Emerging Writers' Festival

Editorial

When: 21-30 May 2010
Where: Various venues, inner Melbourne,
Tickets: online only 

Along with Newcastle's National Young Writers' Festival, to be held this year in late September, this Melbourne event is the premier stop for scribes on the first, or second, stop to literary success. Happily for anyone on the greying side of 30, the emphasis here is on one literary, not actual, age.

And the emphasis is actually on writing. In the past, Australia's foremost writers' festivals have tended to focus on a passion for reading at the expense of the business of writing. While this focus has shifted a little and writing masterclasses have been added to the agenda of Sydney and Melbourne programs, an even further leap toward practice occurs at the EWF.

Certainly, there are events that are pure, readerly fun. The guerrilla zine market at Federation Square promises pure pleasure to those battling to add self-published works to their collections. Wordstock, held on 27 May at Fed Square's Edge theatre, is a sure-fire blast of rock-fuel. Here, local lady of letter Miss Clem Bastow leads the TNT charge toward a refined understanding of AC/DC.

The real work of the festival, however, runs throughout the program. From matter-of-fact workshops on the art of the newspaper pitch to nuanced discussion on literary style, classes to tease out your emerging writer abound.

Helen Razer, Citysearch