The Age, Saturday July 23, 2016

For everyone who reads

PJ Harvey & Seamus Murphy

26 Aug — 4 Sep

Maxine Beneba Clarke

Lionel Shriver Alexei Sayle Richard Flanagan Helen Garner Rainbow Rowell Yann Martel Molly Crabapple AC Grayling and more

For the full Festival program and ticketing details, go to: mwf.com.au NATAGE S001

2

mwf.com.au

Bliss for book fiends Top authors and hot topics make for an unmissable Festival, writes Jason Steger.

M

elbourne Writers Festival provides 10 days of opportunity. Opportunity to encounter fresh voices and their work; see writers whose work you already love; get your grey matter working as you encounter big ideas from speakers from home and overseas; and enjoy a community of writers and readers. The Festival is, to coin a phrase, bliss for book fiends. For more than 30 years, Melbourne Writers Festival has excited book lovers. ‘‘It’s for everyone who reads,’’ says director Lisa Dempster, ‘‘and three decades in, we’re proud to continue to bring the best writers and thinkers from around the world to this wonderful city.’’ The theme of the 2016 chapter is ‘‘identity’’, a topic everyone will at some stage and to some varying degree have pondered. ‘‘We’re looking forward to unpacking what that means, from the personal to the political,’’ Dempster says. Panels will range from the question of citizenship to issues surrounding gender and the influence of families, as writers and thinkers explore what makes us who we are. ‘‘We’ve got so many great speakers from so many different backgrounds, and we can’t wait for them to share their thoughtprovoking experiences and insights with the people of Melbourne. We’ve got something for everyone,’’ Dempster says. Just have a look at the names who will be popping up at Fed Square between August 26 and September 4: best-selling authors from overseas such as Yann Martel and Lionel Shriver, along with Geoff Dyer, Angela Flournoy, A.C. Grayling, Eimear McBride and Alexei Sayle, to mention just a few. Australian guests include Bob Carr, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Richard Flanagan, Helen Garner, Emily Maguire, Henry Reynolds, Anne Summers, Lindsay Tanner, Gillian Triggs, Christos Tsiolkas and Charlotte Wood. As a bonus, a handful of Feminist Writers Festival events make up a mini festival within the Festival as a host of speakers including Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Shakira Hussein and Anne Summers consider feminism as it relates to aspects of writing. The popular Schools’ Program will feature the new Australian Children’s Laureate, Leigh Hobbs, along with David Levithan, John Marsden, Meg Rosoff and comedian Magda Szubanski. The literary celebration kicks off with an opening address by the provocative Maxine Beneba Clarke, whose new memoir The Hate

BEING GEOFF DYER Heralded as one of the world’s most original contemporary writers, Geoff Dyer blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction in his esoteric works. The British wordsmith talks through his career, discussing technique and exploring personal identity through writing about place. August 27, 1pm, Deakin Edge.

Lionel Shriver

Yann Martel

HELEN GARNER Everywhere I Look Garner is one of Australia’s greatest writers, with work that is unflinchingly real. Her latest book, Everywhere I Look, spans 15 years, from raging against ageist condescension to personal diary extracts. Iconic editor John Freeman is a fan: he’ll interview her about her life and work. August 27, 8.30pm, Deakin Edge. STAN GRANT AND ANITA HEISS Wiradjuri Stories Iconic Aboriginal authors Stan Grant and Anita Heiss are both from the Wiradjuri nation. They’ll yarn about the politics, passion and creativity that drives their work, as well as the central influence of their community – and their sense of accountability to it. August 28, 6pm, Deakin Edge.

Maxine Beneba Clarke Race is released soon. Opening night will include the presentation of the Miles Franklin Literary Award. The Festival concludes 10 days later when Lionel Shriver (We Need to Talk About Kevin) gets to grips with questions of gender. Life of Pi author Yann Martel headlines two key events. On August 28 he discusses his new work The High Mountains of Portugal. Can books help our lives? Can they influence the people who make the big decisions that affect us all? Martel and Anna Funder (All that I Am) think so and on August 27 will discuss the books they think world leaders should be reading for our benefit. No pressure on them to come up with the right titles! Richard Flanagan will deliver his first public lecture in his capacity as the inaugural Boisbouvier Founding Chair of Australian

Alexei Sayle Literature at the University of Melbourne, delving into the heart of things by asking ‘‘Does writing matter?’’. Enigmatic English musician P.J. Harvey will appear with collaborator Seamus Murphy to discuss and present The Hollow of the Hand, a record of photographs and poetry that emerged from journeys to several countries. Also from Britain comes a very different performer, Alexei Sayle, actor, writer and memoirist who will discuss the relationship between politics and comedy in his country during the 1980s and the time of Margaret Thatcher’s ascendancy. The full Festival program is at mwf.com.au. Events book out fast, so book now to ensure your 10 days of bliss includes all the writers you want to hear and more.

