Beijing Confidential'.	Pier 2/3, Upstairs Writers’ Salon 11:30 to 12:30	Ticketed Event
Nonfiction, Culture & Heritage, Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

65: The Final Journey Debra Adelaide, Virginia Lloyd and Susan Wyndham discuss writing about dying in fiction, memoir and nonfiction.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 11:30 to 12:30	Ticketed Event
Fiction, Nonfiction, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

12 : 30

76: Kate Jennings Literary Lunch Kate Jennings talks about her new book, Stanley and Sophie over lunch.	The Sebel Pier One Sydney, Harbour Watch Room 12:30 to 14:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction	Literary Lunch/Dinner	More Info

13 : 00

78: Growing Old Disgracefully * SOLD OUT * Some rage against ageing, while others have a good laugh at their own expense. Margaret Fink, Robyn Williams and Anne Deveson discuss.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 13:00 to 14:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction	Panel	More Info

81: My Friend the Fanatic Sadanand Dhume discusses his portrait of Indonesia painted through the travels of a pair of unlikely protagonists.	Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 13:00 to 14:00	Ticketed Event
Current Affairs, Nonfiction, Travel,	In Conversation	More Info

77: Sins of the Father Blake Morrison and John Burnside discuss their memoirs of father-son relationships.	Pier 2/3, Upstairs Writers’ Salon 13:00 to 14:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction	In Conversation	More Info

80: Private Lives, Public Histories Wibke Bruhns, Naldo Rei and Sandy Blackburn-Wright discuss their personal lives set against the backdrop of significant world events.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 13:00 to 14:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, History	Panel	More Info

13 : 30

83: Scar Tissue Tanya Levin and Kathleen Stewart discuss their formative years.	Sydney Dance Company, Studio 1 13:30 to 14:30	Free Event
Nonfiction, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

347: Workshop: Writing Memoir with Georgia Blain * SOLD OUT * Every life is a story worth telling. Learn how to write about yours.	Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Woolley Room 13:30 to 16:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	Workshops	More Info

14 : 30

90: The Life of Peter Sculthorpe Graeme Skinner has written a biography of composer Peter Sculthorpe. Biographer and subject discuss.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 14:30 to 15:30	Ticketed Event
Culture & Heritage, Nonfiction, Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

16 : 30

106: Remembering A.D. Hope and Patrick White Vrasidas Karalis and Catherine Cole provide new perspectives on two great Australian writers.	Sydney Dance Company, Studio 4 16:30 to 17:30	Free Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction, Culture & Heritage	Panel	More Info

18 : 30

120: An Unimagined Evening with Imran Ahmad in Parramatta Imran Ahmad speaks about his memoir 'Unimagined' with Randa Abdel Fattah.	Riverside Theatres, Lennox Theatre 18:30 to 19:45	Free Event
Life Writing, Current Affairs	Author Talk	More Info

113: Call Me Mum An affecting and resonant film exploring the human cost of black/white race relations in Australia.	Bangarra Theatre 18:30 to 20:30	Free Event
Scriptwriting, Life Writing, Indigenous	Film	More Info

• Friday, May 23 2008 •

10 : 00

128: David Rieff on ABC Radio National’s Book Show David Rief discusses 'Swimming in a Sea of Death', a memoir of his mother Susan Sontag’s final illness.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 10:00 to 11:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Current Affairs	In Conversation	More Info

132: Hermione Lee in Conversation Hermione Lee talks about her biographies of modernist women writers.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 10:00 to 11:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

11 : 30

143: Lynne Segal in Conversation with Drusilla Modjeska Lynne Segal considers the factors that shaped a generation of activists into the women’s liberation movement.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 11:30 to 12:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Current Affairs	In Conversation	More Info

138: The Secret Life of Backpackers 30 days, 30 nights, 30 hangovers. Barry Divola discusses his insights into backpacker culture.	Bangarra Theatre 11:30 to 12:30	Free Event
Travel, Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

13 : 00

150: Blake Morrison in Conversation Novelist, poet, journalist and critic Blake Morrison talks to Sunil Badami.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 13:00 to 14:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

151: The Voyeurism of Biography Virginia Duigan and Jacqueline Kent speak about the invasive tendencies of biography.	Pier 2/3, Upstairs Writers’ Salon 13:00 to 14:00	Ticketed Event
Fiction, Life Writing, Nonfiction	Panel	More Info

