StoryFest 2021 guests announced

26 March 2021 Books+Publishing

The guests for the second StoryFest festival, which will run from 18 to 20 June in Milton, Mollymook and Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast, have been announced.

Guests include bestselling writers Markus Zusak, who will deliver the opening night address, Craig Silvey, and Rosalie Ham, who will be joined by screen producer Sue Maslin to discuss the journey of Ham’s bestseller The Dressmaker, from concept to novel to film, followed by ‘a special frock-up screening’.

Other events include Labor minister Tanya Plibersek in discussion with journalist Jane Caro about life after Covid-19; Wendy Harmer leading a debate on freedom of speech with a panel of journalists, commentators, and comedians; Nikki Gemmell, Jock Serong and David Hunt discussing stories from Australian history; Call of the Reed Warbler author Charles Massey on regenerative agriculture and changing Australian farming practices; and Patricia Ellis, of the Brinja-Yuin people of Moruya and the Walbanga of Batemans Bay, who will be in conversation about her life work, The Dhurga Dictionary and Learner Grammar, co-written with her siblings Kerry Boyenga and Waine Donovan.

The festival closes on Sunday with a lunch event at The Old Church, Milton, featuring theatre director John Bell.

The festival will also include a schools program in the week leading up to the main festival, as well as workshops including Introduction to Memoir by Lee Kofman, The Craft of Editing led by Louise Thurtell and Shooting Film by Jeff Licence.

Festival director Meredith Jaffé said ‘the unprecedented events of the past two years have definitely shaped our program’.

‘We welcome the announcement of $25,000 funding for StoryFest 2021 by the Shoalhaven City Council. The funds have been provided to council by the NSW state and federal governments as part of the Bushfire Community Resilience & Recovery Fund, which has been established to assist bushfire-affected towns with community and economic recovery.’

Local MP Shelley Hancock said StoryFest was ‘exactly the kind of event that will provide audiences with an additional reason to return in the winter months’ to the area.

For more information see the StoryFest website.

Category: Local news