If you’re wanting to experience the 2018 Emerging Writers’ Festival on a low budget, we have the perfect program for you! There’s a variety of workshops, conversations, performances and panels, including Opening Night: New Gold Standard that will cost you $0.

Here are some highlights and unmissables from the staff at EWF.

Katie Wilkins | Operations Manager

I’m excited to be going to the Bunjil Place Zine Workshop in Narre Warren with Eloise Grills. Bunjil Place is such an incredible new arts centre with so much to see and do. I was blown away by its impressive architecture and amazing three-story library. Plus, I’m a bit of an Eloise fangirl!

Late Night Lit: Art vs. Science at Loop Bar is also going to be a fun time! Our game show at EWF ’17 was hilarious, and I jump at any opportunity for trivia and beers. The line-up is A+, but I’m especially looking forward to seeing our 2017 Creative Producer, Nicole McKenzie, get up on stage and run the show.

Linh | Program Coordinator

We have some incredible free performance events in this year’s program. I’m really looking forward to Imaginary Homelands at VU Metrowest this year – it’s a stellar line-up, and a theme that is quite close to my heart.  I’m really excited for Pan Afrikan Poets, presented by Sista Zai Zanda. I think the conversation that will be initiated by Online Publishing Futures, between Mindy Gill, Hella Ibrahim and Michelle Cahill will be really fruitful.

Christian | Creative Producer

Tell me that someone’s writing subversively about disability and I’ll tell you to tell me more! There is a ridiculous amount of outdated conventions when it comes to disability stories so of course there’s so much fun to be had in breaking all of them and showing people something they’ve been wanting to see for as long as they can remember. Everyone deserves to see themselves in what they read, watch and listen to, no matter what age they are or what genres they’re into.

I also can’t wait for Lindsey Green’s Tale of Many Cities: Podcasting Workshop! She’s presented on everything from feminism and queer identities to dating apps and escalators so hearing about her creative and technical processes should be fascinating and incredibly helpful.

Alexandra | Events Managment Intern

With so many great free events at this year’s Emerging Writers Festival it’s so hard to choose only two favourites! But having to choose two, I’d have to pick Online Publishing Futures that is part of the five-part Lunchtime Lit events. I’m excited to hear what the three speakers have to say about the change in Australia’s online publishing and how their careers will be altered by this change.

Secondly would have to be the third installment of the Early Words events that focuses on Food Writing. I’ve always been intrigued with Food Writing, with the ins and outs of it all and I am interested in what will be discussed that morning! Also, I am super excited to hear from Sonia Nair as I’ve been following her Food Intolerances on whateverfloatsyourbloat.com – Hilarious stuff!

Izzy | Artistic Director 

There are some really incredible creative collectives that do rad things year-round, and we’re lucky enough to hear from some of them in the program. There’s a Collectives Book Club you can pop into on your lunchbreak, some members of Western Sydney Collective Sweatshop are performing to close this year’s National Writers’ Conference, and the Closing Night Party is going to be phenomenal because it’s being hosted by Still Nomads.

Vishaka Kumar | Creative Producer

I am very excited to watch performers from Sweatshop Showcase present their latest works, they are a fantastic collective and I have always been interested in the Western Sydney arts movement. I am also looking forward to gaining some key insight into virtual storytelling from the SIGNAL x LIMINAL workshop.

Finally, I am super keen on supporting some of the events that my fellow-CPs have programmed which include The Early Words: Food Writing, Travel Writing & Gender, Lunchtime Lit – Queer Characters and the Late Night Lit: Arts vs Science gameshow.

Ruby | Creative Producer

Three things I am a big fan of: free events, lunch and community building! Naturally, the Collectives Book Club is something I’m very much excited for. An event focused on creativity, connection, community and critical awareness is something I am 100% down for. I love listening to what inspires the people who inspire me and others. Another Lunchtime Lit event I have my eye on is Writing Queer Characters. Of course, the Closing Night Party is another not to be missed!

Aisha | Associate Producer

If I had a clone of myself during the festival, you would definitely find her at Pan Afrikan Poets and the SIGNAL X LIMINAL workshop. Sista Zai’s Pan Afrikan Poets events hold a warm place in my heart as the first Afro-diasporic literary space I encountered IRL. I’m excited to see this intimate platform opened up for the festival, with a heavenly line-up of local Black women storytellers, poets and vocalists.

If (like me) it gives you immense satisfaction when the right words find the right images to nestle between, then you should definitely check out the visual storytelling workshop presented by Liminal Magazine and Signal Arts. Liminal’s signature combination of nuanced interviews and tender portraits get me deep into my feels every time!

Will | General Manager

I’m looking forward to the Collaborative Translation & Poetry Workshop presented by Transcollaborate and Monash University. I’ve always been fascinated with translation and how you can use it to play with language, but because I never properly learnt another language it’s always been out of reach. So I can’t wait to see what artists from a range of different mediums do to translate an ancient Chinese poem without necessarily having knowledge of Mandarin – I think the results will be fascinating!

I’m also excited for Great Salt Lakes. I get so anxious thinking about what we’re doing to our planet and feeling like there’s nothing I can do to help – so the idea of eco-poetry and performances providing a salve for my soul sounds like exactly what I need!

Julianna | Marketing & Publicity Coordinator 

As a morning person, I’m looking forward to The Early Words session, particularly Feminism Online. Excited to hear from all three artists, talking about activism in the digital age – and eating cereal and having coffee during it. Also, to complement The Early Words, I’m pumped for Late Night Lit: Dial Up which celebrates online communities with live readings, videos and performances. All things to get my tech-savvy juices flowing.

Duyen | Creative Producer

I love a good gameshow and when you’ve got the arts, science, competitive, fun games and the thrill of not knowing how the game show will unfold; you just know it’s going to be exhilarating! I’m especially keen for Art v Science because the intersection of varying industries with the arts is a discussion worth having. So why not make the discussion accessible in a live game show? Looking forward to this event!

Imaginary Homelands asks us ‘what does home mean to you?’. It’s a question that resonates with everyone. We all have a home that is steeped in attachment and the other myriad of emotions when discussing your homeland. I’m fascinated by this event and curious to see what home means to different people and ultimately, what makes a home? An in-depth reflection and conversation desperately needed in today’s landscape.

Mia | Creative Producer

While this year’s program is full of excellent free events, I am most looking forward to attending Online Publishing Futures, part of the Lunchtime Lit series. Online publishing is such an exciting realm. This is a timely conversation to be had in the literary industry – questions of inclusion, accessibility and representation. I also look forward to Great Salt Lakes, and finding hope in the power of language.

Check out more free events here.

The 2018 Emerging Writers’ Festival will run from 19 – 29 June. The full festival program can be found here.