Melbourne Writers Festival

Editorial

No one ever accused Melbourne of being a town short on respect for middle-class ennui. It's entirely appropriate, then, that the English language chief of the meticulously dreary has arrived. Arguably, it is the appearance of Jonathan Franzen, who will deliver a Keynote Address on autobiographical fictions, that is the centrepiece of this year's fest.

For a keener look into the architecture of the Arab Spring, see Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy. For a keener look into one's own inadequacy as a writer, jump at the professional chance to hear Robert Manne tell you how to write an essay as part of the festival's Professional Development portion.

This year, food and wine, popular music and science are all represented under the expanding canopy of the written word.

Helen Razer, Citysearch