Byron Bay Writers Festival 2002
August 1-4, Byron Bay Beach Resort
Recommended Festival Events
Book reviewer Jeremy Fenton recommends the following events at the 2002 Byron Bay Writers Festival:
- The fascinating speculation and alternative fantasies of "What If? How the World Could Be" with Rosie Scott, Robyn Williams, Alan Saunders & David Dale (Chair) at 4:30pm on Friday.
- For more on the passionate life of Ita Buttrose, she will be appearing "In Conversation" with Ruth Ostrow at 12:30pm on Friday, August 2.
- Step inside the minds of the next generation of up and coming (if not already accomplished) authors in "Young Writers" with Megan Jacobson, Daniel Mason, Markus Zusak and Simon Higgins (Chair) at 11:30am on Friday.
- A very humorous and enlightening evening should be had by all with performer/comedian Max Gillies & Guy Rundle (in the Festival Dining Room) at 8pm on Saturday.
- Don Watson speaking on (and from) his biography of Paul Keating, Reflections of a Bleeding Heart, promises to be a riveting event at 12noon on Sunday.
- And be sure to catch the respective launches of Lismore City Council's Seniors Anthology (to be launched by Ita Buttrose), White Cow by Max Ryan & Cleis Pearce, Your Soul Purpose by Brendan Nichols and, especially, Mrs Cook: the real and imagined life of the captain's wife by Marele Day.
Festival Program
Friday 2nd August
LAKEHOUSE
9-10am: The Play's the Thing: The Specialised Art of Writing for the Stage. Janis Balodis & Hannie Rayson
10.15-11.15am: Covers & Titles: How Important Are They?. Harry Williamson, Bob Sessions, Jeff Higgins & Susan Wyndham (Chair)
11.30am-12.30am: Class in Literature: Is it Still Relevant? Mardi McConnochie, Craig McGregor, Melissa Lucashenko & Caroline Baum (Chair)
12.45-1.45am: In Conversation Ita Buttrose & Ruth Ostrow.
2-3am: "Why Am I Here?": The Writer's Refrain Kim Mahood, Hilary McPhee, David Leser & Caroline Baum (Chair)
3.15pm-4.15am: Evocative Images From Around the World Lau Siew Mei, Larry Buttrose, Mark Mordue, Lien Yeomans & Irina Dunn (Chair)
4.30pm-5.30am: What If? How the World Could Be Rosie Scott, Robyn Williams, Alan Saunders & David Dale (Chair)
BLUE MARQUEE
9-10am: Living in Australia Today: Truth and Accountability Donald Horne, Jennifer Byrne, Margo Kingston, Don Watson & Mick O'Regan (Chair)
10.15-11.15am: Biography: A Special Art John Baxter, Drusilla Modjeska, Heather Wearne & Peter Corris (Chair)
11.30am-12.30pm (HS): Inspiring Characters Lau Siew Mei, Bryce Courtenay, Roger McDonald & Jane Palfreyman (Chair)
12.45pm-1.45am: Difference & Tolerance as Seen by the Poet Dorothy Porter, Peter Skrzynecki, Barry Hill, Susan Hawthorne & Larry Buttrose (Chair)
2-3pm (HS): Finding Your Voice in the First Novel Rosie Scott, Bryce Courtenay, Markus Zusak, Vivienne Cleven & Peter Bishop (Chair)
3.15pm-4.15am: The Propriety of the Media Mungo MacCallum, Jeff McMullen, Margo Kingston & Mick O'Regan (Chair)
4.30-5.30am: The Thin Blue Line: The Value of Editing Hilary McPhee, Jean Bedford, Janis Balodis & Susan Wyndham (Chair)
YELLOW MARQUEE
10.15-11.15am (HS): The Art of Storytelling Arnold Zable, Abbas El-Zein, Adib Khan, Judy Atkinson & Di Morrissey (Chair)
11.30am-12.30am: Young Writers Megan Jacobson, Daniel Mason, Markus Zusak & Simon Higgins (Chair)
12.45-1.45am: Writing & Illustrating Tohby Riddle & Matt Ottley Both Riddle and Ottley use illustrations and words to relate a story. What inspires them? How do image and text work together?
