Through the Brisbane as a Storied City program, Brisbane Writers Festival and literary luminary Nick Earls present a cherry-picked selection of superb writers and poets in some iconic event spaces, bars and restaurants. The program will see readers travel to the Boondall Wetlands with First Nations curator, Ellen van Neerven, to experience their debut work Heat and Light, and to Metro Arts to watch an episode of Michelle Law and Oliver Reeson’s Homecoming Queens, followed by a conversation with Michelle and writer Yen-Rong Wong. Poet and raconteur Samuel Wagan Watson and a guest reader or two will share some Smoke Encrypted Whispers in the heart of West End, while historian Margaret Cook brings the story of Brisbane’s relationship with its river to Yeronga, a suburb devastated by flooding in 2011 and again in February of this year, in A River with a City Problem.
History buffs can join professional historian Matthew Wengert near the site of the hub of Brisbane’s influenza response a century ago, the Isolation Hospital at the Exhibition Grounds, to learn about the first time we were a City in Masks. You can also join academics Sandra Phillips and Michael Aird, who were among University of Queensland’s first Indigenous students, to revisit Michael’s book Brisbane Blacks and its stories two decades after it was first published. Other curiosity-piquing highlights include a mouth-watering and thought-provoking banquet dinner with author and journalist Benjamin Law at Sunnybank’s Landmark Restaurant, an awe-inspiring presentation of Clare McFadden’s The Flying Orchestra with Queensland Youth Orchestra at Brisbane City Hall, and Yumi Stynes in conversation with Pig City writer Andrew Stafford at Fortitude Valley party palace The Zoo. Feel like dancing the night away? Don your best retro outfit and go time travelling back to Brisbane in the 80s and 90s to reminisce the stories, culture and writing of those decades with much-loved fiction writer Rebecca Sparrow. It’s sure to be a blast from the past.
Brisbane Writers Festival’s new smartphone app, which acts as a guide that brings Brisbane’s local anecdotes to life as users journey through the places these tales occurred, will also launch in conjunction with the festival. It maps the city with curated and commissioned notes, anecdotes, poetry, snippets and even a good ol’ dose of urban myths that reveal our connections to place.
Brisbane as a Storied City is curated by Nick Earls and proudly supported by Brisbane City Council Creative Sparks Fund. This program is just a small taste of the accomplished writers, thinkers and opinion makers that will be appearing at the Brisbane Writers Festival – to peep the entire program and score tickets, head to the BWF website. Oh, and if you’re keen to get on the festival’s 60th anniversary guest list (this includes invitations to exclusive events and discounts on festival tickets, passes and online and special events), you can become a Festival Friend for just $75.
This article was written in partnership with our friends at Brisbane Writers Festival.