Andrew Pippos, who has been shortlisted for the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award, and Newcastle writer Michael Sala, discuss their creative challenges and decisions, how they juggle the demands of writing and parenting, and what they are working on now. Hosted by Ed Wright.

This session was recorded at our inaugural Fresh Ink Emerging Writers Program on 23 April, in collaboration with Newcastle Libraries. Funding was provided by Create NSW. 

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Cassandra Atherton talks about prose poetry and microlit — reading from the Anthology of Australian Prose Poetry she recently co-edited with Paul Hetherington, and Pulped Fiction, the latest collection in the Joanne Burns microlit prize series. 

Host: Beth Spencer

Anthology of Australian Prose Poetry is published by Melbourne University Press.
Pulped Fiction is published by Spineless Wonders. 
Cassandra’s latest books of prose poetry are Fugitive Letters (with Paul Hetherington) and Leftovers.
You can order copies from www.macleanbooks.com.au 

More information about Cassandra’s work at www.cassandra-atherton.com.

And for more about the Joanne Burns Microlit prize and Microflix check out Spineless Wonders at https://shortaustralianstories.com.au/

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Triple J presenter Bridget Hustwaite and journalist Gabrielle Jackson are 'endo warriors'. They share their experiences of living with endometriosis and explore the assumptions and misinformation that impact sufferers. 

How to Endo by Bridget Hustwaite and Pain and Prejudice by Gabrielle Jackson are published by Allen and Unwin. Buy both books online via the Festival's book store MacLean's Booksellers.    

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Acclaimed First Nations Canadian writer Billy-Ray Belcourt speaks to Laura Kebby, of Secret Book Stuff, about writing, poetry, identity, and the importance of representation in literature. 

Billy-Ray's memoir A History of My Brief Body is published by UQP. 

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Eminent British philosopher A. C. Grayling discusses the fields of knowledge that have opened up with new methods and tools of inquiry – including cutting-edge physics, humanity’s very ancient history before Greece and Rome, and what we now know about the mind and the brain. Hosted by Newcastle philosopher and author Russell Blackford.

The Frontiers of Knowledge: What We Now Know About Science, History, and the Mind is published by Penguin Random House Australia. Buy your copy from the Festival's bookstore, MacLean's Booksellers. 

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From essays to poetry, there’s more than one way to write a memoir. How do we find the best form to tell the stories of our own lives? With Bastian Fox Phelan, Susan Francis, and Bri Lee. Hosted by Rosemarie Milsom.

This session was recorded at our inaugural Fresh Ink Emerging Writers Program on 24 April, 2021, in collaboration with Newcastle Libraries. Funding was provided by Create NSW. 

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Whether you’re interested in self-publishing, are an aspiring author, or simply keen to take a behind-the-scenes look at the business of publishing, Jaye Ford, Brendan Fredericks and Ed Wright share an insider’s view. Hosted by Nick Milligan.

This session was recorded at our inaugural Fresh Ink Emerging Writers Program on 24 April, 2021, in collaboration with Newcastle Libraries. Funding was provided by Create NSW. 

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Newcastle has a robust poetry community and in late 2020 three local writers had books published by Puncher & Wattmann. Ivy Ireland, Kerri Shying, and Ed Wright speak to Magdalena Ball about their funny and deeply original work. 

Kerri Shying’s Know Your Country, Ivy Ireland’s The Owl Inside, and Ed Wright’s Gas Deities are all published by Puncher & Wattmann and can be purchased from Macleans Bookshop.

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When her husband decided he didn't want biological children, Sarah Sentilles was forced to acknowledge her deepest longing. In her compelling new memoir, Stranger Care, she explores the realisation that she wanted to be a parent - to care for someone else's baby. Sarah speaks to Newcastle Writers Festival director Rosemarie Milsom about the life-changing experience.

Stranger Care is published by Text and can be bought online via Maclean's Booksellers. 

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Novelist Maria Dahvana Headley has created a revisionist translation of the Old English poem Beowulf, infusing it with feminism and social-media slang.

She speaks to Magdalena Ball about being one of only a few women translators who has tackled the 3182-line poem. 

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