READINGS FESTIVAL BOOKSHOP International Bookstore of the Year 2016 Australian Independent Book Retailer of the Year 2016 NATAGE S002

FIVE THINGS NOT TO MISS

Open daily in the Atrium at Fed Square during the Melbourne Writers Festival

MAGDA SZUBANSKI AND DAMON YOUNG Why I Read Join Magda Szubanski and philosopher Damon Young (The Art of Reading) as they reveal their personal histories of reading and share the books that have inspired and influenced them. September 2, 1pm, Deakin Edge. BOB CARR AND GILLIAN TRIGGS A Shrinking Democracy? Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs was personally and politically attacked following her damning 2014 report on Australia’s offshore detention centres. Former foreign minister Bob Carr argues that despite fracturing party systems, parliamentary democracy remains our best option. September 2, 2.30pm, Deakin Edge.

Made in Melbourne

wa wal w alk king kin ng towards to wa ards ourselves ou o rselves indian women tel ell Their T heir sto tories Edited byy C Catriona trion Mitchel Mitchell Foreword by Namita Gokhale Forewor ha

Follow us at the Festival facebook.com/hardiegrant

@hardiegrantbooks

@hardiegrant

hardiegrantbooks.com.au

NATAGE S003

4

mwf.com.au

Local voices front and centre Enjoy an inspiring line up of prize-winning Australian authors.

T

he Festival’s Australian literature line-up collectively represents many of the nation’s best new fiction voices. In conversation will be four of this year’s five shortlisted authors for Australia’s premier fiction prize, the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Festival bookseller Readings will present five free New Australian Fiction events across both weekends of the Festival, each featuring half-hour interviews with two emerging authors, and one shining a spotlight on two authors shortlisted for the Readings Prize. Given the depth and diversity of the Australian contingent, Festival goers are advised to book ahead, as there are so many voices you’ll want to hear. Miles Franklin nominee Charlotte Wood has the 2016 Stella Prize for women writers, the Indie Book of the Year and the Indie Fiction Book of the Year for her latest novel, The Natural Way of Things, on her shelf. Wood is the author of five novels and a book of non-fiction. Charlotte Wood: The Natural Way of Things, September 4, 10am, Deakin Edge. A. S. Patric’s first novel Black Rock White City is described as ‘‘a breathtaking roar of energy’’ about refugees from war-torn Yugoslavia trying to reclaim their dreams in mid-90s suburban Melbourne. The Miles Franklin judges describe his work as at times brutal and challenging, ‘‘yet a deft poetry underlies its cinematic reach’’. Patric has won awards for other works of fiction, which include short story collections Las Vegas for Vegans,The Rattler & Other Stories and the novella Bruno Kramzer. At the Festival, Patric and Tony Birch (Ghost River) will talk about the intersection of circumstance and opportunity, and how where you’re from influences who you become. Writing Class, September 4, 4pm, ACMI Studio 1. Lucy Treloar’s first novel Salt Creek won the Australian Book Industry Association’s Matt Richell Award and the Indie Award for Debut Fiction. Salt Creek is set in a remote settlement on the Coorong in 1855, where a family’s trials with frontier life and its effects on Indigenous locals are seen through the eyes of daughter Hester. As events gradually tear the family apart, Hester wonders about the whole idea of

