SWF picks: David Gaunt, co-owner of festival bookseller Gleebooks

12 May 2014 Books+Publishing

With the Sydney Writers’ Festival approaching (19-25 May), we asked David Gaunt, co-owner of festival bookseller Gleebooks, to tell us what sessions he’s looking forward to and which authors are likely to attract the longest signing queues.

What do you think will be the highlights of this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival?
Richard Flanagan on The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Vintage); Sandi Toksvig’s ‘My Valentine’; Malcolm Fraser and Bob Carr together on stage; and Jang Jin-Sung and Adam Johnson on North Korea.

Any personal picks?
Lucy Hughes-Hallett on The Pike (Fourth Estate); Ian Buruma on war; Richard Flanagan; Tim Cope; and Sandi Toksvig.

Which authors do you think will attract the longest bookselling or booksigning queues?
Richard Flanagan, Eleanor Catton, Alice Walker, Amy Tan and Michael Leunig.

If you could program your own writers’ festival event, who would you invite?
Too hard! Let’s say contemporary fiction: Alice Munro, Richard Ford, Richard Flanagan and Tim Winton, chaired by Margaret Atwood (who could keep anybody in line).

Category: Features