2-3am: Research: How is it Done? Peter Watt, Marele Day, Arthur Pike, Stephen Gray & Heather Wearne (Chair)
3.15pm-4.15am: Fingerprints on the Language Robert Dessaix, Marion Halligan, Drusilla Modjeska, Loubna Haikal & Jean Bedford (Chair)
LAUNCHING PAD
10am: LAUNCH Lismore City Council Seniors Anthology with Ita Buttrose
12am: LAUNCH White Cow Max Ryan & Cleis Pearce
2am: LAUNCH Harper Collins - Your Soul Purpose Brendan Nichols
5am: LAUNCH Allen and Unwin - Mrs Cook: The real and imagined life of the Captain's Wife Marele Day
ACTIVITIES ROOM
2.30-3.30am: In Conversation Andreea Ritivoi & Raimond Gaita Sponsored by SCU Division of Arts
4pm-5.30am: Southern Cross University Writing Students Read
FESTIVAL DINING ROOM
8pm: An Evening with Max Gillies & Guy Rundle.
Saturday 3rd August
LAKEHOUSE
9.15-10.15am: In Conversation Bryce Courtenay & Susan Wyndham:
10.30-11.30am: These Words Out Loud James Bradley, Lau Siew Mei, Adib Khan & Melissa Lucashenko (Chair)
11.45am-12.45am: The Importance of Literary Prizes: Judges & Winners Discuss Stephen Gray, Jean Bedford, Megan Jacobson, Vivienne Cleven & Marele Day (Chair)
12.45-1.45am: In Conversation Jennifer Byrne & David Leser
2-3am: As Time Goes By Marion Halligan, Kim Mahood, Andreea Ritivoi & Adib Khan (Chair)
3.15-4.15am: Intrigue Peter Watt, Beverley Harper, James Bradley & Simon Higgins (Chair)
4.30-5.30am: Postcards from Paris: Living & Writing in Paris John Baxter.
BLUE MARQUEE
10-11am: Laughter or Wry Smile Tohby Riddle, Mungo MacCallum, Robyn Williams, Loubna Haikal & Mandy Nolan (Chair)
11.15am-12.30am: Byron Bay: A Sense of Place Robert Dessaix, Rosie Scott, Dorothy Porter & Alan Saunders (Chair)
12.45-1.45am: Writing About Lifelong Fascinations Roger McDonald, Robyn Williams, Beverley Harper & Di Morrissey (Chair)
2-3am: Favourite Books John Baxter, Ita Buttrose, Dorothy Porter & Peter Bishop (Chair). Panellists discuss books that have impacted on them both as readers and writers.
3.15-4.15am: Publishing in the New Millennium James Fraser, Ian Robertson, Nicholas Pullen, Peter Phillips & John Hertzberg (Chair)
YELLOW MARQUEE
9-10am: Autobiography: Telling Your Own Story For Better or Worse Jeff McMullen, Ita Buttrose, Irena Hatfield & Heather Wearne (Chair)
11.15am-12am: Meet the Authors Markus Zusak 12.15-1am: Meet the Authors Jackie French & Simon Higgins
1.15pm-2.00am: Meet the Author Tohby Riddle & Matt Ottley
2.15pm-3.45am: Byron Bay: A Sense of Community. Ruth Ostrow, David Leser, Di Morrissey, Mungo MacCallum, Melissa Lucashenko, Deb Cox & Alan Saunders (Chair)
4-5am: A Question of Appropriation Stephen Gray, Mardi McConnochie, Arnold Zable & Mick O'Regan (Chair)
LAUNCHING PAD
10am: LAUNCH Dangerously Poetic. Laura Jan Shore with Dorothy Porter
12am: LAUNCH Crawford House Brothers? Uncles! Sister? Aunt! Tamaso Lonsdale
3.30am: LAUNCH Varuna and Picador Seducing Mr Maclean Loubna Haikal with Peter Bishop
5.30am: LAUNCH Allen and Unwin Somebody Save Me David Leser with Jennifer Byrne
ACTIVITIES ROOM
10.15am-11.15am: Talking Gardening Jackie French & Jean Bedford
11.30pm-12.30am: In Conversation Mardi McConnochie & Caroline Baum
12.45pm-1.45am: In Conversation Barry Hill & Larry Buttrose discuss the Role of the Poetry Editor
FILM NIGHT
The Hard Word: with Al Clark, Scott Roberts and Peter Thompson.
