‘We wanted to be really clear that we actually don’t have any interest in “Feminism 101”, that we didn’t want to squander this fairly finite amount of time and opportunity by going over the basics and to be introducing the really foundational concepts’. Brooke Boland at ArtsHub chatted with FWF Chair Cristy Clark, profiling ‘five to watch’ from the FWF program.
The goal of FWF is to be ‘intersectional and interrogative’, and its organisers hope to create a unique space for a diverse group of feminist writers. In Kill Your Darlings, Stefanie Italia chatted with the team about the genesis of the festival, and its place in the feminist writing community.
On this writers festival-themed episode of the Unladylike podcast, FWF committee members Stephanie Convery and Veronica Sullivan spoke about their processes and decision-making, alongside Melbourne Writers Festival Director Lisa Dempster.
‘It is very often uncertainty and not mediocrity that holds women back’. Studies show that while men overestimate their abilities, women do the opposite by doubting and questioning their talents and skills. Julia Baird reflects on the unfounded self-doubt that cripples so many women, calling on them to ’embrace a little white man confidence’.
FWF artist Anastasia Kanjere, who will appear at our networking day, was shortlisted for the Scribe Nonfiction Prize for her piece ‘The Lighted Door’, a memoir about the months following the birth of her daughter. In this profile, she talks about writing nonfiction, why she chose her subject, and how she began writing.
In exciting news, Kill Your Darlings have announced two new awards for early career writers. The KYD New Critic Award and the KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award will give an early-career critic and an early-career author the chance to work with industry professionals and create publishing pathways for the future. A total of $9000 prize money is on offer! Submissions for the KYD New Critic Award open in September; submissions for the KYD Unpublished Manuscript Award open in February 2017.
The wonderful Karen Pickering is back from maternity leave to host next month’s Cherchez La Femme. This special edition, on Feminism and Sex, will feature Amy Gray, Jax Jacki Brown, Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen and Jessamy Gleeson talking all about sex from an unapologetically feminist angle, and will also double as the Melbourne launch for Doing It, a sex-positive anthology edited by Karen and featuring the panelists’ writing. Tuesday 6 September, Melbourne. $15.
FWF artist and all-round superstar Maxine Beneba Clarke‘s new book, The Hate Race, is in all good bookstores now. Get your hands on a copy ASAP!
Feminist Writers Festival 