Welcome to the city of arts, creativity and all things weird and wonderful where we have so much to offer that we have an abundance of festivals to celebrate! This weekend in Melbourne? The 2016 Melbourne Writers Festival.
MWF is a wonderful mix of authors and creative souls, each with their own events and exhibitions to showcase their incredible skills.
The festival boasts an enormous 283 sessions, running from Friday the 26th of August to Sunday the 4th of September. We don’t want you to waste any of your precious creative energy, so we’ve narrowed the festival down to a few events we would put our pens down and close our books to get to.
One of the greatest things about MWF is the opportunity it gives to the wider public to get up close and personal with some the best and upcoming authors on the scene right now. Caravan Sessions is a fantastic way to do just that. From Saturday the 27th of August to Sunday the 4th of September you can attend an exclusive and intimate session (in a caravan, obviously) with an author whose identity will be kept anonymous until they walk through the door!
MWF isn’t all about the new though, there are some classics that will just never die. If you’re an Oscar Wilde fan and lets face it, who isn’t, then you’ll be pleased to know that this years festival will feature an exhibition showcasing a beautiful film rendition of The Nightingale and the Rose. This is free to attend and will be in action on Saturday the 27th of August from 10am.
If you consider yourself a bit of a comedian, or you have always wondered how authors can express a joke so well through a page, Natalie Kon-Yu will have the answers for you on Sunday the 28th of August with Wickedly Funny. This is your chance to get a really great insight into the slightly daunting world of dark humour. Give it a shot!
To cap it all of, MWF will be going out with a bang with their Closing Night Party. Arrive at 7pm to listen in on a live reading from some of the authors of The Lifted Brow’s 31st issue, with some pretty interesting and intriguing topics. Afterwards enjoy a champagne or three and dance the night away with DJ’s from 8pm! This event is FREE. Yay!
Be sure to take advantage of this time to immerse yourself in some of these fantastic events. Once when you’re all written out, take a look at what else we have on for you this weekend.
Written by Alice Johnson
Alice is studying Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT.
You will find her at a gig, sipping on a beer with friends, listening to The Doors, or munching on a caramel slice.
Catch her at @_alicethecamel
