Everyone should have at least one indulgence in life – something they do purely because they love it. For me, that indulgence occurs twice a year. Once in May, when I go to Sydney for the weekend to go to the Sydney Writers Festival, and again in August when M comes down to Melbourne and we spend the weekend at the Melbourne Writers Festival.
When you’re 40, writers festivals are a cool place to hang out, because you actually feel quite young by comparison with the majority of the audiences. But that’s not why I go. I love to set aside three days (twice a year) to attend a randomly chosen selection of sessions to hear authors, journalists, playwrights and/or filmmakers discuss their crafts and their latest works (so that they keep their publicists happy). M and I apply a somewhat haphazard approach in choosing who we go to hear and as a result always walk away with surprising new insights, or with our opinions challenged, or with the resolution that we never want to attend a session by that author again (rare).
The festival is mostly held in the Walsh Bay precinct, in the shadow of THE Bridge. We attended several sessions held in the Heritage Pier and I found myself constantly drawn to the view out the windows.
The Heritage Pier is a great venue. The floor consists of the well-worn boards of a working pier and where there are gaps between them, you catch glimpses of the turquoise green of the Harbour water below.
Highlights of this year’s Festival for me were:
Hearing Melbourne author, Christos Tsiolkas discuss his novel, The Slap. This session was a sell-out and it seemed every bookgroup in Sydney was there. I don’t know a bookgroup that hasn’t either already read this book, or got it lined up for the months ahead. My own bookgroup is reading it this month. I would have liked to be a little further through it before I attended the session, but I still gained a lot from hearing Tsiolkas discuss it. Near the beginning of the novel, a child is slapped by an adult (not his parent) at a BBQ, and as the novel unfolds, we see the incident and its repercussions through the eyes of eight separate characters who were all at the BBQ. I’m reserving judgement, but so far I’m finding the book really distasteful. I’m cringing at the actions of the characters, all of whom I’m finding eminently unlikeable. All of which, of course, highlights the skill of the author in eliciting this response from me.
In getting my copy signed by Tsiolkas I was able to ask him a question which was really bothering me about the first chapter – why did Hector’s wife send him to the markets to buy eggplants (‘European, not Asian’) when several pages later we learn they have a vine dripping with them in their own backyard? Oh yes, I’m deep and intellectual.
Listening to Kate Summerscale discuss her book, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher which examines the real-life story of the murder of a three year old boy in an English country house in the 1860s and the subsequent investigation by the detective, Mr Whicher. I knew nothing of this book before attending the session, but Kate’s explanation of the research and writing process was so fascinating that I ended up buying the book, and I was the absolute last in the queue to get it signed by her (in direct contradiction to M’s Author-Signing Technique – patent-pending – which guarantees a place in the first five in the queue.)
Seeing Kate Grenville at a special event held at the S H Ervin gallery housed in the historic National Trust Centre on Observatory Hill. Kate is one of my all-time favourite authors and I am completely in awe of her writing skill, so I was a little star-struck to have the opportunity to speak with her while getting my copy of The Lieutenant signed. Luckily, I opened mouth, brain kicked into gear and I was able to say something which actually made sense (I hope). After the session we were taken on a tour of the Old Observatory, which included using the big telescope in one of the domes.
Wondering in sheer amazement at the runaway success of Christian Landers‘ blog-turned-bestseller-book, Stuff White People Like. This book started as a WordPress blog in January 2008, and by July that same year was on the US bestseller lists. The session was most entertaining as Landers is a natural comic. The interviewing prowess of the facilitator for that session was a little uninspiring, but once he got a question out and then let Landers just run (and run) with it, it was bearable.
Attending a session at The Mint to hear David Hill discuss his book, 1788. He has reconstructed the story of the First Fleet based entirely on primary sources (mostly in the Mitchell Library in Sydney), letting the characters themselves tell their story. David Hill is an effortless raconteur and had the audience hanging off his every word. He is also extremely knowledgeable about the stories of the First Fleet. We didn’t have time to stay to get him to sign the book, so I figured I may as well just get it back here in Melbourne. It is definitely on my wish list.
After a session by George Friedman (internationally recognized expert in security and intelligence issues) on his book, The Next 100 Years, M employed her tried and tested methods and was close to the front of the queue for signing.
I, on the other hand, made a late call to buy the book for The Poolboy and was close to the end of the queue.
We saw many other sessions too (both paid and free)…but I shall not bore you with all the details. You’ll just have to come along next year to find out for yourself what you’re missing out on.
All up, a most enjoyable Festival. It’s
always great to see M and her family at any time, but combined with a Writers Festival it is a true highlight of
the year. And now I have just three months to wait until my next indulgent installment…the
Melbourne Writers Festival.(And Melbourne?…shhhhh…it pains me to say it, but this year’s SWF will be a hard act to beat.)
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