152: Personal Journeys Kate Jennings and Virginia Lloyd discuss the catharsis found in unexpected places.	Sydney Dance Company, Studio 2/3 13:00 to 14:00	Free Event
Life Writing	Panel	More Info

149: Chasing Bohemia and Finding Nino Carmen Michael and Marc Llewellyn talk about making new lives in far flung places with Claire Scobie.	Bangarra Theatre 13:00 to 14:00	Free Event
Travel, Nonfiction, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

13 : 30

159: Small Stories, Big Politics Jan Wong, Merlinda Bobis and Naldo Rei discuss writing personal stories within big political narratives.	Sydney Dance Company, Studio 4 13:30 to 14:30	Free Event
Nonfiction, Fiction, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

160: Workshop: Writing Memoir with Georgia Blain * SOLD OUT * Every life is a story worth telling. Learn how to write about yours.	Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Carmichael Room 13:30 to 16:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Industry	Workshops	More Info

14 : 30

164: Ryan Knighton in Conversation Ryan Knighton discusses 'Cockeyed', his irreverent account of his slow descent into blindness.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 14:30 to 15:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

16 : 30

179: Families Through Generations Three writers discuss how family history can provide useful background for writing.	Sydney Dance Company, Studio 1 16:30 to 17:30	Free Event
Life Writing, Fiction	Panel	More Info

17 : 30

181: Launch: Poking Seaweed with a Stick and Running Away from the Smell Wakefield Press launches Alison Whitelock’s memoir about growing up in Scotland.	Bangarra Mezzanine 17:30 to 19:00	Free Event
Life Writing	Launch	More Info

18 : 30

187: Bob Carr’s Reading Life Bibliophile Bob Carr speaks about his profound love of reading books.	Penrith City Library 18:30 to 20:00	Ticketed Event
Culture & Heritage, Fiction, Life Writing	Lecture	More Info

19 : 00

190: An Evening with Judith Lucy One of Australia's best-loved comediennes shares tales from memoir, 'The Lucy Family Alphabet'.	Paddington Town Hall 19:00 to 20:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

• Saturday, May 24 2008 •

09 : 30

199: Wibke Bruhns in Conversation Wibke Bruhns discusses the search for her father, executed for treason in WWII.	Pier 2/3, Upstairs Writers’ Salon 09:30 to 10:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, History, Nonfiction	In Conversation	More Info

10 : 00

209: The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif Najaf Mazari and Robert Hillman discuss an Afghani refugee’s extraordinary journey.	Sydney Philharmonia Choir Studio 10:00 to 11:00	Free Event
Current Affairs, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

11 : 00

214: Bob Carr in Conversation with Maxine McKew Bob Carr talks about the books that have captured his attention with Maxine McKew.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 11:00 to 12:00	Ticketed Event
Culture & Heritage, Fiction, Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

210: Triumph Over Adversity Successful businesswomen Pauline Nguyen and Sabina Wolanksi discuss their inspirational memoirs.	Bangarra Mezzanine 11:00 to 12:00	Free Event
Life Writing	Panel	More Info

12 : 30

220: The Poet Who Forgot Catherine Cole talks to Charlotte Wood about her mentor/apprentice relationship with A.D. Hope.	Bangarra Mezzanine 12:30 to 13:30	Free Event
Life Writing, Poetry, History	In Conversation	More Info

13 : 00

227: Jan Wong at Campbelltown Arts Centre Jan Wong discusses Beijing’s journey from communism to capitalism and her personal quest for absolution.	Campbelltown Arts Centre 13:00 to 14:00	Free Event
Culture & Heritage, Nonfiction, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

14 : 00

239: Naldo Rei in Conversation Naldo Rei speaks with Claire Scobie about his own extraordinary journey fighting for East Timor's freedom.	Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 14:00 to 15:00	Ticketed Event
History, Life Writing, Nonfiction	In Conversation	More Info

238: The Lives of Others Hermione Lee and Simon Sebag Montefiore discuss the art of biography.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 14:00 to 15:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	Panel	More Info

14 : 30

242: Writing Lives Craig Sherborne, Andrew Riemer and Jacqueline Kent discuss the chronicling of lives.	Sydney Dance Company, Studio 2/3 14:30 to 15:30	Free Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction	Panel	More Info

15 : 30

248: Brazil Carmen Michael and Thomas Kohnstamm talk about their Brazilian adventures with Claire Scobie.	Pier 2/3, Upstairs Writers’ Salon 15:30 to 16:30	Ticketed Event
Current Affairs, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