A.S. Patric civilisation. ‘‘As if Emily Bronte had once lived in far-flung South Australia,’’ commented the Miles Franklin judges, ‘‘this accomplished novel is a time-traveller’s delight’’. New Australian Fiction presented by Readings, 2 September, 10am, ACMI The Cube, free. Peggy Frew’s second novel, Hope Farm, set in a commune in 1985, is told in two voices: a mother and her 13-year-old daughter, who is starting to question the way that adults control her life. Frew’s debut novel House of Sticks won the 2010 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript. Frew and Olga Lorenzo (The Light on the Water) reflect on the intricacies of writing non-traditional family relationships, and the effects of class and trauma on parenting. Fractured Families, September 2, 11.30am, ACMI Studio 1. Renowned writer Georgia Blain unpacks her powerful novel, Between a Wolf and a Dog, at the Festival. The novel revolves around therapist Ester, who makes a living helping others find happiness, but her own family is fractured. What makes a good life – and a good marriage, mother, daughter or sister? Blain considers such

Peggy Frew

Lucy Treloar

questions in conversation with Charlotte Wood. Georgia Blain: Between a Wolf and a Dog, September 4, 1pm, ACMI Studio 1. Five novellas – one a month since May, 2016. Five separate stories – all linked in subtle, intriguing ways. Award-winning author Nick Earls unpacks his bold new series, Wisdom Tree, and its exploration of place, belonging and the small things that connect people worldwide. Nick Earls: Wisdom Tree, 3 September, 2.30pm, ACMI Studio 1. From the Holocaust to Vietnam, war can impact not just those involved, but their children, too. Novelists Leah Kaminsky (The Waiting Room) and Josephine Rowe (A Loving, Faithful Animal) examine how later generations deal with the ghosts of their families’ pasts. Intergenerational Trauma, September 3, 10am, ACMI Cinema 1. Liane Moriarty’s gripping books on the hidden complexities of family have sold six million copies worldwide and been adapted for TV (Big Little Lies). She talks about her latest novel, Truly Madly Guilty, and its

exploration of the depths of parental remorse. Liane Moriarty: Truly Madly Guilty, August 27, 4pm, ACMI Studio 1. How do writers tackle serious topics with humour? Rosalie Ham, author of The Dressmaker, and Liane Moriarty discuss how they bring subversive and dark stories about women to life on the page in a wickedly funny way. Wickedly Funny, August 28, 2.30pm, ACMI The Cube, free. Former ALP federal MP Lindsay Tanner has gone from politics to the page, drawing on his career experiences to explore Australian racism in his first novel. Comfort Zone follows a small-minded Melbourne man who falls into crime – and in love with a Somali woman. Lindsay Tanner: Comfort Zone, September 2, 1pm, ACMI Cinema 1. When violent crimes shake small towns, the victim is more than just a name on the news. Jane Harper (The Dry) and Emily Maguire (An Isolated Incident) investigate motivations for murders, and the impact they have on those left behind. Small Town Crime, August 28, 11.30am, ACMI Studio 1. FOR THE FULL PROGRAM AND TO BOOK, SEE MWF.COM.AU.

2 Hats The Age Good Food Guide 2015, 2016

Best Regional Accommodation & Best Regional Restaurant AHA Awards For Excellence 2016

Jury Award, Top 50 Wine Lists Worldwide Fine Wine Magazine UK 2016

Stay, W ine & Dine

Grand Award Wine Spectator, USA, 2016

from $ 5 per co 00 uple

direct book only ings

Royal Mail Hotel, Parker Street, Dunkeld, Grampians, Victoria NATAGE S004

royalmail.com.au

[email protected] 03 5577 2241

5

mwf.com.au Magnetic Brit performer a Festival highlight, writes Elissa Blake.

W

hen Polly Jean Harvey takes to the stage for her only appearance in Australia this year, she will do so without her band or the instruments she plays. Instead, the multi-award-winning British songwriter and musician will be wielding her first published book of poetry, The Hollow of the Hand, a collaboration with Irish photojournalist Seamus Murphy, on stage at Melbourne Writers Festival. Harvey, one of the most critically acclaimed musicians of her generation, has won the British Mercury Prize twice – the only artist to do so – and has six Grammy Award nominations.For those who have followed her career, one that caught Australian ears in the early 1990s with the starkly sensual albums Dry (1991) and Rid of Me (1993), Harvey’s poetic bent comes as no surprise. When she released her 2011 album Let England Shake, she acknowledged T. S. Eliot and Ted Hughes as inspirations. The Hollow of the Hand sees Harvey and Murphy document in words and images their

