Words to Live By

Hosted by: Australian Institute of International Affairs in Sydney

The event will start on: Tuesday, 12 April 2011 6:00 PM

And will end on: Tuesday, 12 April 2011 7:30 PM

At The Glover Cottages, Sydney

124 Kent Street , Sydney NSW

02 9247 8504     nsw.branch@aiia.asn.au

Posted by: nsw   

Not many Australians realise it, but the Sydney Writers' Festival - now in its 14^th year -  is established as a leader in the global league table of literary events, drawing renowned writers from across the world. This year's Festival promises to be the most significant yet, with a strong emphasis on international issues as well as novels that reflect the state of the world today. This year’s theme is power.

We are delighted that Chip  Rolley,  the new director of the Festival, has agreed to come and give members a special preview of the events that fit this international perspective. His is the strongest and the most international program ever presented, taking place in a variety of venues in Sydney, most of them within a stone’s throw of The Glover Cottages.  Chip will tell us about many of the brightest minds in the worlds of literature, politics, science, economics, criticism and journalism that are confirmed to appear in Sydney between 16 and 22 May.

The Festival looks at power in its many incarnations … the power of the writer to shape the world with words, the awesome forces of nature under pressure, the power of the individual to effect global change and the constantly shifting nature of power itself: who’s got it, and why, and how technology is forcing a shift.

The opening address will be given by Fatima Bhutto, writer and scion of the famous political family, in which she will talk about Pakistan, a nation ‘on the verge of a nervous breakdown’. The Festival Closing Address will look at the future of the book, a timely topic in this climate of rapid technological change. It will be given by a world authority on the cultural impact of science and technology, America’s James Gleick, the multi-award-nominated author of Chaos, and now, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood.

Others in a stellar international line-up include:

• Ingrid Betancourt, released only three years ago from six years’ captivity by the FARC in Colombia
• Superstar chef Anthony Bourdain, of Kitchen Confidential fame
• International crime fiction bestseller Michael Connelly
• Michael Cunningham, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hours
• Sierra Leone’s Aminatta Forna, winner of the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book (Africa region) for The Memory of Love
• AA Gill, controversial UK travel, food and TV critic
• Philosopher and now author of the secular bible, The Good Book, A.C. Grayling
• 2010 Man Booker Prize-winner Howard Jacobson, author of The Finkler Question
• The internationally acclaimed literary fiction author David Mitchell.

The Festival continues last year’s tradition of presenting provocative political events, with this year’s line-up including  John Howard, Senator John Faulkner, Lindsay Tanner, David Hicks, Bob Carr, Alan Ramsay, Barrie Cassidy, George Megalogenis, Rodney Cavalier, Lenore Taylor and Bob Ellis.

Chip Rolley is an editor, literary project manager and freelance writer who has worked in Australia, the United States and China. Conversant with current literary, social, cultural and political issues and debates and with an eclectic background including marketing, advertising and literary events management, he also has a strong record of activism for freedom of expression, particularly through his recent involvement with International Pen and Sydney PEN.

In his writing, Chip has covered a very wide range of subjects. He has a particular focus on literature and Chinese politics and culture. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, the Australian, Griffith Review, the Bulletin and Rolling Stone.