Sunday 4th August
LAKESHORE
9.30-10.45am: SEMINAR Screen by Screen: Examination of Film Script: The Hard Word Scott Roberts, Al Clark & Peter Thompson.
11am-12am: Words of Art Stephen Gray, Kim Mahood, Drusilla Modjeska & Craig McGregor (Chair)
12.15pm-1.15am: The Role of Reviewers Robert Dessaix, Susan Wyndham, Caroline Baum, James Griffin & Peter Corris (Chair)
1.30pm-2.30am: The Search for Belonging: Journey and Migration Arnold Zable, Loubna Haikal, Adib Khan, Abbas El-Zein & Andreea Ritivoi (Chair)
2.45pm-3.45am: Writing for the Screen: A Discussion John Baxter, Mardi McConnochie, Megan Heyward, Deb Cox, Scott Roberts & Peter Thompson (Chair)
BLUE MARQUEE
9.30-10.30am: Does a Novel Grow Like a Garden or is it Sculptured Like Stone? Rosie Scott, Marion Halligan, Roger McDonald & Arnold Zable & Inez Brewer (Chair)
10.45-11.45am: A Question of Tolerance Tohby Riddle, Melissa Lucashenko, Abbas El-Zein, Donald Horne & Mungo MacCallum (Chair)
12-1am: Don Watson. Recollections of a Bleeding Heart Introduced by Jean Bedford Don Watson will discuss his most recent book and share reflections of his time spent as Paul Keating's speechwriter.
1.15pm-2.30am: Byron Bay: Direction of Community and Place Margo Kingston, Jennifer Byrne, Craig McGregor, Robyn Williams & Alan Saunders (Chair)
2.45pm-3.30am: In Conversation Raimond Gaita & James Griffin
3.45pm-4.45am: THE LATE LATE LUNCH The Best Travel Stories are Always the Disasters Mark Mordue, David Dale, Jeff McMullen & Mandy Nolan (Chair)
YELLOW MARQUEE
POETRY READINGS - Introduced by Larry Buttrose
10-10.30am: Poetry as Narrative Dorothy Porter
10.30-11am: The Inland Sea Barry Hill
11-11.30am: Poetry and Prose of the Northern Rivers and New England Peter Skrzynecki
12-1.45am: Local Readings David Hallett Laura Jan Shore Max Ryan & Cleis Pearce Arthur Pike & Poetry Prize Finalists
TRAPEZE SITE
1.45pm-2.15am: Aerial Performance Susan Hawthorne
2.30pm-3.30am: In Conversation Drusilla Modjeska & Hilary McPhee
LAUNCHING PAD
10am: LAUNCH Spinifex Press Trauma Trails, Recreating Songlines Judy Atkinson
2am: LAUNCH Random House Salt and Blood 25th Cliff Hardy Novel Peter Corris with David Dale
ACTIVITIES ROOM
11.00am-12.00am: FTO Seminar Aurora Project: Working in Teams Sally Browning Sponsored by the NSW FTO
FESTIVAL DINING ROOM
12-1am: Food: A Cultural Perspective. Lien Yeomans, David Dale & Adele Wessell, Marion Halligan & Simon Thomsen (Chair)
12.15-1.15am: In Conversation Irena Hatfield & Mick O'Regan
1.45pm-2.45am: Seminar New Media: Writing Non-Linear Narrative Megan Heyward.