Rocker’s poetry a rare treat

P.J. Harvey and Seamus Murphy journeys into war zones between 2011 and 2014: Kosovo, Afghanistan and Washington, DC. ‘‘Gathering information from secondary sources felt too far removed for what I was trying to write about,’’ said Harvey in a statement released by her publisher,

Bloomsbury. ‘‘I wanted to smell the air, feel the soil and meet the people of the countries I was fascinated with.’’ She did just that and the critics were impressed. ‘‘Lyrical, song-like, declarative, the poems have a devastating directness,’’

declared The Times Literary Supplement. ‘‘Punchy and vivid,’’ said The Guardian. In Let England Shake, Harvey depicted a Britain mired in a continuum of war, arrogance and sacrifice. In The Hollow of the Hand, she takes a more global view, looking at the ways violence shapes people’s lives. In her poem The Boy, Harvey follows a guide through the backstreets of Kabul: Young boy in your face/ every loss I can trace/ Follow you enter in / Put my feet in your foot prints. In the Kosovo-inspired poem The Glass, she recalls another boy’s face: In the rear-view glass/ A face pock-marked and hollow that should be growing smaller/ is saying, Dollar, dollar. It stares back from the glass; I can’t look through or past. Harvey hasn’t toured Australia since 2012, in the wake of her second Mercury Prize win for Let England Shake. Those shows sold out within minutes. This one-off opportunity to see this magnetic performer, along with her collaborator, Murphy, will do likewise. P.J. Harvey & Seamus Murphy, The Hollow of the Hand, September 1, 8.30pm, Athenaeum Theatre. SEE MWF.COM.AU TO BOOK.

TOP FIVE: MY PICKS OF THE PROGRAM

Charlotte Wood

Alice Pung

Raf Epstein

Clementine Ford

Maxine Beneba Clarke

Helen Garner: Everywhere Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lionel Shriver: The Juliet Jacques: Trans I Look I ripped through Helen Opening Night Address Clarke is Mandibles My best book of the 1It’s vital to hear from more 1Garner’s 1 1 latest essays with a one of those rare writers that is year so far. A chilling, thrilling trans voices. Juliet Jacques’s

Can The Refugee Narrative Be Shifted? The narrative around 1refugees in Australia is stagnant.

rising sense of glee and joy that came straight from the writing, then read them again more slowly to learn and savour. She’s always riveting in conversation, but this one with John Freeman will be extra special. Artistic Lives of Women With Emily Bitto and Rosalyn D’Mello Eimear McBride: The Lesser Bohemians Lionel Shriver: Closing Night Address Meet Elizabeth Harrower

These are the kinds of discussions we should be having, as writers: how do we use the power of the word to influence action or outcome? With Madeline Gleeson, Ruby Hamad, Abdul Karim Hekmat, Jamila Rizvi. Poetry of the Self With Michael Farrell, Gig Ryan, Ellen van Neerven and more Angela Flournoy: The Turner House Westside Storytelling Live: Change With Alan Brough, Toni Jordan, Alice Pung and more Bibliodiversity With Urvashi Butalia, Susan Hawthorne and Marisa Pintado

2 3 4 5

Charlotte Wood will appear in Charlotte Wood: The Natural Way of Things; Winning Women, and Georgia Blain: Between a Wolf and a Dog.

frank, fearless and full of integrity. Having known how long her book The Hate Race has been incubating, I rejoice that she is MWF’s opening keynote speaker! Revising Australian History With Bruce Pascoe and Henry Reynolds Writers Across Borders With Fan Dai, Eliza Vitri Handayani, Xu Xi, Lawrence Lacambra Ypil and more. YA Superstars With David Levithan and Rainbow Rowell Intergenerational Trauma With Leah Kaminsky and Josephine Rowe

2 3

4 5

Writer Alice Pung (Laurinda) will appear in Westside Storytelling Live: Change, and Writers Across Borders, and the Festival Schools’ Program.

vision of dystopia for anyone interested and terrified by where our politics and economy are going, with one of the most interesting authors I’ve ever had the pleasure to interview. Angela Flournoy: The Turner House George Megolagenis: John Button Oration Anna Funder: The Art of Fiction Richard Flanagan: Does Writing Matter?

