So much of this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival was unmissable. Here’s my Storify of some of the sessions I attended, and here are the sessions I facilitated this year:
Local Democracy
Sat 27 August 2016 2:30pm at Footscray Community Arts Centre
How do national policy issues play out locally? Focusing on Melbourne’s culturally diverse western suburbs, Indigenous academic Gary Foley and Federal Labor MP Tim Watts explore local impacts of migration, education and Indigenous issues, and unpack how suburban experiences are considered in national conversations.
Australian Asylum
Sun 28 August 2016 1:00pm at ACMI Cinema 1
How have asylum seeker policies shifted over time? Madeline Gleeson (Offshore: Behind the Wire on Manus and Nauru) and Emeritus Professor Robert Manne trace Australia’s history of asylum, assessing the human impact of policy and ruminating on what lies ahead – and whether there are any alternatives. See The Monthly for the full video of our discussion.
What a time to be alive
Fri 2 September 2016 10:00am at ACMI Cinema 1
Get the lowdown on this year’s election with BuzzFeed’s political editor, Mark di Stefano. In What a Time to be Alive, he uncovers the everyday minutiae of the campaign trail, from flashy public appearances to the bizarre underhanded dealings behind the scenes.
IMAGE: In conversation with Tim Watts and Fatima Measham at Footscray Community Arts Centre for #WestWriters at #MWF16. Photo by Melbourne Writers Festival.
ESTHER ANATOLITIS 