It's that time of the year again. The Sydney Writer's festival is on. Get your plastic lanyards and your books waiting to be signed ready for sessions with your favourite writers discussing politics, feminism and fiction.
With over 300 events to choose from, here are SBS Life's best picks for SWF 2018:
Three celebrated writers take to the stage on opening nights of SWF - André Aciman (Call Me by Your Name and Enigma Variations), award–winning author Min Jin Lee (Pachinko) and New Yorker writer Alexis Okeowo, (Moonless, Starless Sky) to talk about power and literature.
The writers will each deliver an address tackling the theme of power and how it intersects with politics, money, sex and identity. They explore the power of literature, journalism and storytelling as a tool of empowerment to redress power imbalances in society. It dovetails nicely with topical themes as issues around representation, #metoo and gender equity make global headlines. The trio will be speaking on opening night on May 1 from 6:30 - 7:30pm.
Haven't heard of this podcast? It's only been named one of The Atlantic's top podcasts of 2017. As podcasts on everything from fitness, self-help and narrative storytelling become the rage, 'Still Processing' stands out from the pack, with incisive, funny commentary on pop culture. Helmed by New York Times’s cultural commentators, Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham, the culture gurus dissect all things TV, film and the internet. The pair will be in conversation at the Sydney Writer's festival on May 4 from 7- 8pm.
Miles Franklin–winning author Michelle de Kretser talks about her latest novel A Life to Come, exploring the lives of three middle class jet-setting progressive Australian yuppies who are oblivious to their own privilege and prejudice. She speaks with Christos Tsiolkos (The Slap) who has also chronicled class, race and privilege in contemporary Australia. The writers will be in conversation on May 6 from 7 - 8pm.
With Islam and women a continuous topic of conversation and fascination in the western imagination, this talk is an invaluable insight into the work of Arab and Muslim feminists on the ground. Arab feminist Manal Al Sharif speaks to Australian feminist writer Jamila Rizvi about her work as a women's rights activist in Saudi Arabia and becoming the figurehead of the women's right-to-drive campaign after being arrested for posting a YouTube video of herself driving online. Al Sharif talks about the challenges of activism within the authoritarian regime and shares stories from her memoir Daring to Drive. She will be appearing at the festival on May 5 from 10 - 11am.
Want to know more about western Sydney, that great land mass beyond Annandale? Tune in for this event with four women writers of colour from the writing group Sweatshop. Shirley Le, Maryam Azam, Evelyn Araluen and Winnie Dunnare who hail from the Bankstown, Blacktown and Mount Druitt in Sydney's west discuss a new wave of Australian literature in which race, class, culture, faith and gender intersect. The event will be held on May 5 between 11:30 - 12:30pm.
Does literature occur in a vacuum? How does politics intersect with a writer's work and in the lives of her fictional characters? In this panel, award-winning writers offer readers an insight into their own personal experience of how politics impact their lives and their work. The talk is followed by a panel where the group explores the ways in which literature provides an outlet for marginalised voices. The panel will be in discussion at the Riverside theatres in Paramatta on May 5 from 1:30 - 2:30pm.
Continuing the theme on power, writers Masha Gessen (The Future is History) , Mohammed Al Samawi (The Fox Hunt) and Alexis Okeowo (A Moonless, Starless Sky) discuss justice and resistance in the modern world. Hosted by Sarah Krasnostein (The Trauma Cleaner), the panel talks about unjust authority and new methods of resistance. The session will be held on May 5 from 1:30 - 2:30pm.
Inspired by Flavia Dzodan’s famous 2011 essay, ‘My Feminism Will Be Intersectional Or It Will Be Bullshit’ this talk looks at the challenges feminists of colour face in continuing the revolutionary spirit of this rallying cry, as the word 'intersectional' becomes a fashionable and commodified buzzword. Zinzi Clemmons (The Believer), playwright Nakkiah Lui, (Black Comedy) Tech Lady Mafia co-founder Aminatou Sow and author Jenny Zhang (Sour Heart) speak with Jamila Rizvi about the why maintaining an intersectional approach to modern feminism is necessary. The panel will be in discussion on May 5 from 4:30- 5:30.