17 : 00

258: John Burnside in Conversation * SOLD OUT * John Burnside, one of Scotland's best-loved living writers, talks about his new novel 'Glister'.	Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 17:00 to 18:00	Ticketed Event
Fiction, Poetry, Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

17 : 30

259: Launch: Growing Up Asian in Australia Alice Pung and Black Inc. launch 'Growing Up Asian in Australia'.	Bangarra Mezzanine 17:30 to 19:00	Free Event
Culture & Heritage, Life Writing	Launch	More Info

• Sunday, May 25 2008 •

10 : 00

270: Tea in the Library Annette Freeman speaks about fulfilling her dream to open a bookshop cafe in Sydney.	Sydney Dance Company, Studio 1 10:00 to 11:00	Free Event
Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

11 : 00

281: Australian Lives * SOLD OUT * Kate Llewellyn, Georgia Blain and Kathleen Stewart discuss autobiographical writing.	Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 11:00 to 12:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	Panel	More Info

280: Don Watson’s American Journey Don Watson explores his ambivalence and affection for the nation that has influenced him more than any other.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 11:00 to 12:00	Ticketed Event
Current Affairs, Life Writing	Author Talk	More Info

277: Peter van Onselen in Conversation What does it take to paint a picture of Australia’s head of government? Peter van Onselen shares his experiences with George Negus.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 11:00 to 12:00	Ticketed Event
Nonfiction, Life Writing, Current Affairs	In Conversation	More Info

12 : 30

292: Women in Politics * SOLD OUT * Margaret Reynolds and Margot Saville discuss the importance of women in politics.	Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 12:30 to 13:30	Ticketed Event
Current Affairs, Nonfiction, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

13 : 00

294: Food as Communication: Secrets of the Red Lantern Red Lantern’s Pauline Nguyen speaks about the language of food in her family.	Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre 13:00 to 14:30	Free Event
Food & Drink, Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

14 : 00

303: An Unimagined Journey with Imran Ahmad Imran Ahmad speaks about his memoir 'Unimagined' with Bruce Elder.	Pier 2/3, Upstairs Writers’ Salon 14:00 to 15:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Current Affairs	Author Talk	More Info

302: Boycott Lisa Forrest tells the story of Australia’s controversial involvement in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 14:00 to 15:00	Ticketed Event
Culture & Heritage, History, Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

307: Set to Music Graeme Skinner and Jacqueline Kent discuss their biographies of Peter Sculthorpe and Hephzibah Menuhin.	Sydney Theatre, Richard Wherrett Studio 14:00 to 15:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction, Music	Panel	More Info

15 : 00

314: Salu-Salo: in Conversation with Filipino-Australian Writers Anthology contributors, Merlinda Bobis, Cesar Leyco Aguila and Robert Nery discuss their work.	Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre 15:00 to 17:00	Free Event
Culture & Heritage, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

15 : 30

315: From Oral History to Contemporary Performance Roslyn Oades and Tim Carroll discuss two innovative local theatre projects.	Bangarra Theatre 15:30 to 17:00	Free Event
Scriptwriting, Life Writing	Panel	More Info

318: Kate Jennings in Conversation with Caroline Baum Kate Jennings discusses her new book 'Stanley and Sophie'.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 15:30 to 16:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Nonfiction	In Conversation	More Info

317: Margaret Reynolds in Conversation with Carmen Lawrence Margaret Reynolds talks with Carmen Lawrence about a life lived in politics.	Pier 2/3, Upstairs Writers’ Salon 15:30 to 16:30	Ticketed Event
Life Writing, Current Affairs, Nonfiction	In Conversation	More Info

17 : 00

326: Kate Llewellyn in Conversation One of Australia’s best-known writers discusses her latest self-portrait, 'The Dressmaker's Daughter'.	Pier 2/3, Downstairs 17:00 to 18:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing	In Conversation	More Info

325: Launch: Recollections of Mr Manoly Lascaris Brandl & Schlesinger launches Vrasidas Karalis’ new book.	Bangarra Mezzanine 17:00 to 18:30	Free Event
Life Writing, Current Affairs, Culture & Heritage	Launch	More Info

328: Remembering Parents Wibke Bruhns, Craig Sherborne and David Rieff discuss the agony and catharsis of writing about parents.	Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 17:00 to 18:00	Ticketed Event
Life Writing