News
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Bureaus down to the wire Foreign affairs journalism is in crisis from inadequate funding and the closure of many overseas bureaus, according to foreign correspondents speaking at the Festival. Read more
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Imaginary lives The head of one of Australia’s largest publishing houses is alarmed at the dramatic surge in fake memoirs. HarperCollins publishing director Shona Martyn says that publishers need toughen their scrutiny of manuscripts to stop the work of con artists slipping through. Read more |
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The gender agenda Gender relation problems could be solved by dressing schoolboys as schoolgirls for a week, an author says. Read more |
Rewriting Festival history Tom Thompson wants recognition. The veteran publisher claims he and his wife, Elizabeth Butel, began the Sydney Writers’ Festival over 20 years ago, but have been erased from the history books. Read more |
Censorship curbs artistic freedom The defence of free speech stopped statesman journalist David Marr from honouring a long-standing commitment to speak at a Festival event this week. Read more |
Story selling A portly man dressed in navy blue rushes up and leaps onto the stage. Read more |
Building bridges Authors have called for social justice for Indigenous Australians, arguing that Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians all need to study the history, culture, and realities of Australia’s first people. Read more |
Such sweet sorrow Longevity is the latest competitive sport for baby boomers, says Mark Wakely, author of Sweet Sorrow: A Beginner’s Guide to Death. Read more |
2008 UTS Writers Anthology The 2008 UTS Writers Anthology was launched yesterday, on the theme We All Need A Witness. Read more |
Pump up the price A call for Australians to pay $3 per litre for petrol was met with rapturous applause at a Festival event called The Simple Life. Read more |
Terror form Terrorism in the western world is in retreat. Leading terrorism expert Loretta Napoleoni and journalist Sadanand Dhume both agree that the world in 2008 is a safer place to live in than it has been previously. Read more |
Under review A prominent writer and fiction critic at The Sydney Morning Herald has accused the industry of underpaying literary reviewers, which leads to falling standards. Read more |
The buzz The recent devastating earthquake in China has a special resonance for travel writer Grace Pundyk. Read more |
Beyond the paper Why would a journalist take unpaid leave from their job, work most weekends and use up their holiday time just so they can spend more time writing? Read more |
Turn over a new leaf Australian history is written in its trees, according to science journalist and writer Bob Beale. Read more |
A shaggy dog story Book of the Year author Michelle de Kretser may be seeing a lot more of her dog as booksellers rush to stick copies of her prize-winning novel back in their windows following the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Read more |
China's web of conspiracy The Chinese middle class is the emerging bull in the transition towards a democratic state. Read more |
High Prose A book of poetry and prose launched at the Festival gives voice to the literary traditions and voices of multicultural Australia. Read more |
This year's shortlist... Nine News Chief John Westacott: “Sheilas do health and consumer stories. You want your blokes, your main guns, doing your real news stories.” Read more |
Men behaving badly “Excuse me, is this where the sheilas are hanging?” Two hundred heads swivel, craning to get a glimpse of the rotund figure blocking the auditorium doorway with his gut. Read more |
Creating new words is child's play Ever wondered if there’s a name for the milky moustache kids get when they drink milk from a glass? It could be a “moostache”, writer and broadcaster Richard Glover suggested to his young audience at the sold-out Primary School Days event in Parramatta. Read more |
Long shot falls short Much-hyped plans for five “literary luminaries” to appear via video conferencing at the Festival have flopped because of last-minute technical issues. Read more |
Fiction unleashed Losing your dog for 13 days would make most people feel unlucky, but for Melbourne author Michelle de Kretser, losing her dog Gus was a stroke of good fortune – he’s just helped her win two prizes in the 2008 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Read more |
Go Westside At 13, Michael Mohammed Ahmad wrote his first story for Westside, a literary magazine showcasing writers, artists and photographers of western Sydney. Read more |
Rhymes for a reason The audience for Poetry Outloud was spread thinly throughout the grand hall of the Carrington Hotel, Katoomba. They only half-filled it, but, as the evening drew to a close, poet Mark O’Flynn announced without the slightest hint of irony: “It’s great to see such a healthy audience for poetry.” Read more |