Women Literary Events

The Sydney Writers festival is coming up - they've just released their schedule of events. I always scan looking for feminist and women's (perhaps even mothering - hardly likely) events.

I'm finding their picture a little confusing. I know their theme is private vs public, but the picture of a woman with her eyes and mouth blanked like in the photos of people who are naked and abused is confronting. Maybe not in the way they intended. I'm not comfortable with it. I guess they were going for 'edgey'. I'm calling it 'distasteful'.

Anyway, here's what they're offering this year.

The Feminist Supremacy? With Kathy Lette, Tara Moss, Emily McGuire, Catherine Deveny and Julia Baird.

http://www.swf.org.au/component/option,com_events/Itemid,124/agid,3114/task,view_detail/


Girl Trouble, about chic lit, with Toni Jordan, Kathy Lette and Gretel Killeen.

http://www.swf.org.au/component/option,com_events/Itemid,124/agid,3083/task,view_detail/

Women on Top, workshop with Toni Jordan

http://www.swf.org.au/component/option,com_events/Itemid,124/agid,2928/task,view_detail/

Subject and Self: Muslim Women Writers Talk, with Randa Abdel-Fattah, Nasrin Mahoutchi-Hosaini, Eugenia Flynn, Samah Hadid

http://www.swf.org.au/component/option,com_events/Itemid,124/agid,3058/task,view_detail/

With My Body, Nikky Gemmell

http://www.swf.org.au/component/option,com_events/Itemid,124/agid,3089/task,view_detail/

Now, I'm not saying I'm going to all these. Or any. I'm a bit ennuied with literary talks and writers' festivals. I realised years ago that they are marketplaces for selling books, not ideas. They are places for people with disposable time and income to gather tales for their dinner parties. They don't actually change anything. (Silly me...)

Also, The Hoopla is holding a literary lunch to support the Stella Prize, a new award for women's writing.

http://thestellaprize.com.au/

See Monia Dux on why we need to support women's writing here:

http://thehoopla.com.au/hoopla-stella-lunch/?cpg=2

I pretty much only read women's writing these days.

But of course, I'm hoping that anyone interested in these events will be attending the Mama Wordsmiths event on Mothers Day at the Tap Gallery, which is the final event of the Mamapalooza Sydney festival, and which I'm hosting.