Kyogle Festival for Book Lovers
More than 60 authors and poets will descend on Kyogle for the weekend of 12-15 May to indulge in all things literary at this year’s Kyogle Writers Festival.
The Festival Program has now been released and tickets are available for purchase through the festival’s website www.kyoglewritersfestival.com.
With a mixture of free, community based and affordable events, the Kyogle Writers Festival aims to include the entire Northern Rivers community in its celebration of the spoken and written word.
Leveraging off its theme of Close to Home? the exciting programme includes Mullumbimby-based cooking writer, Belinda Jeffery; acclaimed novelists Melissa Lucashenko, Delia Falconer, Jessie Cole, Mandy Beaumont and Michael Burge; nature writers Harry Saddler and Ben Walter; and creative nonfiction author Patti Mills. Poets who will be performing and discussing their poetry include Richard Tipping, Gavin Yuan Gao, Stuart Cook, Ellen van Neerven and Chris Mansell.
Indigenous chef and SBS personality, Bundjalung man, Mark Olive, aka ‘The Black Olive’ will speak on cooking and culture on the Friday evening before the Festival’s official opening under the big marquee in Stratheden Street.
Foundation editor of The Griffith Review, Emeritus Professor Julianne Schultz, will be in conversation with Melissa Lucashenko about her latest book, The Idea of Australia, which is very pertinent given that the federal election takes place a week later.
Creative Director, Paul Shields said “After all the challenges that the drought, fires, COVID-19 and the devastating recent floods have brought to the Northern Rivers, we are just so excited to have put together a programme featuring so many talented writers and poets. We really hope that people will come and enjoy the ideas, perspectives and insights that our writers will offer.”
Panels of authors will explore topics such as our relationships with nature, LGBTQI+ identities and notions of home, Indigenous writing, home cooking, and creativity after the fires. If you are keen to hone your writing skills, workshops are being offered on writing creative nonfiction/memoir, historical fiction and the sensual world as well as podcasting.
A free session aimed at secondary students called The Power of Words, will feature youth climate action leader, Jean Hinchliffe, paramedic, author and film-maker, Ben Gilmour and creative writing teacher, Melaina Faranda.
Festival Ambassador, Mirandi Riwoe, says it will be a privilege “to share my love of reading and writing in the beautiful setting of Kyogle. Although it might be a small town, Kyogle sure packs a punch with the calibre of writers it attracts.”
On the Thursday evening prior to the Festival, a family fund-raiser movie night screening The Princess Bride at Kyogle Cinemas. Money raised will be donated to Arts Northern Rivers Flood Appeal.
The Festival is proudly supported by CreateNSW, Regional Arts Fund NSW, Festivals Australia, Kyogle Council, Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal, Southern Cross University, Queensland University Press, ACON, Raised Ink Press and the Business Hive, Kyogle.
