FIRST LOOK: Sydney Writer's Festival Line Up 2018

WORDS BY BIANKA FARMAKIS

It’s time for all art wankers, English majors and sensitive literature connoisseur in between to gird their loins, as Sydney's most exciting writing based event heads to the gentrified Inner West once again this year ... and this time, it’s POWERFUL.
 
Celebrating its twenty-first birthday, the Sydney Writers Festival has announced its 2018 program, with a list of local and international authors and speakers all discussing works under the broad theme of power - because what other umbrella exists that allows you to talk about sex, money and the comically crippling Western political system all at once?
 
This year’s festival takes on a more youthful approach, as the SWF leaves behind the stuffy, pseudo-intellectual stomping ground of Walsh Bay and moves into none other than our angst-filled Arthouse backyard Carriageworks to appeal to the student masses.
 
The move, 28-Year-Old Artistic Director, Michaela McGuire highlights, gives a "fresh face to the festival, bringing in a new crowd we haven’t seen before".
 
"I really hope to see a lot of Sydney University students at our new home this year." McGuire concluded, in a statement to Pulp.
 
Fit with talks from 13 academics from the University of Sydney as well as 11 from former alumni, what better way to boast #campuspride than by grabbing a coffee from ABS, walking down to Carriageworks for a talk and shouting ‘fuck off UTS’ the entire way?
 
Whether you’re a seasoned attendant or first timer, here’s a guide to this year’s SWF events fit for all your #highbrow LITerature needs:
 
For the “films are just as good as the books” buffs...
International headliner this year includes none other than the “Call Me By Your Name” author, Andre Aciman. “The Slap”'s Christos Tsiolkas will also be making an appearance for anyone that was a fan of the Australian mini-series.
 
For the Government major…
Half your luck! With the theme of POWER on the horizon, every politician that’s written a semi spicy memoir in the past five years will be there. Julia Guillard’s taking time off from being Rihanna’s best friend, while Anne Aly, Sam Dastyari and Jacqui Lambi all ditch the bench and join the ranks.
 
For the pop-culture/gamer nerds that took time off from playing FORT, LOL, WOW or torrenting GOT to join reality…
New York Times writers Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris tackle the worlds of TV, film, celebrity and the internet in a live recording of their hilariously insightful Still Processingpodcast, streamed live at the festival.
 
For the Trump Supporters, Deniers, Haters and Criers…
Gorana Grgic, Aaron Connelly and Robert E. Kelly (that Facebook famous Dad who went viral when his kids crashed his BBC live air report) join ABC news presenter John Barron to discuss the repercussions of Trump’s presidency for Australia and the World.
 
In addition, Katy Tur, one of Trump’s public enemies, joins ABC 7:30’s Leigh Sales to discuss her darkly comic campaign memoir, Unbelievable, as she reflects on the first 500 days of Trump.
 
For the people who took those gender studies electives and then made it their major…
Kate McClymont, Emma Alberici, Marina Go and Tracey Spicer form a powerhouse panel of women who explore fifty years of feminism, male-dominated news rooms and what we can do about it.
 
For the environmentalists…
David Schlosberg, hosts a panel of authors and scientists on a panel about why climate inaction continues despite decades of research.
 
For the poets and pragmatic prose lovers…
Eileen Myles talks queer, New York poetry in the downtown scene of the 1970s, while Carmen Maria Machado discusses her electrifying short story collection.
 
For the sports fanatics…
Jessica Richards joins two of Australia’s most astute sports writers, David Hill and Joe Gorman to discuss our enduring meat-pie eating, beer-skulling, national obsession with sports.
 
The full list and program is available here. The Sydney Writers Festival runs from 30th April – 6th May.