We love winter at KYD, because winter in Melbourne means writers festivals! The 2015 Melbourne Writers Festival is on again this year from 20-30 August. Alongside international guests like Louis de Bernieres and Naomi Klein, our very own KYD superstars will be appearing all over the place during the festival. With over five hundred events in the program, we know the hardest part is working out how to see as much as possible. To make things easier for you, we’ve put together a mini KYD-themed program, so you know exactly where you can catch the team during the festival.

 

The Book That Changed Me
Books change us. They inspire, infuriate and enchant. And perhaps no one is more influenced by books than writers. In this series of short, book-club style events, hosted by Kill Your Darlings, Festival guests – including Samhita Arni, Damon Young, Justine Larbalestier, Anne Buist, Sarai Walker and Gail Jones – delve deeply into a book that has influenced them. (Best part: these events are freeee!)

 

Other KYD festival appearances:

Rebecca Starford, Publishing Director
Bec will be reading from her debut memoir Bad Behaviour at The Morning Read and the Queer Literary Salon. And if you loved Bad Behaviour, you can find out about the next chapter of the story at What Happened Next.

 

Hannah Kent, Publishing Director
Catch Hannah in conversation with Nic Low and John Marsden (!) talking about the convict character at the centre of her historical novel Burial Rights, the true story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland. She’ll also be chatting all things Burial Rights as part of the Schools’ Program for Years 10-12.

 

Brigid Mullane, Editor
What do the new breed of artist-led lit mags do differently from their establishment predecessors? What are their goals? Who inspires them? Brigid will be chatting about new-generation mags with Ellena Savage (from The Lifted Brow) and Ben Birchall as part of the Media Makers program.

 

Veronica Sullivan, Online Editor
WTF is ‘women’s fiction’ anyway? Come along to the Stella Prize event featuring Veronica (along with Aviva Tuffield, Emily Bitto and Liz Byrski) to find out.

 

There are so many more amazing events happening at the festival, so be sure to check out the full program. We can’t wait! See you there.

– KYD