At the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) an expectant audience queues for a session in Auditorium 1 on Level 2. The Queensland Writers Centre, Auditorium 1, the Queensland Terrace and Auditorium 2 are all located on Level 2. To get there, walk across the Plaza on Level 1 to the glass doors and the welcome desk. Check any large bags and parcels and get a cloakroom token, walk to your right past the security guard and catch the lift to Level 2. (Photo courtesy of the Brisbane Writers Festival)
Watchwords
Welcome to the Poor Woman's Guide to the Brisbane Writers Festival
The festival runs from Wednesday, 3 September 2014 to Sunday, 7 September 2014
Watching our Stories Unfold: reading, writing and challenging ideas in the sub-tropical City of Brisbane,
Queensland, Australia
AFFORDABLE EVENTS
To BOOK ONLINE and check out the 2014 program, go to http://www.bwf.org.au,
and to read a MINI PROFILE ON BWF WRITERS go to the biography and session page at http://bwf.org.au/2014-writers.
Check out the UPDATE PAGE on the BWF website at http://bwf.org.au/2014-program/updates
to ensure that these sessions have not already been filled (many sessions have been), and to find out about any updates and changes to the program. The BWF BOX OFFICE will operate daily during the festival from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. at the State Library of
Queensland on Level 1 (the ground floor Plaza on the main entrance level), near the BWF Information Desk.
All sessions
on this page are $12–$17
FRIDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2014
STRANGER THAN FICTION. COST: $12–17. WHO: Mark Mulholland, Brigid Delaney. WHERE: Queensland Terrace, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 2.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m. WHAT: When truth informs fiction,
why is it necessary to fictionalise it? Mark Mulholland and Brigid Delaney share the story behind the story of their controversial debut novels.
WHAT
IS A MIND? COST: $12–17. WHO: Antony Funnell, Damon Young, Kate Richards, Sean Williams, David Roland. WHERE: The Edge, SLQ. WHEN: 3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. WHAT: What is consciousness? Is the mind merely a function of our biology or something
more intangible and mysterious?
THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT: COST: $12–17. WHO: Laini Taylor, Isobelle Carmody, Kirilee
Barker, Trent Jamieson. WHERE: Queensland Terrace, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 5.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. WHAT: Laini, Isobelle and Kirilee talk with Trent Jamieson about diving into fantastical other worlds, and bringing something of the magical to this Muggle one.
SATURDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2014
SEEKING ASYLUM. COST: $12–17. WHO: Mark Isaacs, Tom Bamforth, Tim Dunne (Malcolm Fraser had to bow out unfortunately) WHERE: Auditorium 1, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 p.m. WHAT: How have recent policies
and practices sharpened our national conversation about asylum seekers and Australia’s approach to human rights? The panel discusses one of our most contentious issues with Tim Dunne.
UNNATURAL CREATURES. COST: $12–17. WHO: John Pickrell, Laini Taylor, Robert Edeson, Ashley Hay. WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN: 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. WHAT: Although authors may
create fantastical beasts, scientists know that real creatures (worthy of the most horrific and wondrous critters Lovecraft or Tolkien ever produced) exist now and in the earth’s past. The panel explores the worlds of strange creatures, real and imagined,
with Ashley Hay.
LIES, SPIES AND WHISTLEBLOWERS. COST: $12–17. WHO: Luke Harding, Matthew Condon, Christopher
Dore, Hedley Thomas, John Harrison. WHERE: Cinema A, GOMA (follow the path across from the big tent on Maiwar Green). WHEN: 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. WHAT: The panel talks with UQ’s John Harrison about the swirling nexus between investigative journalism,
public interest, political censorship and national security.
WOMEN & PRIZES. COST: $12–17. WHO: Clare Wright,
Sophie Cunningham, Karen Joy Fowler, Fiona Stager. WHERE: The Gallery, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. WHAT: How should we value women’s writing? Is there such a thing as ‘feminine’ subject matter? Clare Wright (winner of The
Stella Prize), Sophie Cunningham (Stella founder), and Karen Joy Fowler (founder of the Tiptree Award), talk with Fiona Stager (Avid Reader Bookshop), about gender and literature.
CAUSE OF DEATH. COST: $12–17. WHO: P.M. Newton, Meg Vann. WHERE: The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) Lecture Theatre, South Bank Cultural Precinct. WHEN: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. WHAT: Crime Writers
don’t just solve crimes, they also devise them. Crime writer P.M. Newton teams with Meg Vann to investigate the gritty scientific and legal foundations of crime stories.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF EDWARD SNOWDEN. COST: $12–17. WHO: Luke Harding, Paul Barclay. WHERE: Auditorium 1, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. WHAT: In June 2013, U.S. Intelligence contractor Edward
Snowden leaked the sensational details of global surveillance programs by the NSA. Guardian journalist Luke Harding reveals to ABC RN’s Paul Barclay, his own extraordinary experience researching and writing about the case of Edward Snowdon.
SCUM & VILLAINY. $12–17. WHO: Lenny Bartulin, Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurđardóttir, Michael Robotham.
WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN: 1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. WHAT: Across fiction, cinema and television, ‘bad guys’ are often our favourite guys. This panel of expert crime writers discusses why we’re so drawn to villains and the dark side of the
story.
RUNNING FROM DANGER. COST: $12–17. WHO: Peter Docker, Lauren Beukes, James Phelan. WHERE: Queensland Terrace,
SLQ. WHEN: 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. WHAT: Instead of running from danger, these writers reach for it. The panel discusses the art of developing heart-stopping tension and writing sinister stories you can’t stop reading.
WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES. $12–17. WHO: Karen Joy Fowler, Jennifer Byrne. WHERE: Auditorium 1, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 4.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
WHAT: Karen Joy Fowler’s latest novel raises questions about animal rights, parental subterfuge and self-delusion. The bestselling author of The Jane Austen Bookclub talks with Jennifer Byrne about the heartbreaking and hilarious We Are
All Completely Beside Ourselves. Presented by 612 ABC Brisbane.
THE UNSOCIAL NETWORK. COST: $12–17. WHO:
Tara Moss, Susan McLean, Rebecca Sparrow. WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN: 4.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. WHAT: Tara, Susan and Rebecca talk about cyber-bullying, identity, and what it means when our online lives cause devastation for us and others. Presented by 612
ABC Brisbane.
ALL GROWN UP. COST: $12–17. WHO: Nick Earls. WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN: 5.30 p.m. to 6.30
p.m. WHAT: There will be laughs aplenty as one of Brisbane’s favourite authors talks about generational obsolescence and being an analogue man in a digital age.
SUNDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2014
SEXTS, TEXTS & SELFIES. COST:
$12–17. WHO: Susan McLean, Paul Barclay. WHERE: Auditorium 1, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. WHAT: How do we keep our kids safe in this cyber age? Former member of the Victorian Police and Australia’s foremost cyber-safety expert
Susan McLean talks with Paul Barclay about how to successfully navigate the complex digital world.
WHERE’S MY JETPACK.
COST: $12–17. WHO: Charlotte Nash, Sean Williams, Ben McKenzie. WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN: 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. WHAT: Time travel and matter transmitters are cool technology
but are they the future? The panel explores some of SF’s biggest concepts and how writing about them helps us interrogate the challenges and opportunities of our present.
BALANCE OF POWER. COST: $12–17. WHO: Bob Brown, Rob Oakeshott, Wayne Swan, Anne Tiernan. WHERE: Maiwar Green, SLQ. WHEN: 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. WHAT: In recent political history the Australian
Greens held the balance of power in the Senate and the ALP governed with the support of key independents. Bob Brown, Rob Oakeshott and Wayne Swan discuss with Anne Tiernan whether minority governments undermine stability or keep us honest.
THE FICTIONAL WOMAN. COST: $12–17. WHO: Anne Manne, Tara Moss, Caroline Overington. WHERE: Queensland Terrace, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN:
11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. WHAT: What does it mean to be a woman? Anne Manne, Tara Moss and Caroline Overington discuss modern concepts of womanhood.
NORTHERN
LIGHTS. COST: $12–17. WHO: Yrsa Sigurđardóttir. WHERE: Auditorium 1, Level 2, SLQ. WHEN: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. WHAT: From its bleak landscapes and stoic characters, to the gruesome plots and cruel twists, Nordic crime fiction
is on the rise. Joint bestselling Icelandic crime writer Yrsa Sigurđardóttir as she gives insights into why we’re nuts for Nordic stories.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. COST: $12–17. WHO: Kimberley Freeman, Charlotte Nash, Kyle Scott, Kate Cuthbert. WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. WHAT: Does a love story mean a book is romance fiction? Does
a romance novel need a Happily Ever After? And what is ‘women’s fiction’ anyway? Kimberley Freeman, Charlotte Nash and Kylie Scott discuss genre myths and misconceptions with romance publisher Kat Cuthbert.
BAD NEWS. COST: $12–17. WHO: Matthew Condon, Cindy Wockner, David Murray, Christopher Warren. WHERE: Maiwar Green, SLQ. WHEN: 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
WHAT: Writers and journalists who cover big criminal cases risk a terrible personal toll. The panel discuss with The Walkley Foundation’s Christopher Warren how journalists maintain an emotional distance and avoid psychological injury.
LAWS OF MAGIC. COST: $12–17. WHO: Trudi Canavan, Kirilee Barker, Rjurik Davidson, Laini Taylor. WHERE: Queensland Terrace, Level 2,
SLQ. WHEN: 1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. WHAT: Trudi, Kirilee, Rjurik and Laini discuss building mythologies, legends, and magic systems in genre fiction.
NO
PLACE LIKE HOME. COST: $12–17. WHO: Caroline Overington. WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN: 1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. WHAT: Caroline Overington has won two Walkley Awards for her fearless investigative journalism, but it is in fiction that she
has found a place to explore the explosive social issues that divide us.
MAN UP. COST: $12–17. WHO: Tony Birch,
Omar Musa, Victor Marsh. WHERE: Kuril Dhagun, Level 1 (go through the Infozone), SLQ. WHEN: 1.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. WHAT: What does it mean to be a man these days? Tony, Omar and Victor discuss modern expectations of boys.
BETWIXT & BETWEEN. COST: $12–17. WHO: Rjurik Davidson, Kimberley Freeman. WHERE: Now in the Gallery, Level 2. WHEN: 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. WHAT: Is
it fantasy or science fiction? Is it romance or literary fiction? Rjurik Davidson and Kimberley Freeman discuss the thorny problems of genre categories and what happens when authors straddle the fence.
CROSSING OVER: NEW ADULT FICTION. COST: $12–17. WHO: Kate Cuthbert, Pauline McLeod, Kylie Scott. WHERE: The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) Lecture Theatre, South Bank Cultural Precinct.
WHEN: 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. WHAT: New Adult fiction is on the rise, but is it ‘older YA’ or sexy stories for the college set? Kate, Pauline and Kylie discuss the themes and issues of this emerging genre.
VICTIMS, VIXENS & FEMME FATALES. COST: $12–17. WHO: P.M. Newton, Tara Moss, Yrsa Sigurđardóttir. WHERE: The Studio, SLQ. WHEN:
4.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. WHAT: Some clichés of women in crime fiction have been retired and some persist. Crime writers P.M. Newton, Tara Moss and Yrsa Sigurđardóttir discuss the past and future of archetypal female characters.
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