2 3 4 5

Presenter of 774 ABC Melbourne’s Drive, Raf Epstein will host Yann Martel: The High Mountains of Portugal; Lionel Shriver: The Mandibles and Philippe Sands: The Origins of Genocide.

memoir sounds fascinating, and I’m looking forward to hearing her speak about a topic that seems to be quite prominent now but also still silenced. Feminism Then & Now With Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Anne Summers Charlotte Wood: The Natural Way of Things Feminism Online With Jax Jacki Brown and Giselle AuNhien Nguyen The Writers’ Room With Steve Hely and Benjamin Law

2 3 4 5

Fairfax Media columnist Clementine Ford will appear in Personal Journalism and the Festival Schools’ Program.

2 3 4 5

Maxine Beneba Clarke will give the Festival Opening Night Address, and appear in Writing Memoir with Tracy K. Smith.

CREATE YOUR OWN TOP 5 AND SAVE WITH A MWF 5 PACK. FOR FULL DETAILS OF SESSIONS VISIT MWF.COM.AU

The best-selling novel lovingly adapted for the stage

JASPER JONES based on the novel by Craig Silvey adapted by Kate Mulvany From 1 August Southbank Theatre

BOOK NOW / MTC.COM.AU

Production Partner

Media Partner

MTC is a department of the University of Melbourne

NATAGE S005

6

mwf.com.au

Women to watch Bestselling novelist Lionel Shriver leads a Festival of many voices, writes Jane Sullivan.

L

ionel Shriver might not like being named as a woman to watch at Melbourne Writers Festival. She has strong views on many subjects, including gender. Our preoccupation with gender identity is a giant cultural step backwards, she argued this year in Prospect magazine: ‘‘I do not want my epitaph to read ‘She was a she’.’’ The outspoken American novelist is sure to fire up the audience for her closing night address at the Festival – on gender. She’s been causing a stir ever since the 2003 release of her seventh novel, the Orange Prize-winning We Need to Talk About Kevin, about a mother whose son commits a massacre at his school. In a separate event, Shriver will talk about her latest novel, The Mandibles, a dystopian vision of a future America collapsing under the weight of national debt. In a twist on Donald Trump’s promise, Mexico builds a wall on its northern border to keep out US citizens trying to escape. Lionel Shriver talks to Raf Epstein about The Mandibles, September 4, 11.30am, ACMI Studio 1, and gives the Festival Closing Night Address on September 4, 6pm, Deakin Edge. An equally bold speaker, Maxine Beneba Clarke, will deliver the Festival Opening Night Address on how to ‘‘unlearn’’ conservative approaches to reading, writing and literature. The Melbourne author made a powerful fiction debut with her short story collection, Foreign Soil, which won the 2015 Australian Book Industry Award for Literary Fiction Book of the Year. It’s a busy time for Clarke. Her eagerly awaited memoir, The Hate Race, hits bookshops in August. She’s a champion

performer of slam poetry. Her first children’s book, The Patchwork Bike, will be released soon. At the Festival she will join American poet Tracy K. Smith to discuss growing up as a woman of colour. Maxine Beneba Clarke delivers the Festival Opening Night Address, August 26, 6.30pm, Deakin Edge, ahead of the presentation of the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Writing Memoir (with Tracy K. Smith), is on August 27, 1pm, ACMI Cinema 1.

Molly Crabapple

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

It took 10 years and many rejections for Irish writer Eimear McBride to find a publisher for her first novel, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, distinguished by its highly original prose style. It was hailed as a work of genius and won prizes including the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her keenly anticipated second novel, The Lesser Bohemians, is about an 18-year-old girl’s affair with an older actor. She will talk about the new book, and women’s writing, at the Festival. Eimear McBride: The Lesser Bohemians, August 27, 11.30am, ACMI Cinema 1. Winning Women (with Charlotte Wood), August 27, 2.30pm, Deakin Edge.