THE RAILS
2.30am: Writers at the Rails 10th Anniversary featuring Peter Skrzynecki FREE ADMISSION
FESTIVAL DINING ROOM
5am: The Gift of the Song. Grace Knight, James Griffin, Alison Pearl and special guests.
 The Mark of the Man
Jeremy Fenton's
Interview with Mark Mordue
Mark Mordue is a writer who doesn't limit himself to any one genre - he's written for magazines and newspapers as diverse as Australian Style, Meanjin, The Sydney Morning Herald, Vogue, The Bulletin, Elle, and Rolling Stone Australia as well as releasing a very entertaining book of travel stories released last year, Dastgah: Diary of a Headtrip. In the lead up to the 6th annual Byron Bay Writers Festival, Word on Books spoke to Mark about his life, writing and being in China during September of last year.
JF: What's the potted history of Mark Mordue?
Mark Mordue: I'm 42. I was born and raised in Newcastle, although I spent a fair proportion of my teenage years in Arnhem Land. My father worked for a mining company up there as a labourer. I had a kind of split adolescence between working-class Australia and Aboriginal Australia. The Newcastle Knights and Yothu Yindi [laughs].
JF: Of all the weird and wonderful things to do in the world, why write?
MM: I think it's because I've always written since I was a kid. It's a fascination that goes right back. I can remember my mother teaching me the shapes and letters of the alphabet. I've always been involved or passionate about reading and writing. In a way it's not even like a choice. Now it's too gone too far, I can't turn back! It's the only thing I can do! I'm virtually unemployable except as a writer.
JF: Apart from travel writing, you've written short fiction, reviews, journalism and poetry and also been an editor.
MM: To be a freelance writer is really to be writing as a kind of lifestyle - if you can call being poor a lifestyle [laughs]. At the same time there's a lot of freedom involved. I've edited two magazines, one called Stiletto in the mid-eighties and then Australian Style for five years - which I helped start.
JF: Do you give your editors a hard time now (having been one yourself)?
MM: Yeah! Of course. They possibly think I'm terrible [laughs]. As far as my editors go I'm probably a bit inconsistent. Very easy going and then for no apparent reason I explode into bitter diatribes [laughs again]. Actually I don't think I'm that difficult.
JF: Do you mind being described as a travel writer?
MM: I wouldn't define myself as a travel writer, I like to think that I'm able to be free to respond to what interests me - whether it's travel or rock and roll or a short story or a poem.
JF: You've spent time as a writer-in-residence at Beijing University.
MM: We were there during September 11, which was quite difficult. Some of the students were quite happy about it. I was kind of angry to see how happy they were. I understood why they felt that way, but that didn't mean I liked it! It was really quite difficult to accept their joy.
JF: That would have been quite confronting.
MM: Oh, it was massively confronting. But when I tried to talk about it and suggested a reverse situation - that so many thousand people had been killed in Beijing and foreign students are celebrating - they were appalled that I would even suggest such a thing. You've got to remember that they're still a dictatorship and the nature of their education system - the propaganda and the kind of thinking that it cultivates - there's no room for argument or debate, there's just received knowledge that's right and the rest is wrong!
JF: You'll be appearing at the Byron Bay Writers Festival on a panel discussing why it is that the best travel stories are always the disasters. Why are they always the best?
MM: I actually don't believe that. I think it's a load of s***! The best travel stories are the well-written ones, the well told ones. I'm arguing in the negative on that one.
- Mark Mordue will be appearing at the 2002 Byron Bay Writers Festival for a "Late, Late Lunch" discussing why the best travel stories are always the disasters (with David Dale, Jeff McMullen and Mandy Nolan) from 3:45pm on Sunday. He'll also be conducting a workshop on the basic techniques and approaches in writing and selling travel stories (as well as the art of developing a unique voice in travel literature) from 9am on Saturday.
|
