Strewth! Writers Festival is back

The Bendigo Writers Festival officially launched last week at the Bendigo Library.

Festival director Rosemary Sorenson said a lot of work has gone into organising the annual literary celebration in partnership with Bendigo Venues and Events.

“Finally, we’ve found the way to make this happen,” she said. “I think that it’s a collaboration that Bendigo Venues and Events will find very productive going forward.

“The possibilities going forward are very exciting for this city and what this cultural festival can do.”

After last year’s festival was cancelled due to COVID-19, Ms Sorenson said in 2021 many of the live events will be accompanied by an online stream.

“Everything will be in person,” she said.

“What we have done is what we are calling our virtual theatre space. The virtual theatre space will have a live audience, it will have a live host, it will have mostly international guests streaming in.

“With a live audience we think the atmosphere will be slightly different to just online, but the online people will feel as though it’s much more live.”

Ms Sorenson also said the program has been designed with young people in mind.

“Every time we put together a program, we make sure that we’re speaking to all ages and in ways that will engage some young people in ways that will affect the rest of their lives,” she said.

“What’s most important is that we open to lots of discussions for everybody to take part in. The thing that I most value in this is the voices of the young people that are coming to take part.”

City of Greater Bendigo mayor Cr Jennifer Alden also helped launch the festival and said it was very important to Bendigo.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be involved in this event today as we celebrate the return to Bendigo with the writers’ festival and to our city,” Ms Alden said.

“This annual three-day event gathers more than 100 writers and it’s about every kind of writing under the sun. It’s tantalising to once more have that opportunity.”

Ms Sorenson said this year’s tagline ‘Strewth!’ speaks to the Australian culture, and the way Australia has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a bit of humour and it’s also very Australian. I think we need to keep that idea otherwise we just get absorbed into bigger countries, bigger ideas, and ways of doing things,” she said.

Australian writers that will be in-person at the festival include Garth Nix, Don Watson and Louise Milligan, while international writers including renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt and acclaimed novelist Amitav Ghosh will be video calling in to the event.

Ms Sorenson said designing the program was “excruciating” as the festival aims to host the perfect range of writers and events.

“You have to stay alert and listen to other people and hear what’s bubbling up and what people want to talk about. Then, you have to say well this is important too,” she said.

“The privilege is to see what’s possible and reach out to people and just try it on. Most of the people I asked were happy to come.”

“We’re still importing [guest speakers], sort of, and when people said yes to that they said yes swiftly, because it’s not as huge for them to switch on their computer.”

The festival, which will run from 6-9 May will feature over 100 writers with more than 50 events.

Tickets are available now at bendigowritersfestival.com.au.