Eimear Mcbride

Shakira Hussein

American artist, writer and quintessential wild child Molly Crabapple has produced a startling memoir in words and pictures, Drawing Blood. She has been described as ‘‘one of the most original and galvanising voices on the cultural stage’’, using her art to document everything from decadent Manhattan nightclubs to protest movements in New York, Guantanamo and Syria. She’ll be discussing her book, talking about protest and rebellion, and joining Guardian cartoonist First Dog on the Moon to give us a glimpse of the artist’s sketchbook. Protest & Rebellion (with Eliza Vitri Handayani), September 2, 1pm, ACMI, The Cube, free. Molly Crabapple: Drawing Blood,

September 2, 8.30pm, Deakin Edge. The Artists’ Sketchbooks, September 3, 10am, NGV Australia Theatre. Muslim women feature strongly in this year’s Festival. One of the most prominent is Sudanese-born Yassmin Abdel-Magied, the 2015 Queensland Young Australian of the Year. At age 16, she founded Youth Without Borders to help empower young people to work together for change. At 24, she’s a familiar face through her political commentary on social media and on television, including Q&A. Her TED talk What Does My Headscarf Mean To You has been

viewed more than 3.9 million times. Her memoir Yassmin’s Story: Who Do You Think I Am, describes her life growing up migrant and Muslim in Australia. She will be appearing at Festival events held in partnership with the Feminist Writers Festival, with guests including Jax Jacki Brown, Shakira Hussein, Anne Summers and Monique Toohey. Generation Future, August 27, 1pm, Museum of Australian Democracy Eureka (Ballarat). Feminism Then & Now (with Anne Summers), August 28, 1pm, ACMI Cinema 1. SEE MWF.COM.AU FOR MORE AND TO BOOK.

Inuit champion seeks right to be cold Big Ideas, presented by The Monthly

‘I

Sheila Watt-Cloutier

NATAGE S006

ce means a lot more to us than meets the eye,’’ says Inuit activist Sheila WattCloutier. ‘‘It’s a life force. It’s where we get our food. It’s mobility and transportation. It’s a big part of our identity. We are a people who depend on ice, snow and cold.’’ But the Arctic is under threat from climate change, she says, and it is not only Inuit culture that suffers. Polar ice, the air conditioner of the planet, is melting and that may cause havoc elsewhere. Watt-Cloutier is speaking by phone from Iqaluit, Nunavut, the remote northernmost territory of Canada, on the eve of her visit to

Melbourne Writers Festival, where she will speak as part of the Big Ideas program. Until she was 10, Watt-Cloutier led a huntergatherer life. But tumultuous change has swept over the Inuit in a short time. ‘‘We went literally from the Ice Age to the Space Age in one lifetime,’’ she says. Rapid change, damage from pollutants and global warming combined has led to extensive human trauma and substance abuse, and the highest rate of suicide in North America. Observing these changes first hand led Watt-Cloutier to become one of the world’s foremost cultural and environmental activists. For 20 years, she has argued for human rights in national and international forums, has been

nominated for the Nobel Prize and last year won a Right Livelihood Award, dubbed the ‘‘alternative Nobel’’. Her recently-released memoir is The Right To Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet. At first glance, bushfires, drought and other climate phenomena in Australia might not seem to have much to do with the land of ice and snow. But ‘‘everything is connected’’, Watt-Cloutier says. ‘‘What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic.’’ Sheila Watt-Cloutier speaks on climate change, August 31, 6pm, Deakin Edge. See mwf.com.au to book. JANE SULLIVAN

7

mwf.com.au

Drawcards for book clubs Funder will discuss the concept and key works they suggest might benefit the body politic. Books for Better Policy, August 27, 4pm, Deakin Edge.

Kick off creative discussion among your book club with these events, writes Jason Steger.

What’s at the heart of book clubs? Reading, of course. But what do we actually get out of it? Melbourne philosopher Damon Young, who has just published The Art of Reading, and Magda Szubanski, actor and author of Reckoning: A Memoir, will discuss the books that have inspired them and reveal the details of their own reading lives. Perfect fodder for book club disagreement and debate, and getting a few tips. Why I Read, September 2, 1pm, Deakin Edge.

W

hat Melbourne Writers Festival events should your book club attend? Those that seem spot-on to getting discussions going over a glass or two after the event are a must, in addition to those that feature favourite authors. Here’s a few hot topics.

