SameSame.com.au ~ Inside Out Australia

As we inch closer to winter and the days get more and more chilly, the prospect of curling up with a hot milo and a good book seems more and more enticing.

The Sydney Writers’ Festival hits town later this month – from May 19 – 25. So if you’re a book worm, or if you need a little guidance and inspiration in the reading department, then look no further.

The big name of the festival this year is Jeanette Winterson. This UK writer needs little introduction. She’s hailed as one of the world’s most gifted and versatile wordsmiths. Her work encompasses fiction, writing for screen and stage, essays and journalism. She wrote her first novel, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, when she was only 23. It told the story of a young girl who was subjected to exorcisms because of her lesbian tendencies. Her other celebrated works books include Sexing The Cherry in 1989, Written On The Body in 1992 and Lighthousekeeping in 2004. Her most recent novel is The Stone Gods.

Winterson will be delivering the opening address of the festival. Entitled Get A Book, Get A Life! – How Words Create Meaning, it will be filled with the insights and passion of her literary work. She’ll also be appearing at an event where attendees are encouraged to ask her anything at all. That should be interesting. Lets hope there are a few loose cannons in the audience!

Judith Lucy is already one of Australia’s most popular comediennes – now she’s written a tell all book about her “lunatic” family entitled The Lucy Family Alphabet. She said she put pen to paper because her last tour was dogged by “feet trouble and vaginitis” and she was worried about her career options. Judith says that despite her success she genuinely believes that she’s “just a heartbeat away from performing opposite someone in an animal costume in a shopping centre.” At An Evening With Judith Lucy she talks about the memoir. Judith never disappoints – don’t expect to sit through this with a straight face.

We all know and love Tommy Murphy. His adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s Holding The Man made him a household name. His introductory workshop on writing for the stage is already sold out, but there’s still room available for The Art Of Adaptation. He’ll be appearing with Luke Davies – who wrote the heroin love story Candy. They’ll be discussing why they were drawn to adapt their work for performance, how they did it, and whether they would do it all again.

Aussie journalist, author and broadcaster David Marr will be sitting down with swimming star Lisa Forrest about her book Boycott. Forrest was only 16 years old when she found herself at the centre of one of Australia’s most significant sporting and political moments. After the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan in the last days of 1979, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser asked the Australian Olympic Federation to boycott the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Boycott tells the story of the bitter politicking which split the nation and looks at how Australian sport took years to recover.

Christos Tsiolkas is the Australian author of The Jesus Man, Dead Europe and Loaded – which was later made into the film Head On. He will be appearing at a number of events during the festival. At Writers As Readers, he’ll discuss the major influences on his literary education along with Luke Davies and controversial Australian author Helen Garner. He’ll also appear at PEN Voices – The 3 Writers Project. In 2007, Sydney PEN commissioned three of Australia’s leading writers to produce a 10,000-word essay on the topics of tolerance, fear and prejudice. Tsiolkas was one of these, and during this session the writers will explore the prickly issues facing contemporary Australia. Both of these events are free.

Aussie author Emily Maguire is the author of the novels The Gospel According To Luke and Taming The Beast. In her new book Princesses And Pornstars she takes a humorous, challenging look at what has happened to women’s rights in the era of mainstream porn, botox and the celebrity diet. This event is also free.

This is just the tip of the iceberg though – there’s loads more to feast your mind upon.To see the full program head to the Sydney Writers Festival website by clicking here.

Photos: 2. Judith Lucy, 3. Jeanette Winterson, 4. Christos Tsiolkas, 5. David Marr.