,and while there might be a slightly smaller offering this year,it’s notable for the careful curating of the sessions and the imaginative pairing of authors. Yes,it runs for six days,but the bulk of events are on Saturday and Sunday,with only a few in the days before and after.
Melbourne Town Hall,May 8,6pm
When Covid reared its ugly head,,the author ofThe Hours,knew he had to abandon the family saga he had been working on and write a pandemic novel. The acclaimedDay is his first novel in 10 years,and he discusses how it came about. The festival opening night also features the presentation of the 42ndAge Book of the Year awards.
Athenaeum Theatre,May 11,12pm
won the Pulitzer Prize for his first novel, The Sympathizer (now screening on Binge),which sprang out of his own complex sense of belonging as a Vietnamese refugee living in the US. Since then he’s completed a sequel,The Committed,and now a memoir,A Man of Two Faces,telling his own remarkable story.
The Capitol,May 11,1.30pm
Two writers who shine both in the short and long forms of fiction discuss their latest,acclaimed novels –Family Meal andThe In-Between,respectively – and their approaches to writing relationships,intimacy,food and all that modern living entails in a globalised world. A meeting of minds from the US and Australia.
Athenaeum Theatre,May 11,1.30pm
The initial description of this event and caused considerable controversy. In it,we will hear Aboriginal and Palestinian poets such as,, and read “original works in affirmation of commitment and solidarity”.
Queen Victoria Women’s Centre,May 11,1.30pm
Three novelists –, and – discuss their new novels,which feature the healing qualities of water as a balm for grief and the hangovers of events of the past. Nadia Bailey will be steering a fascinating conversation.
State Library Theatrette,May 11,1.30pm
Siang Lu’s first novel,,was a sharp satire of Hollywood racism;Laura Jean McKay is best known for her remarkably prescient. In keeping with the overall theme of the festival they discuss their latest novels, Ghost Cities,which features the vast uninhabited cities in China,and,stories that continue McKay’s interest in blurring the line between human and animal consciousness.
The Capitol,May 11,12pm
How do you go about creating fiction that demands your characters to be isolated,silent or at the very least contemplative? Bestselling American author ofFates and Furies andThe Vaster Wilds, Lauren Groff,and prize-winning Australian writer Charlotte Wood () share their creative methods and conjuring of character.
State Library Theatrette,May 11,4.30pm
All praise to Alexis Wright, for writing by Australian women and non-binary writers. is an epic about climate change,Indigenous life,feral donkeys,butterflies and family and a pestilential haze lurking threateningly above the eponymous town. It’s also very funny.
Athenaeum Theatre,May 12,Noon
Toshikazu Kawaguchi first wrote what turned into his bestselling novel as a play. The idea is customers at a cafe called Funiculi Funicula can go back in time but have to return … well,the title spells it out. There’s a fifth book in the hugely popular series due out in English later this year,and a TV adaptation in the works. Kawaguchi discusses his work with Daniel Hahn.
Conversation Quarter,State Library Victoria,May 12,1.30pm
It’s a good question,but who will decide and how can any decision be enforced? The British philosopher poses and argues that our current conventions governing interplanetary property are woefully inadequate and worries about what he sees as an inevitable cosmic land grab.
Conversation Quarter,State Library Victoria,May 12,3pm
The American novelist,essayist and now memoirist reveals how she wroteSplinters:Another Kind of Love Story,which chronicles her divorce,being a mother to her daughter,and entering a new relationship. She told she had to double down on her belief that an experience doesn’t have to be extraordinary to be illuminating.
Athenaeum Theatre,May 12,4.30pm
The Scottish writer tells plenty of good stories – in novels such asMayflies and his latest,Caledonian Road – and in his long-form journalism inThe London Review of Books. He’ll be revealing the scandals,the characters and the corruption,real and imagined,in this conversation withTheMonthly editor Michael Williams.
Athenaeum Theatre,May 20,6.30pm
But wait,if all that’s not enough for you,there’s more – albeit a week after MWF officially ends. Last year’s,Irish novelist Paul Lynch,gives the lowdown on his dystopic novel,his vision of Ireland under the boot of totalitarianism and one woman’s attempts to keep her family alive.
Sold Out
Plenty of the festival sessions are already sold out,but it’s worth checking the festival website for new ticket releases.
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