What defines a good life – and a good death? In his novel The Easy Way Out, nurse Steven Amsterdam asks moral questions about euthanasia, while Dr Ranjana Srivastava interviews her patients about life, death and the ethics of both in Tell Me the Truth. A Good Death, September 2, 11.30am, Deakin Edge. The boundary between fact and fiction, where that border is when it comes to writing nonfiction, and to what extent writers of fiction are beholden to fact has long been up for debate. And how do readers respond when what they think is fact turns out to be somewhat less than that? Geoff Dyer’s work hovers around this intangible area, whether he is writing novels or

Geoff Dyer

Magda Szubanski

travel works. And if you combine Dyer with the session in which Helen Garner discusses her new collection of non-fiction pieces, Everywhere I Look, you’ll be set for an in-depth session on fact and fiction. Being Geoff Dyer, August 27, 1pm; Helen Garner, Everywhere I Look, August 27, 8.30pm. Both at Deakin Edge.

They say that reading fiction makes you a more empathetic person, so could literature actually have a benign effect on the way we are governed? What books would you give politicians or indeed anyone in authority in an attempt to make them come to better decisions? Man Booker-winning writer Yann Martel, and Miles Franklin-winning author Anna

With Feminist Writers Festival events within this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival, you might want to head to the session that considers past and present, in which activist, publisher and author of Damned Whores and God’s Police Anne Summers, and newgeneration voice Yassmin Abdel-Magied, consider the evolution of feminism over the past 40 years, its role and relevance today and what may happen in the future. Great topics for discussion. Feminism Then & Now, August 28, 1pm, ACMI Cinema 1. FOR THE FULL PROGRAM AND TO BOOK, SEE MWF.COM.AU.

For the kids W

ith the international success of Matilda the Musical and the release of Steven Spielberg’s movie The BFG, the late Roald Dahl’s footprint on the landscape of children’s literature has never been stronger. This year, Melbourne Writers Festival celebrates the 100th anniversary of Dahl’s birth. Roald Dahl Day (September 4) will see Fed Square transformed into a living celebration of the writer’s work. Most activities are free and registering online gets you a Roald Dahl Day activity book and pencil. Children’s authors and illustrators Felice Arena, Tristan Bancks, Gus Gordon and Jacqueline Harvey will host some Whoopsey-splunker read-alongs and quizzes, and be on-hand to help children create their own Wigglish words and stories. Dress as your favourite Dahl character or get your face painted as Fantastic Mr Fox. There’s plenty to see and do, including marveling at an exhibition of Roald Dahl book covers or having your photo taken with

a larger than life illustration. Younger readers can take part in a workshop titled Grandparents & Identity (ages 5 to 8) with Jessica Walton, who wrote the picture book Introducing Teddy for her son after her dad came out as a transgender woman (August 27, 10:30am, ArtPlay). Storytelling, Live! is a free event (September 4, 1pm, ACMI, The Cube) where author Danny Katz and actor Stig Wemyss (narrator for Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s Treehouse audiobook series) read and perform their stories. An Art Journaling workshop for kids aged 9 to 12 (August 27, 3.30 pm, ArtPlay), led by creators of The Grimstones, will show you how to capture who you are on the page, while in the Story Peddlers Tent in Fed Square, some of the best-known children’s authors in the country will take part in storytelling sessions. Dragons exist in Melbourne! Take the family for a walk with Carole Wilkinson as she introduces you to the city’s hidden dragons, from stone guardians to silken mascots, and explains the mythology of these fantastical

creatures. Ticket price includes entry to the Chinese Museum at the conclusion of the walk. (Dragons of Melbourne, August 27, 10am). Free workshops for teens on podcasting, reviewing and zinemaking take place at Signal on the Festival’s first weekend. Young adult authors taking part in the Festival include David Levithan, Meg Rosoff

and Rainbow Rowell. Levithan and Rowell kick things off (August 28, 11.30am, Deakin Edge ). Stick around though, as Rowell and Lev Grossman then host a fantasy fiction event (August 28, 4.30pm, ACMI Cinema 2). FOR THE FULL CHILDREN & TEENS PROGRAM, SEE MWF.COM.AU

Dymocks Melbourne Serving Melbourne’s Booklovers for over 14 years and still going strong!



Instore cafe!

Corporate & school account services



Located in the heart of the CBD 

Come and browse our exciting range of books at your leisure our premier team of booksellers are here to help with all your enquiries! Dymocks Melbourne

234 Collins Street

Ph: 9663 0900

E: [email protected] NATAGE S007

1 All Star Comics

11 Endeavour Bookstore

21 Minotaur

30 James Joyce Seat of Learning

53 Queen Street 8614 3700 A one-stop shop for comic books.

2 Architext Melbourne

Ground Floor, 368 Elizabeth Street 9655 9523 Huge range of natural health and wellbeing books.

