Festival Friday is our day of transition — we wrapped up our fabulous Word Play program, took some headlining BWF artists to UQ for the day and ramped up our Main Festival content. Rosella, our delightful roving student reporter, joined in the Word Play fun today and declared it "the funnest time yet"! Here is her wrap up:
The first two emotions that I felt when I walked into the Brisbane Writers Festival were fear and excitement. And it turned out that the only emotion I should have felt was excitement. This time at the Brisbane Writers Festival I wasn't a student chair, but I did get to chat with three authors.
The first one I talked to was Lee Battersby (author of Magrit). I even got to know what his next book is going to be. It's going to be called "Ghost Tracks".
The next author I talked to was Lance Balchin (author of Mechanica). And surprisingly, he likes cheese and cats! He wants his cat to be a Hollywood movie star some time.
The third and last author I talked to was Katherine Battersby (author of Little Characters With Big Hearts). She really loved Goosebumps books and we talked about that for a while.
I loved how funny the authors were and that they were all different. Once they talked about their books, you want to buy their books!
It was definitely worth going out of school to the Brisbane Writers Festival.
From the Roving Reporter, Rosella
Thanks for visiting us, Rosella! We're so thrilled that you and hundreds of other bright young things came along. Go forth and read, write and be awesome.
Here are a few of our favourite Friday tweets:
"the number one rule of story is never be boring"
@Sophie Overett
"I know for a fact not one person will leave this room today without a new thought or insight"
our student host thanks @slamup #bwf16.
"I know I'd come home"
@Jacinta Halloran on entering her first writing class.
Here is today's Daily Dozen, a round-up of upcoming events that we think you’ll love and that, amazingly, still have tickets available! You can book online, by phone, or in person at the peachy Festival box office during festival hours.
1. Retreat to Move Forward — Here's one for those who love following international politics. Hear a fascinating panel discussion as investigative journalists Suki Kim and David Bandurski join Andy Merrifield and Dr Gerhard Hoffstaeder talking about the relationship between national growth and social turmoil.
2. Wisdom Tree Live — How could you go past a FREE opportunity to hear Nick's delightful Wisdom Tree novella series come to life? With readings and music from local performers, take a literary journey to New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Juneau, before landing back in Brisbane through these gorgeous stories. A perfect Saturday night at the Festival!
3. Kirsty Eager — Kirsty's book Summer Skin is a modern look at love and intimacy on campus. Hear her talk about her work with humour, freshness and honesty.
4. Love YA! — The ultimate lineup of authors writing great YA fiction hits Brisbane Square Library tomorrow. A few faves, a few new voices, and as much reading and writing inspiration as you can handle with Meg Rosoff, David Levithan and some great Australian authors! Did we mention this one's FREE too?
5. Kate Forsyth — Kate's reimagining of Beauty and the Beast in The Beast's Garden is a charming and compelling reimagining of the original, mixing fairy tales with 20th century history. A literary mash-up, you could say. Always a Festival favourite!
6. Steven Amsterdam — How many palliative care nurses do you know who are also novelists? Steven's third book, The Easy Way Out, is set in an unnamed city where assisted dying is legal. It's been called 'a perfect storm of a novel' and also 'incredibly funny'.
7. Overlords and Underworlds — If you like your stories dark, strange, and other worldly, this is the perfect session for you. Amazing genre writers Justin Cronin, Angela Slatter and Candice Fox talk about their writing process and how they delve into invented worlds and explore the dark edges.
8. 50 Shades Flipped — The erotic bestseller took the world by storm, but what about all the fabulous authors who are busy writing about sex in a positive light? Karen Pickering, who started the Slut Walk movement in Melbourne, joins Kirsty Eagar and Emily Harris for a funny and refreshing conversation.
9. Mark Tedeschi — Delve into a dark side of Australian history with author and Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi AM QC (known for his work on cases including the Balibo Five, the Backpacker Murders and the assassination of John Newman).
10. Twilight in the Red Box — Our friends at Queensland Music Festival joined us today for Twilight in the Red Box – but never fear! There’s another chance to face the music tomorrow night.
11. Jen Rayner — Jen Rayner is calling all people from Generation Less . Will young Australians be the first generation since the Great Depression worse off than their parents?
12. Julia Leigh — Get intimate with Julia Leigh as she reveals her difficult IVF journey, In Conversation about her new book Avalanche,