121 Elizabeth Street 9670 5414 The biggest pop culture retailer in the southern hemisphere.

328 Swanston Street, Forecourt of the State Library of Victoria The steel seat commemorates Joyce and the crossover of Australian and Irish histories.

  8620 3815 Australia’s only specialised architectural bookshop.

12 Haunted Bookshop

22 New International Bookshop

31 The Wheeler Centre

15 McKillop Street 9670 2585 Australia’s leading occult bookshop.

54 Victoria Street, Carlton 9662 3744 ?@D  ; 

\]  "?> ;%D  ^   talks are held throughout the year.

3 Books for Cooks

13 Hill of Content Bookshop

23 Paperback Bookshop

32 Federation Square

129/131 Therry Street 8415 1415 Specialises exclusively in new and old books about wine, food and the culinary arts.

86 Bourke Street 9662 9472 Melbourne’s oldest bookshop.

Corner Swanston & Flinders Street A hub for arts, culture and pop-up events.

4 China Books Melbourne

14 Hylands Bookshop

60 Bourke Street 9662 1396 ;  O > D ;  

!"# 9654 7448 Australia’s largest military and transport history bookshop.

24 Reader’s Feast Bookstore Cnr Bourke and William Street 9662 4699 Renowned and respected bookstore.

15 Kanga Kanga

25 Readings – State Library of Victoria

Room 8, 9/37 Swanston Street 9663 8433 Japanese magazine stockists.

Palmer Hall, SLV, Swanston Street 8664 7540 U? >X ;%?  X?

2/234 Swanston Street 9663 8822 Chinese medicine and complementary therapy books.

5 City Basement Books 342 Flinders Street 9620 0428 Extensive range of secondhand books.

6 Classic Comics 50 Bourke Street 9663 7210 Home to comics and   

7 Collected Works 1/37 Swanston Street 9654 8873 Australia’s only specialist poetry bookshop.

8 Comics R’Us 1/220 Bourke Street 9663 8666 Extensive range, including back-issue comics from the 1960s to the present day.

9 Dymocks Melbourne Lower Ground Floor, 234 Collins Street 9663 0900 The oldest Australian-owned booksellers.

10 Embiggen Books   9662 2062 Independent bookshop with large range of   

16 Kay Craddock Antiquarian Booksellers 156 Collins Street 9654 8506 Fine and rare books.

17 Koorie Heritage Trust Bookshop $%& '(  %) * 8622 2600 Victoria’s premier supplier of books  +   + 

18 Mary Martin Bookshop Shop G17, Southgate Shopping Centre, Southbank 9699 2292 Book haven by the Yarra River.

19 Mag Nation 88 Elizabeth Street 9663 6559 Niche and mainstream magazines.

20 Metropolis Bookshop 3/252 Swanston Street 9663 2015 "  * : ; % % sustainability and the environment.

26 Robinsons Bookshop Shop 3001, Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale Street 9783 6488 The oldest general independent bookshop in Victoria.

27 Sticky Institute 10 Campbell Arcade, Degraves Subway 9654 8559 The home of zines.

28 Theosophical Society Bookshop

253 Flinders Lane 9658 9500 Victoria’s busiest public lending library.

34 The Little Library

126 Russell Street 9650 3955 The go-to for esoteric and spiritual books.

Melbourne Central Dome, 250/211 La Trobe Street Free lending library in Melbourne Central shopping centre.

29 World Food Books

35 Melbourne Athenaeum Library

The Nicholas Building Studio 19, 3/37 Swanston Street 0426 950 233 Specialists in contemporary art publishing, also stocks rare/out-of-print books.

188 Collins Street 9650 3100 [  =    :

) ,--.+  /  "#$%   #(0 (  (  '  1        2    "#$%       *      3 '   0  **  ''  + *     4    "#$%   #(0 5"#6    1 7 8  90 2 + & '+ 9+ : + +  2 +    

NATAGE S008

33 City Library

36 State Library of Victoria 328 Swanston Street 8664 7000 Australia’s oldest public library and one of  X>      D

The Melbourne UNESCO City of                           !     "#$%      & '    ( )   *  * 

 & 

          *  + (